Covering the bus leagues is a unique beat, but the day to day isn't full of extreme excitement. Not unless you're tuned into the minors. Today the interest is higher than ever and information is more easily accessible.
We're mostly writing about the hopefuls. Only a handful per season are no-doubt-about-it future major leaguers.
Covering Bryce Harper's season in the Eastern League when he played for Double-A Harrisburg, you got to see the real-life version of The Natural. A guy destined to be in the majors since early adolescence.
The media rules were unprecedented. We had little to no access to him unless he did something to effect the game and then reporters were permitted to interview him post-game. Nationals fans flocked to see what they might have in the future. Baseball fans came to see the most anticipated prospect of all-time, maybe get an autograph in their well-worn notebook or on a baseball. Some came to boo him. Just because he is what they say he is.
The time was spent trying to find ways to cover him, without talking to him. Senators then-manager Tony Beasley became a lifeline. His first-hand perspective was valued in a sea of distant perspectives that drew from what they heard or believed. Harper's personality - raw, rascally, youthful- became the focus. Psychological analysis from baseball writers anyone?
The clutter of the hype did not dim the rest.
To watch him at the plate was to see the truth. It was the only thing that was factual. His massive figure with bat in hand, unloading on a fastball with seemingly no effort was the real story. But that tended to get buried. He was doing everything right on the field, but the force field of attention around him created a second story. We're not just covering players and games. We're letting readers in to see the person behind the player. With Harper that was virtually impossible. His personality became defined by the lack of knowledge about him. While that is totally unfair, writers and fans waited for the bits of information that could help them form an opinion.
He gave them/us something to work with. Telling the world he was a Yankees fan or what his favorite football team was, or letting the pitcher he hit a dinger off of know that he was enjoying every minute, certainly fed the fire. But it didn't really say much more than this was a young guy enjoying the ride.
The protectiveness makes sense now, as it did then. Even if there's some cons to the pros, a prospect like him needed a unique game plan for the spotlight.
While he wasn't accessible, he connected with the fans looking for autographs and a chance just to say hello. It became a quiet way for him to show a side of himself people weren't talking about.
For awhile he joined Twitter and riled some, but delighted many. That didn't last. The Nationals cracked down on social media behavior. He stepped away. A respectable move.
The player was the main thing, though. In this media saturated atmosphere it was refreshing, despite our jobs being more difficult.
Now the net is being pulled a bit. He's making his major league debut Saturday night against the Dodgers and it's the biggest story in baseball. How he handles all of that is important, but what the protection gave him was a chance to stay focused on playing. A talent doesn't come around like that...ever. But every professional player must learn how to juggle all of it. That's the trick now for him.
The experience isn't exactly what you heard. Perception is just that. But the next chapter in the story begins tonight.
My advice? Embrace the excitement, not the hype and hyperbole. Because that stuff is not the story.