Bryce Harper appears poised for a breakout season with the Washington Nationals in 2013, but he wants more than that. Becoming the face of one of the best young teams in baseball would be nice, but Harper wants to become the Tom Brady of the MLB.
During an interview with the Washington Times on Sunday, Harper expressed a desire to be featured on magazine covers and be seen as more than just a baseball player.
“I don’t want everybody to just see the baseball side of me,” Harper said. “I want everybody to see the other side of me, too — that I can be on a magazine with jeans and a T-shirt on and my hair done and things like that. I don’t want just me in my baseball hat all the time just the boring, old, ‘Look it’s Bryce Harper with eye black on again.’ I like people seeing the other side.”
I’ll be the first to admit I did a complete 180-degree turn on Harper throughout the course of last season. However, that sounds more like the guy I used to hate that gels up his hair and blows kisses at opposing pitchers. There’s no questioning Harper’s dedication to the game and his work ethic, but you can’t expect to tell people you want to be on a magazine cover with your hair done without catching some grief.
Having said that, comments like these show how comfortable Harper is in his own skin. Without that confidence, he probably wouldn’t be such a promising young player. Don’t forget, this is the same guy who said he wants to have as much fun off the field as Joe Namath had in his day.
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