Confidence will help Harper succeed

April, 28, 2012

4/28/12

10:55

AM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

It’s only fitting that Washington Nationals prospect Bryce Harper will make his major league debut basking in Hollywood’s shadow, because the 19-year-old’s story is cut from a movie script.

By now everyone knows his background as the baseball wunderkind who amazed YouTube viewers with Paul Bunyan-like hitting feats. As a Las Vegas-area high schooler, he graced the covers of national magazines and even graduated early and enrolled in junior college because he needed the upgrade in competition. He hits tape-measure home runs, throws in the mid-90s and runs like a gazelle.

And he unveils it all at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.