With all the too-much-too-soon talk surrounding the weekend promotions of outfield prodigies Bryce Harper (Nationals) and Mike Trout (Angels), it’s amazing they found the batter’s box on their own Saturday night.
But if baseball history has taught us anything about the truly gifted, Harper and Trout are ready.
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On Saturday night, Harper made a sensational major league debut at age 19 years, 195 days. Mickey Mantle was 16 days younger when he made it to the majors. Ken Griffey Jr. was 19 years, 102 days old when he debuted after 462 minor league at-bats. Harper had 459.
Trout was beyond ready. He was hitting .403 in AAA, has 1,117 minor league at-bats and was already indoctrinated in the majors, hitting .220 in a 40-game call-up last summer at age 19.
Hitting major league pitching as a teenager isn’t easy, even for the rarest of gems. Tony Conigliaro is the only major leaguer to hit more than 20 home runs before his 20th birthday.
The six players with whom Harper most often has been compared as a can’t-miss prospect all had success by the time they turned 21, regardless of when they were promoted:
Alex Rodriguez (18 years, 11 months) » He bounced between the majors and minors his first two years, hitting .224 with five home runs. But the year he turned 21, A-Rod hit .358 with 36 home runs.
Ken Griffey Jr. (19 years, 4 months) » He finished at .264 as a rookie with 16 home runs. A year later, Griffey hit .300 with 22 home runs.
Mickey Mantle (19 years, 6 months) » He hit .267 with 13 homers in 341 at-bats. The following year, he hit .311 with 23 blasts.
Willie Mays (20 years, 1 month) » He hit .274 with 20 homers as a rookie.
Ted Williams (20 years, 8 months) » He hit .327 with 31 homers and a league-high 145 RBI in his rookie year.
Albert Pujols (21 years, 2 months) » He hit .329 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI as a rookie.
– Kevin Dunleavy
