Rather than waiting for the Bryce Harper Hype Machine to make it to happen organically, someone in the media has gone and compared Harper to Jesus. And not a ballplayer named Jesus, but instead the reported son of God himself, as Mike Wise of the Washington Post does with ham fists.
Wise also compares the Washington Nationals' 20 year-old slugger to Mickey Mantle and Mel Ott, along with Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Gandhi and FDR. Earlier, the Post compared Harper's swing to that of Babe Ruth.
Why not just skip them all and go right to the top?:
This was the toughest head-to-head matchup, but Bam-Bam wins again. Although he was purported to do some very good work as the Son of Man after 29, the New Testament has no record of Jesus between 12 and 30, often referred to by biblical scholars as “the silent years.” It’s assumed he was working as a Galilee carpenter for 18 years, but because there is no historical record, we can’t really say either way.
Those "silent years" are like trying to figure out how many home runs Josh Gibson hit in the Negro Leagues. We also just have to assume that Jesus was a pretty good carpenter (though his overall work as a religious figure probably tops it).
Wise's point in comparing Harper's accomplishments to the deeds of world historical figures at the age of 20 is to make it seem as though Harper's Hype Machine, of which Wise's newspaper is an active part, has overdone it. But what Wise really is doing is evoking the old Babe Ruth quote about Ruth making more money than U.S. President Herbert Hoover:
"I know, but I had a better year than Hoover."
Harper would be over-hyped, if only he weren't living up to, or beyond, the hype.
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