Bruising baseballs

This may well be how baseballs look 14 years ago today in Viera, Fla., after wunderkind prospect Bryce Harper takes his first, pulverizing round of spring training batting practice for the Washington Nationals.

Bryce Harper as a rookie in 2012

Harper, then all of 19 years old, finishes the 2011 season with the Class AA Harrisburg Senators, albeit on the bench with a strained right hamstring.

He does quite well in 2012, though, reaching the major leagues and winning the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Harper does even better in 2015 as he unanimously is selected for the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award.

Since then, Harper moves from Washington to Philadelphia, where he wins another MVP award in 2021, leads the Phillies to the 2022 World Series and the 2023 National League Championship Series.

He quickly becomes the face of the Phillies’ franchise and should remain so for quite a while as his contract runs through the 2031 season.