Harper’s Age

Dave Fleming at Bill James Online makes an observation about Bryce Harper. He appears to be aging quickly:

But I am willing to bet that Bryce Harper, at seventeen or twenty or twenty-six, has put more collective hours into working on baseball than just about anyone else in the world. It does not seem like a leap to assume that such a high level of effort has likely taken some toll on his body.
 
Bryce Harper seems to be aging faster than you’d expect for a twenty-six-year-old: it does not seem implausible to attribute some of that decline to the extreme effort and dedication he put in as an amateur player. He is not older than anyone else, but he’s put in more hours than any other twenty-six-year-old.
 
And – second point here – what position ages a player more than any other? What position on the diamond exacts the most brutal cost on the body? What position tends to age a player more than any other? 
 
Catcher. Being a catcher takes an enormous toll on a player. The daily act of crouching and bouncing up, the barrage of foul tips and semi-concussions, the grind of communicating between pitcher and coach while keeping an eye on baserunners is a massive challenge of body and mind. Catchers have shorter careers than players at any other position on the diamond. It’s very hard to be a catcher.
 
What position did Bryce Harper play as an amateur player?
 
He was a catcher. For his entire amateur career, Bryce Harper was a backstop.

BillJamesOnline.com

Many years ago I noticed that players who managed to hit 700 home runs did not set records at a young age. Bonds, Aaron, and Ruth are not all time record holders through the age of 30. (Aaron ranks 10th.) Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Albert Pujols are the latest to look like sure home run record setters through age 30, only to come up short. Even Andruw Jones hit more home runs than Hank Aaron through seasonal age 30. That much power took a toll on players.

Teams now ease pitchers into high workloads. Maybe the same needs to be done with hitters.

from baseballmusings.com http://bit.ly/2NcGnmD