Bryce Harper debuted last night, and all things considered, it went fairly well for a super-prospect who made the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16. While his Washington Nationals fell 4-3 to the Dodgers in 11 innings, Harper went 1-for-3 with a double and sacrifice fly and nearly threw out a runner at home. Best case scenario, Harper’s first game proves to be a hint of good to come and his rookie season puts him in league with a handful of other iconic players.

Harper is 19. In baseball history, 20 players have had at least 2 WAR in a season at his age. Fourteen of those players have been pitchers, and of the six batters who’ve done it, three are in the Hall of Fame, and another will be shortly.

Let’s start by looking at the players who’ve done this. First, here are the offensive players who had at least 2 WAR at 19:

Rk Player HR WAR/pos ▾ Year Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
1 Mel Ott 18 3.5 1928 19 NYG 124 500 435 69 140 26 4 77 52 36 3 .322 .397 .524 .921
2 Edgar Renteria 5 3.0 1996 19 FLA 106 471 431 68 133 18 3 31 33 68 16 2 .309 .358 .399 .757
3 Ken Griffey 16 2.8 1989 19 SEA 127 506 455 61 120 23 0 61 44 83 16 7 .264 .329 .420 .748
4 Ty Cobb 1 2.6 1906 19 DET 98 394 358 45 113 15 5 34 19 41 23 .316 .355 .394 .749
5 Travis Jackson 4 2.3 1923 19 NYG 96 350 327 45 90 12 7 37 22 40 3 3 .275 .321 .391 .712
6 Buddy Lewis 6 2.1 1936 19 WSH 143 657 601 100 175 21 13 67 47 46 6 6 .291 .347 .399 .746

And here are the pitchers who’ve done it:

Rk Player SO WAR ▾ Year Age Tm G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV IP H R ER BB ERA ERA+ HR
1 Gary Nolan 206 6.8 1967 19 CIN 33 32 8 5 1 14 8 .636 0 226.2 193 73 65 62 2.58 147 18
2 Dwight Gooden 276 5.4 1984 19 NYM 31 31 7 3 0 17 9 .654 0 218.0 161 72 63 73 2.60 137 7
3 Bob Feller 240 5.3 1938 19 CLE 39 36 20 2 3 17 11 .607 1 277.2 225 136 126 208 4.08 114 13
4 Larry Dierker 108 4.0 1966 19 HOU 29 28 8 2 0 10 8 .556 0 187.0 173 73 66 45 3.18 107 17
5 Rube Bressler 96 3.5 1914 19 PHA 29 10 8 1 15 10 4 .714 2 147.2 112 37 29 56 1.77 148 1
6 Chief Bender 127 3.4 1903 19 PHA 36 33 29 2 2 17 14 .548 0 270.0 239 115 92 65 3.07 100 6
7 Wally Bunker 96 2.9 1964 19 BAL 29 29 12 1 0 19 5 .792 0 214.0 161 72 64 62 2.69 134 17
8 Felix Hernandez 77 2.9 2005 19 SEA 12 12 0 0 0 4 4 .500 0 84.1 61 26 25 23 2.67 158 5
9 Smoky Joe Wood 88 2.4 1909 19 BOS 24 19 13 4 3 11 7 .611 0 160.2 121 51 39 43 2.18 115 1
10 Ray Sadecki 95 2.3 1960 19 STL 26 26 7 1 0 9 9 .500 0 157.1 148 76 66 86 3.78 109 15
11 Chuck Stobbs 70 2.3 1949 19 BOS 26 19 10 0 2 11 6 .647 0 152.0 145 72 68 75 4.03 109 10
12 Walter Johnson 71 2.2 1907 19 WSH 14 12 11 2 2 5 9 .357 0 110.1 100 35 23 20 1.88 129 1
13 Bert Blyleven 135 2.1 1970 19 MIN 27 25 5 1 1 10 9 .526 0 164.0 143 66 58 47 3.18 119 17
14 Pete Schneider 108 2.0 1915 19 CIN 48 35 16 5 11 14 19 .424 2 275.2 254 110 76 104 2.48 115 4

Why is it rarer for an offensive player to be effective at 19? Looking over the lists, a few things come to mind.

Nine of the pitchers made their mark here in either the 1960s or prior to 1920, times that offense took a backseat in baseball. It doesn’t necessarily explain how a 19-year-old pitcher could shine above other pitchers in a given year, since all could theoretically benefit from depressed offensive conditions. Perhaps pitchers get more opportunities to put up big numbers when hitting’s down in baseball, though and there’s less risk in trotting a 19-year-old hurler out.

Other factors could be at work, too. Many of the pitchers listed here were used extensively early in their careers, too much really. Smoky Joe Wood, Rube Bressler, Wally Bunker, and Gary Nolan all famously blew their arms out (Wood and Bressler at least came back later as outfielders.) Felix Hernandez and Larry Dierker each had big years in pitchers’ parks. In fact, Dierker was essentially two pitchers in 1966: Playing at home in the Astrodome, he was 8-2 with a 2.34 ERA; on the road, he was 2-6 with a 4.42 ERA.

As for the hitters, there’ve been many times in baseball history when 19-year-old future stars have sat the bench, from Jimmie Foxx in 1927 to Alex Rodriguez in 1995. More often, batters have either been in the minors or college at 19, MLB players below age 20 a rarity in general. Perhaps hitters need more time to find timing at the plate in the same respect that pitchers often have the edge early in a season.

Foxx barely made it off the bench his first three years in Philadelphia. It was how Connie Mack and other managers essentially operated in those days. It makes Mel Ott’s 3.5 WAR for John McGraw and the New York Giants in 1928 all the more impressive and aberrational. Is Bryce Harper the next Mel Ott? Only time will tell.

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