LOS ANGELES - The Internet keeps track of nearly everything a baseball writer needs these days, so I rarely save my scorecards anymore, but after a memorable trip to Southern California last week, I returned with two keepers.
The trip started last Saturday with an early-morning flight to LAX. I was on my way to cover the Twins in Anaheim and left early to interview Stanford pitcher Mark Appel, one of the players the Twins are considering for the No. 2 pick in next month's draft.
Stanford was playing at UCLA, so that was convenient, but on the flight, I realized there would be an added bonus. Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, Bryce Harper would be making his major league debut for Washington.
Harper, 19, was the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, and pitching that night for Washington was Stephen Strasburg, the first pick from 2009.
After interviewing Appel, a talented righthander we'll be profiling later this month, I sped up the freeway to Chavez Ravine, where a sellout crowd of 54,000 gathered to watch the two teams with the best records in the National League.
Strasburg was magnificent, and Harper might be the most captivating player I've seen since Kirby Puckett. You can't take your eyes off him. He swings viciously and aggressively, like a lefthanded version of Puckett. He runs fast and furiously, like Pete Rose. And he throws like Vladimir Guerrero in his prime.
The Dodgers and Nationals were tied 1-1 in the ninth inning, when both teams scored two runs. I wondered, "How can this get any better?" Then Matt Kemp hit a walk-off home run. As he circled the bases, fans chanted "M-V-P! M-V-P!" That election is five months away, but his constituency has spoken.
Two nights later, with the Twins at Angel Stadium, I got to see the player that MLB.com had ranked as the game's No. 1 prospect this year, one spot ahead of Harper.
