Before Angles outfielder Mike Trout was the consensus top all-around player in baseball, Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was considered the next big thing. He was the star who made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school catcher. While almost all the people who touted him are still extremely high on his potential, some of his luster has been lost.
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Then this picture happened.
Harper's muscles seemed like they are on the verge of ripping any shirt he might wear. He has always been a superior specimen, and has shown prodigious power, but he is looking like the Incredible Hulk these days.
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Of course, whenever a player experiences big gains in size, weight or power, steroid whispers follow. He was also spotted earlier this spring wearing a "PED Free" T-shirt, so what gives? Harper has explained his new physique.
"I didn't really have a lower body for two months," Harper said, referring to a knee injury that limited him to 118 games in 2013. Despite missing a ton of time, Harper managed to clock 20 home runs and 24 doubles, bat .274, and post a .368 on-base percentage at the age of 21.
"It was like I was in a wheelchair trying to just do the upper body. So I'd go to the gym and only be able to work my upper body. I'd get bored during the day, go to the gym. That's what I like to do, I like to lift. I work my ever-loving tail off in the gym. My workouts are very hard. I go to the gym night and day, two, three hours in the gym - and I really, really work hard. I really pride myself on going to the gym and working hard and doing it every single day and not taking a day off. That's what I do, going there and working hard and getting ready for the season."
He claims that he added more muscle in the spring, and combined with his tremendous gym workload while his leg healed, the muscles kept growing.
"I want to be ready when I get [to spring training]," Harper continued. "And then lifting during spring training also and putting on weight and things like that. Coming here I'm able to work my lower half finally, and that's nice, being able to go in and work my lower half and get squats in and do the things that I need to do to get my lower half stronger. But like I said, the first two months of the offseason all I had was my upper body and that's all I could do. So, I came in pretty big this year."
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