Friday, June 4, 2010

Bryce Harper: Bad Attitude or Just Extraverted?

Front page of YouTube today has a clip of likely #1 pick Bryce Harper using his bat to mark a line in the dirt after striking out. Sort of an obnoxious way to tell the ump that strike 3 was actually outside.

This incident isn't helping this kid, who already has been tagged by some scouts as having "bad makeup". But is an attitude problem, or is he being singled out for being a little extraverted?



Unlike last year's #1, Stephen Strasburg, who is a big-time introvert, Harper strikes me as ESTP, as are Rickey Henderson, Danny Ainge, and A-Rod according to Niednagel. Don't agree with all of Niednagel's assessments, but these three seem dead on. ESTPs have a habit of playing like punks, and they don't win the character awards ISTPs do, who are often credited with having a better attitude, when they're really just keeping things inside. I even see it in Little League where ExTPs are more likely to fist pump and shout when they make a big play or get a big hit. They're letting out energy, and to take it as a sign of some kind of bad attitude or bad sportsmanship is a big mistake.

While ESTPs can look like punks on the outside, but they often play on championship teams, especially in baseball, and are not the headcases they can appear to be based on certain instances. Harper's antics look typical for a 17 year old ESTP, especially a successful one, and give no indication that he's another discipline problem like Milton Bradley or a soft player who will get contractitis after a big payday like Carl Pavano or Brian Roberts.

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