Bryce Harper is profiled in this month's edition of GQ by former Deadspin majordomo Will Leitch, and it's certainly an arresting piece of work.
For a start, it opens with Harper using a four-letter word that none of us learned in school (not officially, anyway). We believe it's the first time we've ever heard Harper swear on the record. Leitch also calls Harper the "Mozart child prodigy of the great game," which makes a lot of sense because Mozart also had a knack for being a brash, young talent and rubbing people the wrong way. (At least he did if you believe Amadeus).
But as with any piece concerning Harper, what makes it great are the quotes from the man himself, like this one from after his first batting practice.
"[Bleep] it, I'm done." Harper shakes his hands vigorously and shoves them into a pile of infield dirt adjacent to the cage. "I didn't know I was hitting today, and I don't have my goddamned gloves," he says. "It hurts like a dick."
And then there's this:
He tells me Pete Rose, a.k.a. Charlie Hustle, is his favorite player and that "I want to play the game hard. I want to ram it down your throat, put you into left field when I'm going into second base."
And we ask you again, Nationals fans: how can you not love this kid?