he's going to a jc to play ball, his brother is transferring there to "mentor" him, but he will still be able to go to dances/social things with his highschool class.
the reason this is even an issue is that baseball prospects from outside the united states can and do reguarly sign contracts with multi-million dollar bonuses at 15, 16, 17 years old. his (and his family's) contention is that he is basically being "punished" for being from america, not the DR or another similar country with lots of young talented prospects.
in other sports that have large leagues in europe such as soccer, basketball, athletes are able to sign pro contracts at very young ages. soccer is a classic example, signing kids to youth acadamies at ridiculously young ages, and then letting them turn pro so young. even freddy adu got to do that and he is a us citizen playing in a us based league when he did.
or look at ricky rubio. projected top 5 nba draft pick has been playing pro ball since he was 14 years old. you don't think it was better for his athletic progression to be playing pro ball instead of the aau 14 and under he would have been forced to play here?
figure skaters, gymnasts, and athletes in other sports that represent the us on a world stage are basically "washed up" when they hit hs graduation age. it is more common for a 15 year old to make the olympic gymnastics team than a 19 year old.
Harper may be a douche (way to go Judge Memorial, that will be a story to tell your kids someday if he becomes a big league star!), but if other kids younger than him can have the opportunity to be paid to play pro ball, why should he have to wait until he reaches the arbitrary age? it is a double standard, and if he thinks he is good enough, they should let him try and prove it.
