The Chosen One in Hagerstown: Bryce Harper’s Game-Issued 2011 Suns Jersey

Few players have arrived in pro ball with as much hype as Bryce Harper. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in June 2009, and he went on to hit .443 with 31 home runs in a single college season. The Nationals took him first overall in the 2010 draft, and he entered his first full pro season as the top-ranked prospect in Baseball America’s rankings. That season began in Hagerstown, Maryland, in the Single-A South Atlantic League, where the whole region came out to see him. This six-button white Suns home jersey was issued to Harper during that 2011 stint, one of the few uniforms from the earliest chapter of a career that would end up in Washington and Philadelphia.

He didn’t spend long there, which is a big part of what makes the jersey desirable. In 72 South Atlantic League games, Harper hit .318 with 17 doubles, 14 home runs, 46 RBI, and 19 stolen bases, earning a mid-season All-Star selection and a Player of the Week award. Within the same season he moved up to Double-A Harrisburg, and by 2012 he was in the majors. A Hagerstown jersey reflects how quickly he passed through the low minors, a short run in a small Maryland park a little over an hour from the nation’s capital. For collectors of the early years of a future MVP, a Single-A jersey from his first pro summer is among the most appealing pieces to own.