College of Southern Nevada baseball coach Tim Chambers says Bryce Harper is doing well in the junior college environment, despite leaving high school after his sophomore year.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 | 10:32 a.m.
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College of Southern Nevada baseball coach Tim Chambers on Tuesday disputed an Internet report that he has been offered a scouting or coaching job in the Washington Nationals organization.
Washington scouts and other management personnel have become fixtures at the school this spring in evaluating Bryce Harper, the Coyotes' power-hitting catcher who is expected to be the first overall pick in next month's draft by the Nationals.
SI.com's Jon Heyman reported Monday that Harper might not be the lone member of the junior college program to join the professional organization. But Chambers, the veteran Coyotes coach who has led the program since it debuted in 1999, said those reports are inaccurate.
"That's pretty funny," Chambers said. "I have never been offered a job by them. Those reports are wrong."
Chambers said he is friends with Washington assistant general manager Roy Clark, but called reports of him accepting or being offered a job false. Chambers worked as a bird-dog scout — a freelance scout of sorts who is paid only if a draft selection he recommends reaches the big leagues — for nearly 10 years with the Atlanta Braves when Clark was their scouting director.
Clark has been part of the contingent scouting Harper. The report says the connection to Harper is unrelated, claiming the Nationals have become impressed with Chambers' coaching style and ability to evaluate talent.
Harper, who left Las Vegas High last spring after his sophomore season for better competition on the junior college ranks, has continued to impress. The 17-year-old leads the Coyotes in virtually all offensive categories, batting .417 with 21 home runs and 64 RBIs. He has stolen 16 bases in 19 attempts.
Harper was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated last June, documenting his hitting exploits — an estimated 570-foot home run as a high school freshman and .626 average with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs as a sophomore.
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