Majors just a memory for Harper

Brett Harper has never played in the big leagues, but he's already experienced winning a World Series.

The 51s' first baseman/designated hitter was on the field in 1991 when his father, former major league catcher Brian Harper, helped lead the Minnesota Twins to a World Series title.

"I remember everything," Brett Harper said. "I was on the field when they won it and around (my father) in the locker room.

"I was running around the locker room since I was a little guy. It was a good time. It was where I learned to play baseball."

The 6-foot-4-inch, 245-pound Harper said he still talks baseball with his father -- a catching instructor in the San Francisco Giants organization -- every day, mostly about the mental side of the game and how to handle failure.

"You're going to fail seven times out of 10 if you're great," Harper said. "The great ones know how to handle failure. That really separates guys, being mentally prepared to play every day."

Harper, still waiting for his first promotion to the majors in his ninth year of professional baseball, said the key to success is keeping an even keel.

"This game can humble you real quick," he said. "I try to stay even during the year and not let myself get too high or too low."

Harper, 27, hit .315 with 20 home runs for Fresno last year, his first in Triple A, and has belted 80 homers in his last three full seasons -- including a career-high 36, with 102 RBIs, in 2005.

Harper, who has a .299 career average, has started this year strong, hitting safely in 11 of his first 13 games, including Thursday's 6-3 loss to Fresno at Cashman Field.

He went 1-for-4 with an RBI single to lift his average to .304 (14-for-46) and has three doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs.

"He's been outstanding to this point. He's a professional hitter," 51s batting coach Ken Joyce said. "He certainly understands what he needs to do. He makes the adjustments. ... It's nice when a guy knows his swing well enough he can fix it."

Joyce said Harper has what it takes to reach the majors.

"When you get to this point, if you can play in Double A and Triple A, then you've got a chance to play in the big leagues," Joyce said. "It's a matter of getting a break. That's all he's waiting for. He'll get his opportunity."

But Harper, a former 45th-round draft pick of the New York Mets, said he won't be too upset if he doesn't realize his dream.

"Hopefully, one day, somebody will give me a chance," said Harper, who is married with a daughter. "If not, no big deal. You're not going to play baseball forever.

"There are more important things in life than baseball: family and God. I'll be just fine without baseball."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.