Phillies' Bryce Harper had his crowning moment in WBC — at least for a few minutes

Every bit of the hype led to this swing.

Bryce Harper was the teenage phenom who enrolled in junior college early so he could get drafted early so he could start on his professional baseball path that had been written in the stars from an age earlier than most prodigies are identified.

And really, when you examine most of Harper's career, he has matched or exceeded the hype.

He's one of the best hitters of his generation.

It's hard to ask for more.

Except in this World Baseball Classic, Team USA found itself consistently asking for more.

Harper wasn't delivering.

Until his last at bat of the tournament, with the U.S.

down 2-0 to Venezuela, in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs.

Harper got a pitch out over the plate, extended his arms, and drove through the baseball.

He didn't miss it.

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As most reading this will realize, the U.S.

didn't go on to win the game.

In the next half inning, Venezuela scored, and three outs later, Team USA had finished runner-up for a second consecutive WBC.

That doesn't mean it can be ignored, though.

Baseball doesn't always work out the way you draw it up.

But on this one swing, Harper's entire career had reached the moment it was destined for.

And as that baseball soared through the air, and as Harper watched it and then flipped his bat as far as he ever has, the hype had been fully realized.

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Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News.

He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News.

His sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle