There is something about the phenom that attracts us. This is certainly true in baseball, where sizable industries have been built to provide advanced warning of "the next big thing." It's also true of the greater culture in general, where prodigies from Mozart to Rimbaud to Tiger Woods have become permanently embedded in our collective consciousness.
This, I think, has something to do with the tremendous response to the Bryce Harper signing in Philadelphia. It's been phenomenal, to say the least. Sales for Harper merchandise, particularly his new No. 3 Phillies jersey, have been breaking records.