There’s a steady consensus that the turning point in Ian Happ’s baseball career — the moment he began to turn himself from a fringe prospect into a bona fide first-round talent — came in 2013 when he signed a two-week contract with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, a summer destination spot for elite college players.
Happ had just completed his freshman year at the University of Cincinnati, was only one year removed from his days at Mt. Lebanon High School and had two weeks to prove his worth.
“Going up there, facing the best of the best in the country, it’s what you need to do to further your career,” Happ said last week.