Bryce Harper’s goal is to ‘get as big as a house’

Are you ready to see a bunch of pictures of Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper in tight shirts? Are you then ready to discuss how he looks?

You best start getting ready, because that’s definitely coming this year at Spring Training after Harper’s recent comments about gaining weight this off-season. Such is the phenomenon these days. Remember talking about whether or not Mike Trout was fat last year? That was good for at least a week of talk show fodder.

Anyhow, Harper says that he loses about 20 pounds over the course of a season and is trying to account for that in his training this year. From Anna McDonald of ESPN’s Sweet Spot blog:

"‘I’m excited to take a month off, that’s something I’m excited for, let the body rest…Let the body heal a little bit and get as big as a house. … That’s the biggest thing I try to do…’‘I want to go into spring training about 240, 245,’ said Harper, who weighed around 218 pounds at the end of the 2013. ‘I’ll lose about 20 pounds during the season.'”"

This will become a thing because Harper’s game is predicated, at least in part, on the fact that he hustles and runs fast. But as McDonald notes, many position players approach the off-season this way.

This will only be a story if Harper means that he’s going to eat nothing but cheese fries and donuts and stuff to get as “big as a house.”

"Although, most of us can better relate to Harper’s approach … adding weight in the winter.‘Yeah, that’s what I do,’ said Harper, 21. ‘My mom can cook, so that’s the best part about it.’"

Oh no.