Hassan, now the Minnesota Twins’ vice president of hitting development and acquisitions, was a prospect with the Boston Red Sox. But even then, he recalled Trout and Harper having “undeniable, explosive tools that just looked different than anyone I had ever seen.”

They also had wildly different personalities. Hassan described Trout as “extremely laid back, personable, and fun-loving.” He recalled a postgame bus ride in which they recapped how they did at the plate.

“Mike asked if I had any hits that day and I responded something to the effect of, ‘1 for 3 with a single. How about you?’ ” Hassan said. “Mike responded, ‘0 for 4,’ and then he paused for a second before saying, ‘Sac fly, though. I’ll take that RBI.’ And that was Mike. He seemed borderline incapable of getting down on himself.”

Harper projected similar self-confidence, just in a more intense way.

As an amateur, he was a baseball prodigy. He grew up in Las Vegas but played for travel teams in tournaments across the country. And he famously appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated at age 16 as baseball’s equivalent to LeBron James.

It all translated into an uncommon competitiveness. While other players in the Fall League weren’t eager to face, say, Gerrit Cole, Hassan recalled that Harper “couldn’t wait to see how he would stack up against another No. 1 overall pick.”

But while Hassan found Harper — at 18, the Scorpions’ youngest player — to be “uber confident” and laser-focused, he also was refreshingly eager to blend in.

“I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was a fantastic teammate,” Hassan said. “He seemed to have a nickname for just about every guy on the team early on. I was ‘Hass’ almost from Day 1.”

Likewise, Kendrick and Gosselin had preconceived ideas about Harper before they teamed up with him. Because Harper oozes emotion and plays with flare, opponents tended to brand him as cocky, a look-at-me star in a team-oriented sport.

The reality was different.

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