Seventeen

What were you doing at 17 years old?

Me? I had just finished my junior season of high school baseball, wearing a jersey two sizes too big and hoping the throw I made from third base ended up somewhere near first.

So what was 17-year-old Joseph Contreras doing on Friday night?

Oh, nothing crazy. Just facing Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge back-to-back in his World Baseball Classic debut.

Touching 98 miles per hour with his fastball and freezing Harper with an inside changeup, the high school senior and Vanderbilt University commit calmly turned Judge’s bat into kindling and escaped a bases-loaded jam with a scoreless inning against arguably the best lineup ever assembled.

According to Sarah Langs, the Brazil team became just the second team in tournament history to use both a player under 18 — Contreras — and a player over 40 in the same game. That veteran? Tiago da Silva, whose fastball still touched 88 mph, nearly batting practice speed against the star-studded United States lineup.

But let’s get back to the 17-year-old.

His fastball already looks big-league ready, and he’s developing a forkball like his father, former MLB pitcher José Contreras. Earlier in the day he was probably finishing homework. That night he was pitching on the same field where his dad won the 2005 World Series with the Chicago White Sox.

And there he was, throwing high cheese to Judge — arguably the most dangerous hitter on the planet.

But the moment that stood out most came against Harper. Contreras first missed badly with a changeup. Harper didn’t even flinch. The next pitch? Harper sat dead red on the fastball.

Contreras doubled up.

The changeup painted the inside corner, and Harper never moved the bat from his shoulder.

Seventeen years old.

Think about that.

In my mind, what Contreras did rivals some of the wildest moments in sports history. Watching him calmly navigate that inning almost made Miracle on Ice feel routine.

Maybe that’s exaggeration. Maybe not.

But what the World Baseball Classic brings to baseball — and sports in general — is unmatched.

This United States roster might be the biggest Goliath baseball has ever seen. The 1927 New York Yankees? This lineup makes them look like a Little League squad.

As I’m typing this, manager Mark DeRosa just inserted Pete Crow-Armstrong as a late defensive replacement.

Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 home runs last season — the most ever by a catcher — is batting sixth.

And the “rookie” in the lineup?

Just Roman Anthony, starting in left field in Game 1 of pool play.

This might be the greatest roster ever assembled in sports.

For Team USA, it’s win or bust.

So buckle up and enjoy the next two weeks of baseball.

The World Baseball Classic is like your parents letting you eat ice cream before dinner — sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and the cherry on top.

And the main course?

That arrives in about 30 days.

It’s called Opening Day.