Joey Gallo and Bryce Harper have become two of the biggest names in Major League Baseball.

But the history between the Texas Rangers first baseman and Washington Nationals right fielder dates back much father than their playing days as professionals.

Gallo and Harper grew up together in Las Vegas, Nev. (along with Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs). Together, they once formed one of the most fearsome duos the youth baseball world has ever known.

Before hitting the field in Houston prior to Bartolo Colon's flirtation with perfection against the Astros on Sunday, Gallo recounted a story of their younger days together while talking to ESPN Radio's Jon Sciambi.

For about three years, according to Gallo, his younger self was the personal catcher of Harper due to the fact that the future NL MVP threw so hard that no one else on the team could catch him. But on one fateful day, even Gallo (at eight or nine years old) couldn't handle Harper's heat.

We'll let Gallo take over the storytelling from here.

Gallo: "There was one game we were playing in Vegas, and he just struck out to end the inning and I could see he was pretty upset. So, I'm like, 'Oh, ok. Here we go.' You know? And I didn't really know what I was doing behind there. I was just able, had the ability to catch a guy throwing hard."

"I think first pitch is wild, next pitch comes in - he's not even looking when he's throwing. His head's snapping the other way. [Throws the next pitch] right in the dirt, and I try to just scoop it - no idea what I'm actually doing trying to block. Hits me in the ribs. Take my helmet off, I'm crying, coming out of the game, coach comes up to me, takes me out to the stands and my mom gets me some ice cream. His mom's sitting there feeling bad. And after that I obviously never caught again."

"My parents were like, 'No more of that. You're playing short. You're playing third.' So, that was it for my catching career, so you can thank Bryce Harper for that one. I remember it like it was yesterday - the exact field, the exact ice cream I had, everything. It's a funny memory."

Things still worked out pretty well for Gallo despite the premature end to his time behind the plate. Gallo tweeted an old photo in 2014 of the two playing together - oddly enough, Harper was the one donning the catcher's gear.

Way back in the day when me and @Bharper3407 were 8 and 9 years old! #TBT #moundvisit pic.twitter.com/Sgauqhap9P — Joey Gallo (@JoeyGallo24) January 16, 2014

The two met on the same field as professionals for the first time in June 2017, and incidentally nearly recreated the photo while standing at first base.

The power both Gallo and Harper displayed as kids has only grown as they blossomed into big leaguers. Both homered on Monday night with Gallo mashing a 430-foot blast into Tropicana Field's "D" ring, while Harper broke his bat into two pieces while going yard against the New York Mets.