Gene Harris (baseball) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gene Harris |
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Harris in 1988
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| Relief pitcher | |||
| Born: December 5, 1964 Sebring, Florida, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 5, 1989, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| June 24, 1995, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 12–18 | ||
| Earned run average | 4.71 | ||
| Strikeouts | 170 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Tyrone Eugene Harris, known as Gene Harris, is an American former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of seven seasons. His career in the big leagues lasted from 1989 to 1995.
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Gene Harris's Early Life
Gene Harris graduated from Okeechobee High School in 1982. After high school, he went to Tulane University. At Tulane, he was a talented athlete who played both football and baseball.
He received a scholarship to play football for the Tulane Green Wave team. The plan was for him to also play on the baseball team. However, due to changes in the coaching staff, he was only able to play one season of college baseball.
Gene Harris's Baseball Career
Starting in the Pros
Gene Harris was chosen by the Montreal Expos in the fifth round of the 1986 baseball draft. This was his first step into professional baseball.
He made it to the major leagues with the Montreal Expos at the start of the 1989 season. However, he was sent down to a Triple-A team in early May of that year.
Later in May, he was part of a big trade. The Expos traded Harris, along with future star pitcher Randy Johnson and Brian Holman, to the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Expos received Mark Langston. Langston left the Expos as a free agent after that season.
Time with the Mariners and Padres
During his time with the Seattle Mariners, Harris often moved between the Mariners' main team and their Triple-A minor league team.
In May 1992, he left the Mariners to attend his stepfather's funeral. He did not return to the team when he was expected. His agent told the team that Harris wanted to stop playing baseball. He was thinking about trying to play in the National Football League.
However, Harris only stayed away from baseball for two weeks. After that short break, he was traded to the San Diego Padres.
Best Season and Later Years
Gene Harris had the best year of his career in 1993 while playing for the San Diego Padres. That season, he recorded 23 saves. A save is when a pitcher finishes a close game and helps their team win.
During the 1994 season, Harris faced some challenges. He was injured and not pitching as effectively. Because of this, he lost his role as the team's closer to Trevor Hoffman in mid-April.
In May 1994, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers. He pitched only a short amount of time for the Tigers, just 11 and 1/3 innings.
End of His MLB Career
Before the 1995 season, Harris signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent. This means he was not under contract with any team and could choose where to play.
In June 1995, he was traded again, this time to the Baltimore Orioles. He only made three appearances for the Orioles before an elbow injury sidelined him. He had surgery on his elbow in August, which ended his season. This also marked the end of his career in Major League Baseball.
Minor League Comeback
After his MLB career, Harris pitched in the minor leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 1996. He did not play baseball in 1997.
He made a brief comeback in 1998, playing for Norfolk. This team was the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. That was his last time playing professional baseball.
External Links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
