Lenny Harris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lenny Harris |
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Harris as Nationals hitting coach
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| Third baseman / Outfielder / Second baseman | |||
| Born: October 28, 1964 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 7, 1988, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 1, 2005, for the Florida Marlins | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .269 | ||
| Home runs | 37 | ||
| Runs batted in | 369 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Leonard Anthony Harris, born on October 28, 1964, is a former American baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a utility infielder. This means he could play many different positions in the infield. Lenny Harris was known for batting left-handed and throwing right-handed. He is most famous for holding the MLB record for the most pinch hits in a career, with 212. A pinch hit happens when a player bats in place of another player.
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Lenny Harris's Baseball Career
Lenny Harris began his professional baseball journey after being chosen by the Cincinnati Reds. This happened in the fifth round of the 1983 amateur draft. He made his first appearance in the major leagues with the Reds in 1988.
Early Years with the Reds and Dodgers
In 1988, Harris played 16 games for the Reds. He had a very good batting average of .372. The next year, in 1989, he played 61 games for the Reds. Later that year, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Harris played for the Dodgers until the 1993 season. During these years, he played in at least 107 games each season. In 1993, he started to become a regular pinch hitter. He had some strong seasons with the Dodgers. For example, he batted .304 in 1990 and .287 in 1991. He usually did not hit many home runs, hitting more than 3 only once in a year until 1996.
Moving Between Teams
After the 1993 season, Harris became a free agent. He decided to sign again with the Cincinnati Reds. He stayed with the Reds until 1998. In June 1998, he even pitched in one game for the Reds. This was unusual because he was an everyday player, not a pitcher.
In 1998, Harris was traded to the New York Mets. He batted well with the Reds that year, but his batting average dropped after joining the Mets. He did not stay with the Mets the next year. Instead, he signed with the Colorado Rockies. He played well for the Rockies, batting .297. However, he was traded again after 91 games to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Harris played for the Diamondbacks for a short time in 1999 and 2000. In 2000, he was traded back to the New York Mets. He played for the Mets through the 2001 season. In 2001, Lenny Harris broke the MLB record for career pinch hits. The old record was 150, held by Manny Mota. Harris went on to set a new record of 212 pinch hits.
Later Career and World Series Win
The 2002 season was a good one for Harris. At 37 years old, he batted .305 in 122 games for the Milwaukee Brewers. This showed he could still play at a high level. In 2003, he started the season with the Chicago Cubs. After playing 75 games, he was released and then signed with the Florida Marlins.
Lenny Harris was part of the Marlins team that won the 2003 World Series championship! Even though his batting average was lower that year, he re-signed with the Marlins for 2004. He played one more season in 2005. He had planned to retire after 2004, but decided to play another year. The Marlins released him before the 2006 season began.
Coaching Career
After his playing career ended, Lenny Harris became a baseball coach. He first worked for the Washington Nationals. He was their infield coordinator and later became their hitting coach. He left the Nationals in 2008.
In October 2008, Harris joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a hitting instructor for their minor league players. He also coached for other minor league teams, like the Great Lakes Loons. Later, he became an assistant hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. He then became the third base coach for the Marlins. He left the Marlins after the 2016 season.
In 2017, Harris returned to the Cincinnati Reds organization. He became a coach for one of their minor league teams in Arizona.
