Greg A. Harris
| Greg Harris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: November 2, 1955 Lynwood, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 21, 1981, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1995, for the Montreal Expos | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 74–90 |
| Earned run average | 3.69 |
| Strikeouts | 1,141 |
| Teams | |
Greg Allen Harris (born November 2, 1955) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 years (1981–1995), Harris pitched in 703 career games, starting 98. He pitched for the San Diego Padres in the 1984 World Series, which they lost to the Detroit Tigers in five games.
Though he spent his career as a right-handed pitcher, Harris threw left-handed to two batters in a 1995 game (the penultimate game of his career), becoming the first switch pitcher to pitch in a Major League game in the modern era.
Harris also was unusual in that, for periods during 1991–93 pitching for the Boston Red Sox, he achieved success while throwing curve balls almost exclusively.
Early career
Harris attended Los Alamitos High School and then Long Beach City College. He was selected by the New York Mets in the 7th round (130th overall) of the 1976 January Amateur Baseball Draft.
Switch pitcher
A natural right-hander, by 1986 Harris could throw well enough left-handed that he felt he could pitch with either hand in a game, but his team would not allow this, keeping him from being a legitimate ambidextrous major league pitcher. Harris wasn't allowed to throw lefty in a regular season game until September 28, 1995, his penultimate game with the
Personal life
His son, Greg Harris Jr., was drafted by the
During his career, Harris was often known as Greg A. Harris to differentiate him from fellow pitcher Greg W. Harris, whose career he overlapped.
See also
- Pat Venditte, a major league pitcher who pitched with either hand
- Tony Mullane, a dead-ball-era pitcher who routinely switch-pitched
References
- ^ By Doug Miller / MLB.com. "Left Field | MLB.com". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ 2013 MLB Draft: Dodgers sign Greg Harris for over slot, per report
- ^ Stephen, Eric (November 20, 2014). "Dodgers acquire Joel Peralta, Adam Liberatore in 4-player trade with Rays". truebluela.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Greg Harris at Ultimate Mets Database
- Box score from Harris' ambidextrous game, Sept. 28, 1995