Greg A. Harris

Greg Harris
Greg Harris
	Pitcher
	Born: November 2, 1955; Lynwood, California
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
	New York Mets (1981); Cincinnati Reds (1982–1983); Montreal Expos (1984); San Diego Padres (1984); Texas Rangers (1985–1987); Philadelphia Phillies (1988–1989); Boston Red Sox (1989–1994); New York Yankees (1994); Montreal Expos (1995);

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 to 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

Greg attended Los Alamitos High School and then Long Beach City College. He was selected by the New York Mets in 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 Montreal Expos. In the ninth inning, Harris retired Reggie Sanders pitching right-handed, then switched to his left hand for the next two hitters, Hal Morris and Ed Taubensee, who both batted lefty. Harris walked Morris but got Taubensee to ground out. He then went back to his right hand to retire Bret Boone to end the inning. Harris's glove, which was custom built with an extra thumb so that it could be worn on either hand, is now on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.[1]

Personal life

His son, Greg Harris, Jr., was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2013 MLB Draft and was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in November 2014.[2][3]

During his career, Harris was often known as Greg A. Harris to differentiate him from fellow pitcher Greg W. Harris, whose career he overlapped.

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

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[1] By Doug Miller / MLB.com. "Left Field | MLB.com". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.

[2] 2013 MLB Draft: Dodgers sign Greg Harris for over slot, per report

[3] Stephen, Eric (November 20, 2014). "Dodgers acquire Joel Peralta, Adam Liberatore in 4-player trade with Rays". truebluela.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.