Charles "Bubba" Harris (February 15, 1926 – January 12, 2013) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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. A

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, he played in all or parts of three seasons in

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(MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics (–, ) and

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(1951). Listed as tall and , Harris was born in Sulligent, Alabama; he graduated from

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High School and attended the

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. Harris' pro career began at the age of 17 in the low

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

. He appeared in 51 games in 1943 and 1944 before entering the

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for

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service. Acquired by the Athletics in 1947, he made his major league debut the following season, when, on April 29, 1948, he retired the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

in order during the eighth inning of the Red Sox' 11–5 victory at

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br>box score: 1948-04-29
/ref> Harris went on to lead the first-division

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in games pitched with 45—all of them as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

—and tied for the team lead in saves (then an unofficial statistic), with five. He posted a 5–2 won–lost record and a 4.13

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 93 innings pitched; all would be career bests. In 1949, Harris' effectiveness diminished and his production fell off: in 37 games, he split two decisions, had three saves, and saw his ERA rise to 5.44. Harris then spent 1950 back in the minor leagues before a brief return to the majors in early 1951, working in three games for Philadelphia and two for Cleveland before rosters were cut from 28 to 25 men in mid-May. His minor league career continued into 1956. As a big-leaguer, Harris won six of nine decisions with eight saves and a 4.84 career ERA. In 87 games, all of them in relief, he permitted 190 hits and 86 bases on balls in 186 innings pitched. He

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

53. He died in Nobleton, Florida, at the age of 86.

References

External links

Obituary
at arobits.com
Note of death
at baseball-almanac.com 1926 births 2013 deaths Anniston Rams players Baseball players from Alabama Birmingham Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Gadsden Pilots players Geneva Red Birds players Havana Sugar Kings players Hornell Maples players Indianapolis Indians players Lincoln A's players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Lamar County, Alabama Philadelphia Athletics players Roanoke Red Sox players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players West Palm Beach Indians players United States Navy personnel of World War II American expatriate baseball players in Cuba American expatriate baseball players in Canada {{US-baseball-pitcher-1920s-stub

References

Further reading

External links