Victor Lanier Harris (born March 27, 1950) is an American former
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 ...
utility player. He played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
from 1972 through 1980 for the
Texas Rangers,
Chicago Cubs,
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
,
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
and
Milwaukee Brewers.
Professional career
Early career
Harris was drafted in the first round of the secondary phase of the
1970 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.
''*'' Did not sign
Other notable Selections
''*'' Did not sign
References
External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...
by the
Oakland Athletics. In July 1972 he was traded to the
Texas Rangers, and made his major league debut for them the following day. He spent the rest of the season as the Rangers' regular second baseman, replacing
Lenny Randle. Harris went his first 35 at-bats without a base hit, the major league record for most consecutive at-bats at the beginning of a career by a position player without a base hit.
The following season, , the Rangers moved Harris to center field, replacing
Joe Lovitto. In his first, and what would prove to be only, season as a regular, he batted .249 with 8 home runs and 44
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
(RBI). He was traded along with
Bill Madlock
Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League b ...
from the Rangers to the
Chicago Cubs for
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins CM (born December 13, 1942) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Bo ...
on October 25, 1973. Called "the most valuable property in our organization" by his Rangers manager
Whitey Herzog
Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career.
He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 wit ...
, the switch‐hitting Harris brought to the Cubs youth, speed and the versatility to play both middle infield positions plus third base and center field.
"Padres Get McCovey," ''The New York Times'', Friday, October 26, 1973.
Retrieved November 28, 2020
Harris started the season back at second base, where he was the starter for most of the first half of the season. However, after hitting just .195 in 62 games, Harris season was ended midway through due to knee surgery. He was replaced by Dave Rosello and Billy Grabarkewitz
Billy Cordell Grabarkewitz (born January 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played seven years in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Early years
Grabarkewitz lettered in baseball, basketball, football, golf and track ...
. Harris spent on the Cubs' bench, being used mostly as a pinch hitter and batting .179. That winter, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
for infielder Mick Kelleher.
Journeyman
Harris spent the next three seasons with the Cardinals and then the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
, serving as a utilityman, playing all three outfield positions along with second base, third base, and shortstop . He was signed to a minor league contract by the Milwaukee Brewers. After a season back in the minors, Harris played in 34 games for the Brewers in 1980 to close out his major league career.
Japan
Harris became a free agent after the 1980 season, and for 1981 he signed with the Buffaloes. That season, he batted .268 with 22 home runs and 74 RBI, all of which would have been MLB career highs. The following season, while he batted .272, his power declined, and Harris totaled just 9 home runs and 35 RBI. After another decline the following season with injuries and a .198 average, Harris's Japanese career was done. He played one final season with the Louisville Redbirds
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
in the Cardinals' organization before retiring.
Overview
Harris wound up playing 579 games in the majors, and was a true utilityman. He played at least 27 games at six different positions, with the largest number, 212, coming at second base.
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet
o
Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Vic
1950 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
Baseball players from California
Birmingham A's players
Burlington Bees players
Chicago Cubs players
Coos Bay-North Bend A's players
Iowa Oaks players
Kintetsu Buffaloes players
Los Angeles Valley Monarchs baseball players
Louisville Redbirds players
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball second basemen
Milwaukee Brewers players
Phoenix Giants players
San Francisco Giants players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Texas Rangers players
Tigres de Aragua players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Vancouver Canadians players
Wichita Aeros players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
Los Angeles High School alumni