Harold Craig Reynolds (born November 26, 1960) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and current television

sports commentator In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

. 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 (A ...

as a second baseman from to , most prominently as a member of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

where, he was a two-time All-Star player and a three-time

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

winner. He also played for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...

. In 1991, Reynolds was named the recipient of the prestigious

Roberto Clemente Award The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fan ...

. After his playing career, he became a four-time

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winning television baseball analyst, working for the

MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox C ...

and

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

Early career

High school

Born in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

, Reynolds was raised in Corvallis and starred in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and baseball at Corvallis High School. He was a member of the state championship (AAA) football team in 1978, graduated in 1979, and was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1998. He was a member of Corvallis' American Legion baseball team that won state and regional titles in August 1978.

College

Although Reynolds was selected in the 6th round of the 1979 MLB draft by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

on June 5, he opted not to sign and attended college initially at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

before transferring to Cañada College in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

. In the 1980 MLB draft on June 3, Reynolds was selected in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the amateur draft (Secondary Phase) by the Seattle Mariners. On June 1, 2013, Reynolds was inducted into the Cañada College Hall of Fame and was presented with the "Colts Lifetime Achievement Award".

Professional career

Reynolds spent several seasons in the

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 N ...

, playing for the

Wausau Timbers The Wausau Timbers were a minor league baseball team, located in Wausau, Wisconsin. The Timbers were members of the Class A Midwest League from 1975 to 1990. The franchise was sold in 1991 and moved to Geneva, Illinois, where it became the Kane Co ...

(A) in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in 1981, Lynn Sailors (AA) in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in 1982, and

Salt Lake Gulls The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

(AAA) in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

in 1983, prior to his major league debut on September 2, 1983. During his time in the minors, Reynolds learned how to switch hit by working with minor league manager and former

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

catcher

Bill Plummer William Francis Plummer (born March 21, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and manager, and current hitting coach for the Redding Colt 45s. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in 1968 and then from 1970 to 1978, ...

. The following season, he played AAA ball in Salt Lake before being called up again in September 1984. The 1985 season was his official rookie season in Major League Baseball when he played for the Seattle Mariners. Reynolds was an All-Star in and , led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s with 60 in 1987, in triples with 11 in 1988, and in at-bats with 642 in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

. He was the only player other than

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

to lead the American League in stolen bases during any season in the 1980s. On defense, Reynolds won three

s and led the American League in assists and

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Lea ...

s five times each. In 1986, he played in Puerto Rico with the Mayagüez Indians. On September 30, 1990, Reynolds was the last man to bat at Comiskey Park. In 1991, Reynolds won the

, given annually to a Major League Baseball player selected for his character and charitable contributions to his community. On Oct. 26, 1992, Reynolds was granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

and signed with the

that December. After one season with the Orioles, he again entered free agency on Oct. 29, 1993. Reynolds signed with the

on Jan. 28, 1994, before being traded to the

that March for

Hilly Hathaway Hillary Houston Hathaway (born September 12, 1969) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Career Drafted by the California Angels in the 35th round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft, Hathaway made his Major League Baseball deb ...

. The 1994 season was Reynolds' final season in the major leagues. Reynolds led the league in

double plays In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

turned by a second baseman five times and in errors committed by a second baseman four times, and won three

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in b ...

awards for his play at second base.

Broadcasting

Reynolds joined

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

in 1996 as a lead studio analyst on '' Baseball Tonight''. He appeared at major baseball events on the ESPN set including the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

and the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

. He also was a commentator for ESPN's coverage of the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

and

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

. However, he was fired from the network in July 2006 following accusations of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fr ...

. Reynolds called the incident "a total misunderstanding" and that a hug he had given a woman had been misinterpreted. Reynolds filed a $5 million lawsuit against ESPN for payment of the remainder of his contract. ESPN settled the case with Reynolds in April 2008, and paid him a seven-figure sum. Reynolds joined MLB.com as a commentator in June 2007. In April 2008, he joined Mets pre-game and post-game coverage on

SportsNet New York SportsNet New York (SNY) is an American regional sports network owned by Sterling Entertainment Enterprises, LLC, itself a joint venture between the Fred Wilpon (which owns a controlling 65% interest) Sterling Equities, Charter Communications ...

as a baseball commentator. Reynolds also worked with TBS on their Sunday baseball telecasts, as well as the 2008 MLB Playoffs. Reynolds has been an analyst on

since its launch in January 2009. Reynolds regularly appears on '' MLB Tonight'', ''

Quick Pitch This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. ...

'', ''Diamond Demo'' and MLB Network's breaking news and special event coverage, including the All-Star Game, Postseason and World Series. He was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award for his work as a studio analyst on MLB Network in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Reynolds became a member of the ''

MLB on Fox ''MLB on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox MLB'') is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports, the sports division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), since June 1, 1996. The broadcaster has aired the W ...

'' pregame show in 2012, which at the time was being produced out of MLB Network's studios. Reynolds worked on Fox's pregame show for two years alongside

Matt Vasgersian Matt Vasgersian ( '; born 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and FOX Sports. In the past, he has served as an an ...

and

Kevin Millar Kevin Charles Millar (; born September 24, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and is a current analyst for MLB Network. He played in MLB for the Florida Marli ...

. After the 2013 season, Reynolds, along with Tom Verducci, was promoted to join Joe Buck on the network's top broadcast team following the retirement of lead analyst

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardina ...

, which lasted for two seasons until they were replaced by John Smoltz in 2016. During the offseason, Reynolds co hosts the daily morning show ''Hot Stove'' with Vasgersian.

Personal life

Reynolds is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

and is the youngest of eight children. His brother Don Reynolds is a former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who played parts of two seasons with the

.Fred McMane, United Press International
Wolverines Popular in Baseball Draft
June 6, 1979

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Harold 1960 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars American League stolen base champions Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Oregon Calgary Cannons players California Angels players Cañada Colts baseball players Corvallis High School (Oregon) alumni Gold Glove Award winners Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Lynn Sailors players Major League Baseball second basemen MLB Network personalities New York Mets announcers Omaha Royals players Salt Lake City Gulls players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Corvallis, Oregon Sportspeople from Eugene, Oregon Wausau Timbers players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players