Peter Thomas Harnisch (born September 23, 1966) is an American former

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), ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in college at Fordham University from 1984 through 1987, and was an All-American pitcher. He played in

from 1988 through 2001 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 ...

, Houston Astros,

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.

Baltimore Orioles

Harnisch studied accounting, and was a star pitcher at Fordham University, compiling a 21–3 college record, 2.29

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 ...

and 213

strikeouts 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 deno ...

in 204 innings pitched. He was a supplemental first round pick (27th overall) for the

in the

1987 Major League Baseball draft The Major League Baseball Draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional con ...

. Just over a year after signing with Baltimore, Harnisch made his major league debut as a September call-up in 1988. He was 0–2 in two starts with a 5.54 ERA. He struck out Dwight Evans for his first Major League strikeout. Harnisch spent two more seasons with the Orioles, splitting both seasons between Baltimore and their triple A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings.

Houston Astros

In a transaction considered by Orioles fans as the worst in team history according to Thom Loverro, Harnisch was traded along with

Steve Finley Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks; he is one of only two play ...

and

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

to the Houston Astros for Glenn Davis on January 10, 1991. He joined an Astros organization that was for sale and lightening its payroll by going with younger, inexpensive players. Harnisch suffered from a lack of run support upon his arrival in Houston. Despite leading the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL) with a 2.22 ERA, his record stood at 5–7 leading into the 1991 MLB All-Star Game. NL manager

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

added Harnisch to his squad regardless of his losing record, and Harnisch pitched a scoreless sixth inning in the NL's 4–2 loss. On September 6, 1991, Harnisch threw an

immaculate inning In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning, using the minimum possible number of pitche ...

, striking out all three batters on nine total pitches in the ninth inning of a 3–1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies; he became the 17th National League pitcher and the 26th pitcher in major-league history to accomplish this feat. Harnisch went 7–2 after the break to end the season at 12–9. He led the league with a .212

batting average against In baseball statistics, batting average against (denoted by BAA or AVG), also known as opponents' batting average (denoted by OBA), is a statistic that measures a pitcher's ability to prevent hits during official at bats. It can alternatively be ...

and 7.020

hits per nine innings In baseball statistics, hits per nine innings (denoted by H/9) is the average number of hits allowed by a pitcher in a nine inning period; calculated as: (hits allowed x 9) / innings pitched. This is a measure of a pitcher's success based on the n ...

pitched. Astros manager

Art Howe Arthur Henry Howe Jr. (born December 15, 1946) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach, scout, and manager, who appeared as a player in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (–), Houston Astros (–), and ...

named Harnisch his 1992 opening day starter. Harnisch pitched well, giving up just two runs in the eighth to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, however, the Astros were held to just two hits by Braves starter

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

, and Harnish took the loss. His best season was 1993, when he went 16–9 with a 2.98 ERA and 185 strikeouts while tying the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Jack McDowell Jack Burns McDowell (born January 16, 1966) is an American former baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, McDowell played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Anaheim Angels of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Ni ...

with a major league leading four

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s and leading the NL for a second time with a .214 batting average against and 7.070 hits allowed per nine innings pitched. A torn tendon in his pitching arm caused Harnisch to miss the entire month of June 1994, and limited him to just 17 starts all season. Following the season, he was traded to the

. During his four seasons in Houston, Harnisch compiled a 45–33 record and a 3.41 ERA.

New York Mets

Harnisch's first season in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

did not go well, as he went 2–8 with a 3.68 ERA in eighteen starts. His record improved to 8–12 in 31 starts in 1996, although he drew an eight-game suspension for his part in a brawl with the Chicago Cubs on May 11. Harnisch quit chewing tobacco during Spring training 1997. Shortly afterwards, he complained to Mets trainer Fred Hina of sleeplessness and a lost appetite. Hina prescribed sleeping pills for Harnisch prior to his opening day start for the Mets against 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 ...

. After pitching five scoreless innings, Harnisch was pulled after starting the sixth inning by giving up consecutive home runs to

Chris Gomez Christopher Cory Gomez (born June 16, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He bats and throws right-handed. College career He played park league baseball in Lakewood for Mike Fahey. After playing baseball at Lakewood High School i ...

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 ...

and

Quilvio Veras Quilvio Alberto Veras Perez (born April 3, 1971) is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Atlanta Braves. Veras has coached in the minor le ...

. He was pulled from his next scheduled start on April 6, and sent back to New York for tests. Following which, he received a diagnosis of

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

. He revealed his condition in a conference call with sportswriters later that month, and began a rehabilitation program that kept him from the Mets' line-up for four months. He returned to the Mets on August 5, pitching six innings and giving up two runs 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 ...

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

. He was, however, far less effective in his next three starts, and was 0–1 with an 8.24 ERA when manager

Bobby Valentine Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1 ...

moved him into the bullpen.

Cincinnati Reds

Harnisch made three starts and one

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

appearance for Milwaukee, and signed with the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent following the season. He enjoyed something of a renaissance with the Reds in 1998, going 14–7 with a 3.14 ERA for a team that went 77–85 and finished in fourth place in the

National League Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League ...

. The club improved considerably in 1999 with Harnisch leading the club in wins (16), innings pitched (198.1) and shutouts (2). His sixteenth victory came on October 3 in the 162nd game of the season against the Brewers to improve his club's record to 96–66, and end the season tied with the Mets for the National League's wild card. The Mets won a one-game playoff at

Cinergy Field Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...

the following day. Harnisch spent two more seasons in Cincinnati. Injuries limited him to just seven starts in 2001. After sitting out the entire 2002 season, he attempted a comeback with the Reds' triple A affiliate, the Louisville Bats in 2003, but was unsuccessful.

Post-playing career

In November 2012, Harnisch was hired by the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 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 h ...

to be a roving pitching instructor.

Personal life

, Harnisch lives in

Colts Neck, New Jersey Colts Neck Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,957, down from the 10,142 counted in the 2010 census, i ...

with his wife, Donna, and two sons, Jack and Nick. Harnisch was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made s ...

on Long Island, New York, in the Baseball Category with the Class of 2009.

Career stats

References

External links

, o
Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harnisch, Pete 1966 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Houston Astros players Baltimore Orioles players New York Mets players Milwaukee Brewers players Cincinnati Reds players National League All-Stars Baseball players from New York (state) Fordham Rams baseball players People from Colts Neck Township, New Jersey People from Commack, New York Sportspeople from Queens, New York Hagerstown Suns players Bluefield Orioles players Rochester Red Wings players Charlotte Knights players Tucson Toros players St. Lucie Mets players Gulf Coast Mets players Norfolk Tides players Louisville RiverBats players Louisville Bats players