Brandon Scott Harper (born April 29, 1976) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. His entire big league career consists of 18 games played, in .

Personal life

Harper was born in

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

on April 29, 1976. He went to high school in

Hobbs, New Mexico Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 40,508 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, increasing from 34,122 in 2010. Hobbs is the principal city of the Hobbs, New Mexico micropolitan statistical area ...

. He attended

Dallas Baptist University Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private Baptist university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst. It is affiliated with the Baptist ...

. He was the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

' 4th round selection and 126th overall selection of the

1997 Major League Baseball Draft The 1997 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections Supplemental first ...

. He is not related to Phillies first baseman

Bryce Harper Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball first baseman and right fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. One o ...

, although he does have a younger brother named Bryce. Harper now lives in Colorado with his wife and 3 kids Hope, Ellis, and Beck and works for Edward Jones.

Career

Harper spent 11 years in the minor leagues, battling a number of injuries that kept him out of big-league action. He played for both the

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

minor league system. He made his debut with the

on August 9, 2006. Both of Harper's home runs came on the same day, in an August 20 game against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

References

External links

Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Odessa, Texas 1976 births Living people Major League Baseball catchers Dallas Baptist Patriots baseball players Hobbs High School alumni Brevard County Manatees players Carolina Mudcats players Columbus Clippers players Erie SeaWolves players Gulf Coast Marlins players Kane County Cougars players New Orleans Zephyrs players Portland Sea Dogs players Toledo Mud Hens players Utica Blue Sox players {{US-baseball-catcher-1970s-stub