Leonard Anthony Harris (born October 28, 1964) is an American former

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 ...

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

. Listed at 5' 10", 195 lb., Harris batted

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. He is best known for holding the record for the most pinch hits in a Major League career, with 212.

Professional career

Harris was the

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

' fifth-round pick in the 1983 amateur draft. He made his major league debut with the Reds in . He batted .372 in 16 games with Cincinnati in 1988. He played 61 games with the Reds in ; his batting average that year with the Reds was .223, and he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with

Kal Daniels Kalvoski Daniels (born August 20, 1963) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1992 for the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs.Tim Leary and

Mariano Duncan Mariano Duncan Nalasco (born March 13, 1963) is a Dominican former second baseman and shortstop who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and ...

. Harris played with the Dodgers through the season, playing in at least 107 games each season. 1993 was also the year when he started doing more

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

ting. He never hit more than 3

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in any given year until , but while with the Dodgers he did have several good seasons at the plate; he batted .304 in and .287 in . He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

after the 1993 season, at which point he re-signed with Cincinnati, where he continued to play until he was traded to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in . Harris pitched once for the Reds, on June 1, 1998. It was the first time a Reds position player had been used as a pitcher in ten years. In 1998, he batted .295 with the Reds in 57 games, but after joining the Mets, he batted only .232 and did not re-sign with the Mets the following year, instead opting to sign with the Colorado Rockies. He hit well (.297 in 158 at-bats) with Colorado, but was traded to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

for minor leaguer Belvani Martinez after 91 games there. He went 11-for-29 in 19 games with the Diamondbacks; he remained in Arizona for the first two months of the season, when he was traded back to the Mets for pitcher Bill Pulsipher. He finished the 2000 season with the Mets and also spent the season there. In 2001, he broke MLB's career pinch hits record, previously held by

Manny Mota Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo, more commonly known as Manny Mota (born February 18, 1938), is a Dominican Republic, Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played 20 seasons for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montr ...

(150). Note, the 150-mark has also been surpassed by Mark Sweeney (175). The season proved successful for Harris. He batted .305 in 122 games with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

at the age of 37, showing that he would still be able to play for several more years. He started the season with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, with whom he played 75 games before being released and signing with 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 ...

. He was on the Marlins' championship team in the

2003 World Series The 2003 World Series (also known as the Centennial World Series) was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 Major League Baseball season, 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-s ...

. Although he batted just .193 in the 2003 campaign, he re-signed for one year with the Marlins in . Although he had said that he would retire after the 2004 season, he re-signed for another year with the Marlins in and said that he would return for the season. However, the Marlins released him during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2006.

Coaching career

After his release, he became the infield coordinator 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 ...

, and eventually, the hitting coach. He was fired by the Nationals on September 28, , after less than two seasons on the job. On October 24, 2008, Harris became the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

minor league hitting instructor at Camelback Ranch, the team's

facility. In 2011, he was the hitting coach for the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Hist ...

. After serving as a coach for the

Gulf Coast League Marlins The Florida Complex League Marlins are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Miami Marlins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Marlins. The team plays i ...

, he became the assistant hitting coach of the

Miami 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

and later became the third base coach of the

. He was let go by the Marlins after the 2016 season. For the 2017 season, Harris returned to the Reds as a coach for their Arizona league affiliate. In 2025, he was named bench coach of the

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Minor League Baseball#Single-A, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie R ...

the Single-A affiliate of the

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Lenny 1964 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Miami Billings Mustangs players Cedar Rapids Reds players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Florida Marlins players Glens Falls Tigers players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players New York Mets players Sports coaches from Miami Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Vermont Reds players Washington Nationals coaches 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen