Thomas William Harkness (born December 23, 1937) is a Canadian 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 professiona ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

, who 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) ...

(MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

and

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 leagu ...

. The native of

Lachine, Quebec Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was an autonomous city until the municipal mergers in 2002. History Lachine, apparently from the French term ' ...

, threw and batted

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

and was listed as tall and (13

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

Baseball career

Harkness was signed by the

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

before the season. He was traded by the Phillies on April 5, 1957 along with a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

Ron Negray Ronald Alvin Negray (February 26, 1930 – November 8, 2018) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 66 games in Major League Baseball over four seasons between and for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Do ...

Elmer Valo Elmer William Valo (March 5, 1921 – July 19, 1998), born Imrich Valo, was a Slovak American professional baseball right fielder, coach, and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Playing in the majo ...

, a minor league player and $75,000 to the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

in exchange for Chico Fernandez, with the Phillies completing the trade on April 8 when they sent

Ben Flowers Bennett Flowers (June 15, 1927 – February 18, 2009) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for four teams between and . During his playing days, Flowers stood tall, weighed and batted and threw r ...

to the Dodgers.Tim Harkness
Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed September 24, 2008.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Harkness made his Major League Baseball debut on September 12, 1961 against the Phillies, working out a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

in five pitches against pitcher

Chris Short Christopher Joseph Short (September 19, 1937 – August 1, 1991), nicknamed "Styles", was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1959–1972), and Milwaukee Brewers ( ...

as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter 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, American ...

in the ninth inning in a 19–10 loss at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was ...

. He finished the 1961 season with four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

(including two doubles) in eight

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s, for a .500

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

. In the season, he appeared in 92 games for the Dodgers, with nine hits (including two doubles and two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s) in 62 at bats, and seven

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 ...

. He hit the first home run of his career on April 17 in the top of the second inning against Mike McCormick to drive in

Daryl Spencer Daryl Dean Spencer (July 13, 1928 – January 2, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and infielder who played shortstop, second base and third base in Major League Baseball between and for the New York / San Francisco Gi ...

, as part of an 8–7 win over 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 ...

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

New York Mets

He was traded by the Dodgers to the

on November 30, together with

Larry Burright Larry Allen Burright (born July 10, 1937 in Roseville, Illinois) is a retired American professional baseball player and former second baseman and shortstop. He appeared in 159 games played in Major League Baseball between and for the Los Ange ...

, in exchange for Bob Miller. In the season with the Mets, Harkness played in 123 games, achieving 79 hits (including 12 doubles, three triples with 10 home runs) in 375 at bats, for a .211 batting average, together with 41 RBI. His seven times

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

that season tied him for eighth among

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 ...

batters. On April 17, 1964, Harkness led off for the Mets in the bottom of the first inning, collecting a single off

Bob Friend Robert Bartmess Friend (November 24, 1930 – February 3, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A f ...

in the third inning to become the first Mets player to bat and the first to get a hit in the team's initial game played at new

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.

as part of a 4–3 loss to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

.Mets Club Firsts

. Accessed September 24, 2008. With the 1964 Mets, he appeared in 39 games and getting 33 hits in 117 at bats (including two doubles, a triple and two home runs) for a .282 batting average, and 13 RBI. On July 28, after Harkness went one-for-four as the Mets' first baseman in a 9–0 loss to the Dodgers, he was traded to the

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 ...

for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Bobby Klaus and assigned to Triple-A

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. He played at the Triple-A level for the rest of his pro career, retiring after the 1966 season at age 28.

Career summary and retirement

In 259 big-league

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

through all or parts of four seasons, Harkness collected 132

, with 18 doubles and four triples accompanying his 14 home runs. He batted .235 overall.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkness, Tim 1937 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Atlanta Crackers players Baseball people from Quebec Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Cedar Rapids Raiders players Columbus Jets players Des Moines Bruins players Green Bay Bluejays players Kokomo Dodgers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Canada Montreal Royals players New York Mets players Olean Oilers players People from Lachine, Quebec San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Diego Padres scouts Spokane Indians players Baseball players from Montreal Victoria Rosebuds players