Tyrone Eugene Harris (born December 5, 1964) is an American 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

, 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) in all or parts of seven seasons, from to .

Early life

Harris was a 1982 graduate of

Okeechobee High School Okeechobee High School is a public high school for grades 9–12 in Okeechobee County, Florida, United States. The school belongs to the Okeechobee County School District. Notable alumni * Gene Harris, former MLB player (Montreal Expos, Seattle ...

. He attended

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, where he played football as well as baseball. Harris accepted a scholarship to play football for the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interco ...

with the expectation that he would also play on the

baseball team 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 te ...

. However, due to a change in coaching staffs, he was only allowed to play one season of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Career

Harris was a fifth-round draft pick of the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in 1986. He made it to the majors with Montreal to start the 1989 season but was sent down to Triple-A in early May. Later that month, he became part of a trade that the Expos would rue. They gave up future 300-game winner

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

along with

Brian Holman Brian Scott Holman (born January 25, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Holman's brother Brad Holman and stepfather Dick LeMay also were Major League pitchers. Amateur career Holman started his high school baseball career at Au ...

and Harris to 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

for

Mark Langston Mark Edward Langston (born August 20, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners (1984–1989), Montreal Expos (1989), California / Anaheim Angels (1990–1997), San Diego Padres (1 ...

and a player to be named later. Langston left as a free agent after the season. Harris was up and down between the Mariners and Triple-A during his time in the Seattle organization. In May 1992, he left the Mariners to attend his stepfather's funeral and did not return to the team when scheduled. His agent told the team that he wanted to quit baseball to pursue a career in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. Harris ultimately spent just two weeks away from baseball, after which he was traded to 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 penna ...

. Harris enjoyed the best year of his career in 1993, posting 23 saves for the Padres. During the 1994 season, an injured and ineffective Harris lost his closer role with the Padres to

Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego P ...

in mid-April. He was traded in May to the

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, for whom he pitched only 11 1/3 innings. Harris signed as a free agent with 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) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

ahead of the 1995 season but was traded to 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in June. He made just three appearances for Baltimore before being sidelined with an injured elbow. He and underwent season-ending elbow surgery in August. At that point, his big-league career ended. Harris pitched in the minors for 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) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

organization in 1996. He was out of the game in 1997. He made a brief comeback for Norfolk, the Triple-A affiliate of the

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 ...

, in 1998. That was his last action as a pro ballplayer.

References

External links

1964 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Florida Burlington Expos players Calgary Cannons players Carolina Mudcats players Detroit Tigers players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Jamestown Expos players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Norfolk Tides players People from Sebring, Florida Philadelphia Phillies players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Toledo Mud Hens players Tulane Green Wave baseball players West Palm Beach Expos players Okeechobee High School alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Tulane Green Wave football players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub