Joseph Harris (May 20, 1891 – December 10, 1959), nicknamed "Moon", was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1914 and 1928 for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators,

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 ...

, and

Brooklyn Robins 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, Californi ...

."Joe Harris Statistics and History"
Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2017.

Life

Harris was born in Coulter, Pennsylvania. In 1918, Harris was drafted into the United States Army. He served during World War I and was in a truck accident while serving. Harris suffered two broken legs, three broken ribs and a fractured skull, thus creating the 'lump' under his eye. He did need plastic surgery to help fix his facial injury. In 1919, Harris was discharged due to injury from the army and returned to the Cleveland Indians for part of the season. At season's end, he played for an industrial team, which offered him money and a business. Harris played with the team for the 1920 and 1921 seasons. By violating the reserve clause in his 1919 contract, Harris automatically was placed on organized baseball's ineligible list. Prior to the 1922 season, Harris applied for and was granted reinstatement by baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, in part due to Harris' war service. In 1923, he led the Red Sox with a .335 batting average, ninth-best in the American League. His .520 slugging percentage was the league's fifth-highest. Harris was traded to the Washington Senators early in the 1925 season and helped them win the American League pennant, hitting .323 with a 1.003 OPS in 100 games. In the

1925 World Series The 1925 World Series was the championship series of the 1925 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, it was played between the National League (NL) pennant winner Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators. The Pirates def ...

, Harris went 11-for-25 with three home runs, though the Pirates would come back from a 3–1 deficit to win the series in seven games. After batting .307 in only 92 games in 1926, Harris was selected off waivers by the Pirates before the 1927 season. Harris had another good year, batting .326 with 73 RBIs in 129 games as the Pirates won the National League pennant. In the

1927 World Series The 1927 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1927 season. The 24th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirat ...

, Harris went 3-for-15 with just one RBI as the Pirates lost to the Yankees in a four-game sweep. Harris died at age 68 in Plum, Pennsylvania.

Career statistics

In 970 games played over 10 seasons, Harris hit .317 (963-for-3035) with 461 runs scored, 201 doubles, 64 triples, 47 home runs, 516 RBI, 413 walks, a .404

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

and .472

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

. Defensively, he finished his career with an overall .987

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Harris played for the Bay City (MI) Beavers in the Southern Michigan league in 1913-1914

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Joe 1891 births 1959 deaths People from South Versailles Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania New York Yankees players Cleveland Indians players Boston Red Sox players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Brooklyn Robins players Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from Pennsylvania United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I McKeesport Tubers players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Bay City Beavers players Jersey City Skeeters players Chattanooga Lookouts players Sacramento Senators players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players