Hernando Petrocelli Harris (born September 23, 1972) is an American former professional baseball

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 for the California/Anaheim Angels of

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 1996 to 1998.

Career

In the seventh round of the 1991 draft, the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

chose Harris, then a recent graduate of Lancaster High School in

Lancaster, South Carolina The city of Lancaster () is the county seat of Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States, located in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 8,526. The city was named after the famou ...

.Lahnert, Lance.
From the Villa: 'Pep' Harris knows he can get back to 'The House that Ruth Built'
, The

Amarillo Globe-News The ''Amarillo Globe-News'' is a daily newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by Gannett. The newspaper is based at downtown's FirstBank Southwest Tower, but is printed at a facility in Lubbock. History The current-day ''Globe-News'' is a combina ...

, published June 3, 2001, accessed October 21, 2007. He was a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nati ...

during the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, pitching in one inning of one game during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 1995.Neubert, Cheryl Rosenberg.
Donnelly rues replacement days
,

The Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

, published July 26, 2002, accessed October 21, 2007. He spent that season in class AA, and on February 15, 1996, the Indians traded Harris and pitcher

Jason Grimsley Jason Alan Grimsley (born August 7, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for seven teams during a 15-year career. He was a member of both the 1999 and 2000 World Series champion New York Yankees. Major League career J ...

to the California Angels for pitcher Brian Anderson.Daily News Wires,
BRIEFLY\Angels trade Anderson for right-handers
, The

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''Dai ...

, published February 16, 1996, accessed October 21, 2007. On August 5, Harris started in the Hall of Fame game, giving up three runs in seven innings against the Expos, and on August 14 he was called up to the Angels, taking the roster spot of

Jim Abbott James Anthony Abbott (born September 19, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1999. He w ...

.ANGELS NOTEBOOK : ABBOTT'S REPLACEMENT, `PEP,' MAKES IT TO ANAHEIM IN TIME
, The

, published August 15, 1996, accessed October 21, 2007. He made his major league debut that night against the Indians, pitching 2 scoreless innings and

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

three batters in an 8-7 win for the Angels.Barnathan, Lee.
ANGELS RALLY, BEAT INDIANS : MCDOWELL LOSES 6-RUN CUSHION
, The

, published August 15, 1996, accessed October 21, 2007. Harris would go on to spend three seasons with the Angels, chiefly as a relief pitcher. From 1996 through 1998, he earned 10 wins and five losses in 121 games pitched, posting a 3.92

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 172

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Due to his work as a replacement player, however, he was not allowed to join the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League club ...

. Angels player representative

Troy Percival Troy Eugene Percival (born August 9, 1969) is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He gained fame as a closer. During a 14-year baseball career spanning from 1995 to 2009, he pitched for four Major League Baseball ...

argued in favor of Harris's reinstatement for 30 minutes in front of the union's executive board, but was unsuccessful. After the end of the 1998 season, the Angels asked Harris to play for the Lara Cardinals of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

during the offseason. While playing there, he damaged a tendon in his right elbow, which required surgery and knocked him out for the entire 1999 season. He went to spring training with 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 ...

in 2000, but was hampered by a

bone spur An exostosis, also known as bone spur, is the formation of new bone on the surface of a bone. Exostoses can cause chronic pain ranging from mild to debilitatingly severe, depending on the shape, size, and location of the lesion. It is most commonl ...

which required more surgery. In 2002, Harris attempted a comeback with the Amarillo Dillas of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Texas–Louisiana League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...

, in the dual roles of pitcher and

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. He was one of four Dillas selected to the Texas–Louisiana league All-Star team that season, along with teammates Jorge Alvarez,

Tyrone Horne In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hit (baseball), hits a single (baseball), single, a double (baseball), double, a triple (baseball), triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that ...

, and Lonnie Maclin.Brannan, Steve.
Four Dillas named T-L League all-stars
, The

, published July 3, 2001, accessed October 21, 2007.

Personal life

Harris's nickname "Pep" was a derivative of his middle name, Petrocelli. His family had wanted a shorter name to use when referring to him, but they felt that "Pet" would be inappropriate, and thus they changed it to "Pep". As of 2002, Harris was married, with two children.Lahnert, Lance.
Circling the Bases With...Pep Harris
, The

, published June 3, 2001, accessed October 21, 2007. His cousin Danny Clyburn was also a professional baseball player, spending two years with 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 ...

and the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Pep 1972 births Living people African-American baseball players Amarillo Dillas players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Anaheim Angels players Baseball players from South Carolina Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Canton-Akron Indians players California Angels players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Columbus Red Stixx players Kinston Indians players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Angels players People from Lancaster, South Carolina Vancouver Canadians players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople