Roric Edward Harrison (September 20, 1946 – September 17, 2023) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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. He played in

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 ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

from 1972 to 1978.

Early years

Harrison signed with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

out of Westchester High School in

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, in 1965. Harrison amassed a 13–28 record in Houston's farm system and pitched just two innings for the Oklahoma City 89ers in 1969 when he was dealt to the

Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a me ...

with Dooley Womack for Jim Bouton. Harrison pitched for the franchise's (now known as 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 ...

) triple A affiliate, the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

in 1970, and went 6–11 with a 5.57

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. 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 ...

the following season, he and Marion Jackson were traded to the

for Marcelino López.

Baltimore Orioles

Harrison improved to 15–5 with a 2.81 ERA for the Orioles' triple A affiliate, the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

in 1971. The best pitcher in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

that year, he attended

with the Orioles in 1972. He made the team, but as a

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, as Baltimore's four starters had each won 20 or more games the previous year. He did, however, make two emergency starts in the second games of doubleheaders, going 1–1 with a 6.75 in his two starts. For the season, he went 3–4 with a 2.30 ERA and four saves.

Atlanta Braves

After just one season in Baltimore, Harrison was traded along with Davey Johnson, Pat Dobson and Johnny Oates to the

for Earl Williams and Taylor Duncan on the last day of the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 1, 1972. Harrison was used as both a starter and reliever in Atlanta, compiling an 11–8 record and 4.16 ERA in both roles. He also added two home runs to his career total despite having only three

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all season (the other was a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

). Harrison was 20–23 with a 4.45 ERA in his career for Atlanta when he was dealt to the

during the 1975 season for pitcher

Blue Moon Odom Johnny Lee "Blue Moon" Odom (born May 29, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won ...

Journeyman

Harrison went 7–7 with a 4.79 ERA in nineteen starts for the Indians in 1975. During Spring training 1976, he was dealt to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

for Harry Parker. After one season playing triple A ball for the franchise, he was released. He played minor league ball 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

before seeing major league experience again with the

in 1978. In nine games, he was 0–1 with a 7.50 ERA.

Death

Roric Harrison died on September 17, 2023, three days before his 77th birthday.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Roric 1946 births 2023 deaths Atlanta Braves players Asheville Tourists players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Los Angeles Bismarck-Mandan Pards players Cleveland Indians players Cocoa Astros players Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Evansville Triplets players Llaneros de Portuguesa players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Oklahoma City 89ers players Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players Salisbury Astros players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tigres de Aragua players Toledo Mud Hens players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Westchester High School (Los Angeles) alumni