Jeff Harris (baseball)

Infobox MLB player


width = 150px
name = Jeff Harris
team = Cleveland Indians
number = 34
position = Pitcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1974|7|4
birthplace = city-state|Alameda|California
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = April 2
debutyear = 2005
debutteam = Seattle Mariners
statyear = 2007
stat1label = Win-Loss
stat1value = 2-5
stat2label = Earned run average
stat2value = 4.26
stat3label = Strikeouts
stat3value = 26
teams =
*Seattle Mariners (by|2005-by|2006)

Jeffrey Austin "Jeff" Harris (born July 4 1974 in Alameda, California) is a relief pitcher who plays in the Cleveland Indians organization. He bats and throws right-handed.

When Harris debuted with the Seattle Mariners on August 2, by|2005, he was 31 years of age. This was unusually old for a major league rookie, and was due to his meandering career. Harris, who has done construction jobs, plumbing and landscaping during offseasons, spent six years in the Minnesota Twins organization before being released in by|2000, then played three years for the Chico Heat of California in the independent Western Baseball League. From there, Harris tried, but failed to make a team in Taiwan, and bounced to China in by|2003, when the SARS epidemic forced him to leave and go back to North America where he played for the Quebec Capitales of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball. The Mariners found Harris playing for the Capitales and signed him in June by|2005.

Harris made eight starts and three long-relief appearances in the 2005 season. He posted a 2-5 record with 25 strikeouts and a 4.19 ERA in 54.2 innings. In by|2006, Harris pitched in only 3 games early in season.

In December 2006, the Indians signed Harris to a minor league contact. He made his starting debut with the Indians June 3, 2008, replacing the injured Jake Westbrook. [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2696809] .

Quotation

*"You always have doubts, but I had a lot of support from my family and my wife. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do, so I was going to ride it out as long as I could. I always told myself, 'I have the rest of my life to get a real job' " – Harris said in the [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002452742_mari26.html "Seattle Times"] .

ources

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7616 ESPN updates]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/sports/baseball/31yanks.html?th&emc=th NY Times]
* [http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=441266 Minor League Splits and Situational Stats]