Friday, December 12, 2008

1989 Donruss, Greg Harris



#34 Greg Harris

No, this is not the Greg Harris that was ambadextrious. This is the other one, Greg W. Harris. This Greg W. Harris made his Major League debut in 1988 with the Padres. He had three appearrances with one start. In those three games, he pitched 18 innings, allowed 3 runs (1.50 ERA), and pitched a complete game. He even struck out 15 batters while only walking 3. I know that is a small sample size, but that's not a bad way to start your career. So, Donruss made him one of their Rated Rookies in 1989.

The next two seasons, he was in the bullpen for the Pads (except for 8 starts in '89) and he threw over 100 innings each year and had an ERA of 2.60 in '89 and 2.30 in '90. Apparently, he did such a good job relieving that the Pads decided to throw him into the starting rotation. In 1991, he made 20 starts and was 9-5 with 2.23 ERA. The next season, he made 20 starts again. But he fell to 4-8 with a 4.12 ERA. Then in 1993, he was off to a 10-9 start, with an ERA of 3.67 in 22 starts before being dealt to the Rockies. As would be expected, he didn't fair too well in Denver. He made 13 starts the rest of the year and was 1-8 with an 6.50 ERA. The next season, he made 19 starts to go along with 10 relief appearances. He finished the season 3-12 with a 6.65 ERA. He got released and was signed by the Twins. With the Twins in 1995, he made 6 starts and 1 relief appearance and posted a 8.82 ERA. He gave up 32 runs in 32.2 innings.

What's the point of all of the stats? I'm not sure, exactly. I guess it all goes to show how the high altitude of Denver could really screw with a pitcher's head, especially in the '90s before the humidor and before coaches and GMs realized that you have to have downward movement to be effective there.

This is the first Rated Rookie I have posted on here.

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