| Brendan Harris | |
|---|---|
 Harris with the Minnesota Twins | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: (1980-08-26)August 26, 1980 (age 45) Queensbury, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 6, 2004, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 10, 2013, for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .256 |
| Home runs | 33 |
| Runs batted in | 167 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Brendan Michael Harris (born August 26, 1980) is an American former professionalbaseballinfielder. He played inMajor League Baseball for theChicago Cubs,Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals,Cincinnati Reds,Tampa Bay Devil Rays,Minnesota Twins, andLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Harris grew up inQueensbury, New York, and led theQueensbury High School Spartans to the 1996 and 1998 State Baseball Tournament. He subsequently attended theCollege of William and Mary, where he was a third-team College All-American andColonial Athletic Association All-Star in 2001, when he hit .390 with 18 home runs and 69 RBI. In 2000 and 2001, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theHyannis Mets of theCape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star in 2000.[1][2][3][4] Harris was selected in the fifth round (138th overall) of the2001 Major League Baseball draft by theChicago Cubs and signed with the Cubs on July 21, 2001.[5] He was inducted into the William and Mary Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012 along with fellow alum and currentPittsburgh Steelers head coachMike Tomlin.[6] Harris was also active with theMLB Players Association as a player representative with the Rays and the Twins.
Harris began his professional career in 2001 with the Single-ALansing Lugnuts of theMidwest League, batting .274 with four home runs and 22 RBI in 32 games.[7] In 2002, with the Single-ADaytona Cubs, he hit .329 in with 13 homers and 54 RBI in 110 games.[7] He was selected as aFlorida State League All-Star and also a High-A All-Star, leading to a promotion to the Double-AWest Tenn Diamond Jaxx at the end of the season. In 2003, he played in 120 games with the Diamond Jaxx and hit .281 with five home runs and 52 RBI.[7]
Prior to the 2004 season, Harris was ranked as the Cubs' eighth-best prospect byBaseball America.[8] He began the season with the Triple-AIowa Cubs in thePacific Coast League. He hit .311 with eight home runs and 26 RBI in 56 games, leading to his first Major League call-up with the Cubs on July 3.[9]
Harris made his major-league debut on July 6, 2004, as the startingthird baseman against theMilwaukee Brewers. In the first inning, he committed an error that led to four unearned runs, but recovered by posting his first Major League hit with an RBI double offVíctor Santos in the third inning.[8][10] In three games with the Cubs, he was 2-for-9 (.222) with an RBI.[11]
On July 31, 2004, Harris was traded to theMontreal Expos as part of an eight-player, four-team trade that sent broughtNomar Garciaparra andMatt Murton to Chicago,Doug Mientkiewicz andOrlando Cabrera to theBoston Red Sox, minor leaguer Justin Jones to theMinnesota Twins and Harris,Francis Beltrán andAlex Gonzalez to Montreal.[12] Harris appeared in 20 games for Montréal, batting .160 with onehome run and twoRBI in 50at-bats.[11] His home run, the first of his MLB career, was hit on September 15, offJosias Manzanillo of theFlorida Marlins.[13] He also played in 35 games for the Triple-AEdmonton Trappers, batting .285 with six home runs and 24 RBI.[7]
The Expos moved toWashington, D. C. in 2005 and became theWashington Nationals. Harris spent most of 2005 and 2006 with the team's new Triple-A affiliate, theNew Orleans Zephyrs. He hit .270 with 13 home runs and 81 RBI in 127 games in 2005, and .283 with five home runs and 32 RBI in 59 games in 2006.[7] With the Nationals, he only appeared in four games in 2005 (3-for-9, one home run, 3 RBI) and 17 games in 2006 (8-for-32, 2 RBI).[11]
On July 13, 2006, Harris was sent by Washington along withGary Majewski,Bill Bray,Daryl Thompson, andRoyce Clayton to theCincinnati Reds in exchange forFelipe López,Austin Kearns, andRyan Wagner.[14] He played in 43 games with the Triple-ALouisville Bats in theInternational League, hitting .324 with five home runs and 28 RBI.[7] With the Reds, he appeared in only eight games, and was 2-for-10 (.200) with one home run and one RBI.[11]
Harris was sold to theTampa Bay Devil Rays on January 2, 2007,[15] and spent the majority of the season as the Devil Rays' starting shortstop. In 137 games, he hit .286 with 12 home runs and 59 RBI.[11] He was voted the Rays' Heart and Hustle Award winner at the end of the season.[16]
On November 28, 2007, the Rays traded Harris (along withJason Pridie andDelmon Young) to theMinnesota Twins forMatt Garza,Jason Bartlett, andEduardo Morlan.[17]
Harris saw considerable playing time with the Twins in 2008, 2009, and 2010 as autility player. He playedshortstop,second base andthird base and even a few games atfirst base. Harris also saw his first post-season action when the Twins faced theNew York Yankees in the2009 American League Division Series.
On October 11, 2009, Harris was the last Major League batter inMetrodome history as the Yankees defeated the Twins 4–1 in Game 3, eliminating the Twins from the playoffs.[18]
Harris was the front-runner to start at third base for the Twins in 2010, butNick Punto got the nod on Opening Day. Punto was later replaced by rookieDanny Valencia and on June 24, Harris was outrighted toTriple-ARochester after a 5–0 loss to theMilwaukee Brewers.[19]
In three seasons with the Twins, Harris hit .251 with 14 home runs and 90 RBI in 296 games.[11] The Twins were Central Division Champions in 2009 and 2010.
On December 9, 2010, theBaltimore Orioles acquired Harris in a trade along withJ. J. Hardy for minor-league pitchers Brett Jacobson andJim Hoey.[20] He spent the entire season in Triple-A with theNorfolk Tides and hit .225 with 10 homers and 50 RBI in 136 games.[7] He became a free agent at the end of the season.
Harris signed a minor league contract with theColorado Rockies on January 6, 2012.[21] He played for the Triple-AColorado Springs Sky Sox and hit .317 with nine homers and 63 RBI in 106 games.[7]
On November 15, 2012, Harris signed aMinor League contract with an invitation toSpring Training with theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[22] He made the Angels' Opening Day roster as a utility player, and hit .206 with four home runs and 9 RBI in 44 games for the Angels, while playing shortstop, second base, third base, first base and left field.[11] The Angels designated Harris for assignment on July 20, 2013, and he elected free agency three days later.[23]
Harris signed a minor league deal with theNew York Yankees on July 26, 2013.[24] He played in 22 games for the Triple-AScranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, where he hit .233 with a home run and 4 RBI.[7] He was released on August 20.
Harris signed a minor league deal with theTexas Rangers one day later, on August 21.[25] With theRound Rock Express, he appeared in 12 games and batted .244 with two home runs and 5 RBI.[7]
Harris signed a minor league contract with theLos Angeles Dodgers on November 18, 2013, that included an invitation to spring training.[26] He played in six games for the Triple-AAlbuquerque Isotopes and had five hits in 15 at-bats (.333) with an RBI before he was released on April 12, 2014.[7]
On May 16, 2014, Harris signed with theLong Island Ducks of theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the season. In 111 games he hit .286/.394/.396 with 8 home runs, 53 RBIs and 1 stolen base.
On March 17, 2015, Harris signed a minor league contract with theDetroit Tigers.[27] He was released on June 29, 2015.[28]
In February 2016, Harris was hired by the Los Angeles Angels to join their player development department.[29] In May 2016, he enrolled in the MBA for Executives program atThe Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Tennessee.
In November 2019, Harris was hired by x10 Capital, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA.
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