Second
Baseman/Third Baseman/Outfielder, Seattle Pilots
1st season
with Pilots
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’9” Weight: 165
Prior to 1969:
Born in
Louisiana, Harper moved with his family to Alameda, California at age 4. An excellent
all-around athlete, in addition to baseball, he was a star quarterback at Encinal High School and also
captained the basketball team and was a track & field sprinter. Following
high school he enrolled at San Francisco State to pursue a physical education
degree. After his first year, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds in 1960. Initially
assigned to Topeka of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League,
the 19-year-old second baseman batted .254 with 22 extra-base hits, 26 stolen
bases, and drew 76 walks to give him a .429 on-base percentage. Still with
Topeka in 1961, Harper hit .324 with 27 doubles, 11 triples, 15 home runs, 65
RBIs, 31 stolen bases, and a .488 OBP thanks to his drawing 136 walks. In
addition to being the league’s all-star second baseman, Harper was named MVP as
well. He started the 1962 season with the Reds, but when his hitting slumped he
was sent down to San Diego of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he
batted .333 with 24 doubles, 8 triples, 26 home runs, and 84 RBIs. He also
stole 22 bases, drew 105 walks, and produced a .450 OBP, and a .569 slugging
percentage. Harper was back with the Reds in 1963 where he was shifted to the
outfield. Appearing at all three outfield positions, he hit .260 with 10 home
runs, 37 RBIs, 12 stolen bases in 13 tries, and a .335 OBP. He was named a
Topps Rookie All-Star. Platooned primarily in left field in 1964, Harper had a
disappointing season, batting .243 with 11 extra-base hits, 22 RBIs, 24 stolen
bases, and a .326 OBP. In the offseason he did reserve duty at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base. Playing regularly in left field in 1965, where he proved to be
a good fit defensively, Harper displayed more power by hitting 18 home runs
with 64 RBIs while batting .257 and drawing 78 walks for a .340 OBP. He also
scored a league-leading 126 runs and stole 35 bases, but his 127 strikeouts
were a cause of concern. He performed a different sort of service in the
offseason, teaching sports to boys in detention at the Montgomery County Family
Court Center in Dayton. In 1966 Harper had hitting streaks of 17 and 24 games but
a late-season slump combined with poor hitting on the road (he batted .231 on
the road and .327 at home) left him at .278 with a .348 OBP. His home run total
dropped to 5, along with 22 doubles and 5 triples and he stole 29 bases while
drawing 57 walks and whiffing 85 times. In 1967 a broken right wrist cost
Harper two months of action and, limited to 103 games. He ended up hitting .225
with 7 home runs, 22 RBIs, 23 stolen bases, and a .306 OBP. In the offseason he
was traded to Cleveland for three players. Platooned once again with the
Indians (much to his displeasure), he hit .217 in 1968 with 15 doubles, 6 home
runs, 26 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, and a .295 OBP. Left unprotected in the AL
expansion draft, Harper was chosen by the Pilots, who had him starting the 1969
season at second base, although he would end up playing an equal number of games at third.
1969 Season Summary
Appeared in 148
games
2B – 59, 3B –
59, CF – 22, PH – 8, LF – 4, RF – 1, PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 640
At Bats – 537
Runs – 78
Hits – 126
Doubles – 10
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 9
RBI – 41
Bases on Balls
– 95 [9]
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 90
[17]
Stolen Bases – 73
[1]
Caught Stealing
– 18 [1, tied with Don Buford]
Average - .235
OBP - .349
Slugging Pct. -
.311
Total Bases – 167
GDP – 8
Hit by Pitches
– 1
Sac Hits – 4
Sac Flies – 3
League-leading
stolen bases were +11 ahead of runner-up Bert Campaneris
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 5, RBI – 20, SB – 44, AVG – .236, OBP – .359
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on eight occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 7
HR on road – 2
Most home runs,
game – 1 on nine occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 3 vs. Detroit 6/1, vs. Cleveland 8/24
Pinch-hitting/running
– 1 for 5 (.200) with 1 R, 1 RBI & 2 BB
Fielding (2B)
Chances – 269
Put Outs – 113
Assists – 145
Errors – 11
DP – 33
Pct. - .959
Awards & Honors:
29th
in AL MVP voting, tied with five others (2 points, 1% share)
In their
inaugural season, the Pilots went 64-98 to finish sixth (last) in the AL
Western Division, 33 games behind the division-winning Minnesota Twins while
leading the league in stolen bases (167) and batting strikeouts (1015). Underfinanced
and playing in decrepit Sicks Stadium, where they managed to draw 677,944
fans, the Pilots were surprisingly competitive until a 10-game August losing
streak dropped the injury-riddled club into the AL West cellar. In the
offseason they were bought by a Milwaukee group and relocated.
Aftermath of 1969:
The bankrupt
Pilots were moved to Milwaukee and re-named the Brewers in 1970. Harper, now
primarily playing at third base, had an outstanding season as he batted .296
with 31 home runs, 82 RBIs, 38 stolen bases, 77 walks drawn, and a .377 OBP,
becoming the fifth NL/AL player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a
season. Along the way he was an All-Star for the only time in his career. He
got off to a slow start in 1971 and his batting average bottomed out at .155 in
May. His hitting improved when he was moved from third base to left field and
he finished at .258 with 14 home runs, 52 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, 65 walks
drawn, and a .333 OBP. Following the season, he was dealt as part of a major
multi-player trade with the Boston Red Sox. Regularly playing in center field, in
1972 Harper hit .254 with 29 doubles, 14 home runs, 92 runs scored, 49 RBIs, 25
stolen bases, and a .341 OBP. With Carl Yastrzemski moving to first base in
1973, Harper was shifted to left field and, following a slow start, he went on
a batting tear from July onward to finish at .281 with 17 home runs, 71 RBIs, a
.351 OBP, and a league-leading 54 stolen bases. He placed 13th in AL
MVP voting. Despite his fine performance, Harper entered the 1974 season
dealing with much uncertainty. Having made some major offseason trades, and
with some talented outfielders making their way through the minors, the Red Sox
had some questions regarding where the 33-year-old veteran fit in. Hindered by
injuries, he made 61 appearances in left field and 51 as Designated Hitter to
end up batting .237 with 15 doubles, 5 home runs, 24 RBIs, a .312 OBP, and 28
stolen bases. Dealt to the California Angels in the offseason, he was utilized
primarily as a DH in 1975 and was hitting .239 when he was sold to the Oakland
Athletics in August. He finished with a combined .254 average with 5 homers, 38
RBIs, a .337 OBP, and 26 stolen bases. Oakland topped the AL West and Harper
saw his only taste of postseason action in the ALCS loss to the Red Sox,
drawing a walk in his only plate appearance. Released by the A’s in the
offseason, Harper spent one last major league season with the Baltimore Orioles
in 1976, mostly appearing as a DH, pinch-hitter, or pinch-runner and batting
.234. Waived by the Orioles and failing to make the A’s in 1977, Harper became
a minor league instructor and scout with the New York Yankees. For his major
league career he batted .257 with 1609 hits that included 256 doubles, 36
triples, and 146 home runs. He scored 972 runs and compiled 567 RBIs, 408
stolen bases, drawing 753 walks and posting a .338 OBP. With the Pilots/Brewers
he batted .264 with 456 hits, 261 runs scored, 71 doubles, 9 triples, 54 home
runs, 136 stolen bases, and a .354 OBP. A one-time All-Star, he received league
MVP votes on four occasions, with his highest finish being sixth in 1970 with
the Brewers. Following his time with the Yankees organization, Harper worked in
several different capacities for the Red Sox, sometimes laced with controversy
due to issues pertaining to racial discrimination. He also coached for the
Montreal Expos. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10),
runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20), pitching wins,
strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10), or have been
participants in the annual All-Star Games between the National and American
Leagues since 1933. This category will also include Misc. players who received
award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had
notable seasons in non-award years.
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