Harris was drafted in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft by the Oakland Athletics. In July 1972 he was traded to the Texas Rangers, and made his major league debut for them the following day. He spent the rest of the season as the Rangers' regular second baseman, replacing Lenny Randle. Harris went his first 35 at-bats without a base hit, the major league record for most consecutive at-bats at the beginning of a career by a position player without a base hit.
The following season, 1973, the Rangers moved Harris to center field, replacing Joe Lovitto. In his first, and what would prove to be only, season as a regular, he batted .249 with 8 home runs and 44 runs batted in (RBI). He was traded along with Bill Madlock from the Rangers to the Chicago Cubs for Ferguson Jenkins on October 25, 1973. Called "the most valuable property in our organization" by his Rangers manager Whitey Herzog, the switch‐hitting Harris brought to the Cubs youth, speed and the versatility to play both middle infield positions plus third base and center field.[1]
Harris started the 1974 season back at second base, where he was the starter for most of the first half of the season. However, after hitting just .195 in 62 games, Harris season was ended midway through due to knee surgery. He was replaced by Dave Rosello and Billy Grabarkewitz. Harris spent 1975 on the Cubs' bench, being used mostly as a pinch hitter and batting .179. That winter, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Mick Kelleher.
Journeymanedit
Harris spent the next three seasons with the Cardinals and then the San Francisco Giants, serving as a utilityman, playing all three outfield positions along with second base, third base, and shortstop 1978. He was signed to a minor league contract by the Milwaukee Brewers. After a season back in the minors, Harris played in 34 games for the Brewers in 1980 to close out his major league career.
Japanedit
Harris became a free agent after the 1980 season, and for 1981 he signed with the Buffaloes. That season, he batted .268 with 22 home runs and 74 RBI, all of which would have been MLB career highs. The following season, while he batted .272, his power declined, and Harris totaled just 9 home runs and 35 RBI. After another decline the following season with injuries and a .198 average, Harris's Japanese career was done. He played one final season with the Louisville Redbirds in the Cardinals' organization before retiring.
Overviewedit
Harris wound up playing 579 games in the majors, and was a true utilityman. He played at least 27 games at six different positions, with the largest number, 212, coming at second base.
Referencesedit
^"Padres Get McCovey," The New York Times, Friday, October 26, 1973. Retrieved November 28, 2020
External linksedit
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota
January 01, 1970
harris, utility, player, victor, lanier, harris, born, march, 1950, american, former, professional, baseball, utility, player, played, major, league, baseball, from, 1972, through, 1980, texas, rangers, chicago, cubs, louis, cardinals, francisco, giants, milwa. Victor Lanier Harris born March 27 1950 is an American former professional baseball utility player He played in Major League Baseball from 1972 through 1980 for the Texas Rangers Chicago Cubs St Louis Cardinals San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers Vic HarrisUtility playerBorn 1950 03 27 March 27 1950 age 74 Los Angeles California U S Batted SwitchThrew RightMLB debutJuly 21 1972 for the Texas RangersLast MLB appearanceOctober 5 1980 for the Milwaukee BrewersMLB statisticsBatting average 217Home runs13Runs batted in121TeamsTexas Rangers 1972 1973 Chicago Cubs 1974 1975 St Louis Cardinals 1976 San Francisco Giants 1977 1978 Milwaukee Brewers 1980 Kintetsu Buffaloes 1981 1983 Contents 1 Professional career 1 1 Early career 1 2 Journeyman 1 3 Japan 1 4 Overview 2 References 3 External linksProfessional career editEarly career edit Harris was drafted in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft by the Oakland Athletics In July 1972 he was traded to the Texas Rangers and made his major league debut for them the following day He spent the rest of the season as the Rangers regular second baseman replacing Lenny Randle Harris went his first 35 at bats without a base hit the major league record for most consecutive at bats at the beginning of a career by a position player without a base hit The following season 1973 the Rangers moved Harris to center field replacing Joe Lovitto In his first and what would prove to be only season as a regular he batted 249 with 8 home runs and 44 runs batted in RBI He was traded along with Bill Madlock from the Rangers to the Chicago Cubs for Ferguson Jenkins on October 25 1973 Called the most valuable property in our organization by his Rangers manager Whitey Herzog the switch hitting Harris brought to the Cubs youth speed and the versatility to play both middle infield positions plus third base and center field 1 Harris started the 1974 season back at second base where he was the starter for most of the first half of the season However after hitting just 195 in 62 games Harris season was ended midway through due to knee surgery He was replaced by Dave Rosello and Billy Grabarkewitz Harris spent 1975 on the Cubs bench being used mostly as a pinch hitter and batting 179 That winter he was traded to the St Louis Cardinals for infielder Mick Kelleher Journeyman edit Harris spent the next three seasons with the Cardinals and then the San Francisco Giants serving as a utilityman playing all three outfield positions along with second base third base and shortstop 1978 He was signed to a minor league contract by the Milwaukee Brewers After a season back in the minors Harris played in 34 games for the Brewers in 1980 to close out his major league career Japan edit Harris became a free agent after the 1980 season and for 1981 he signed with the Buffaloes That season he batted 268 with 22 home runs and 74 RBI all of which would have been MLB career highs The following season while he batted 272 his power declined and Harris totaled just 9 home runs and 35 RBI After another decline the following season with injuries and a 198 average Harris s Japanese career was done He played one final season with the Louisville Redbirds in the Cardinals organization before retiring Overview edit Harris wound up playing 579 games in the majors and was a true utilityman He played at least 27 games at six different positions with the largest number 212 coming at second base References edit Padres Get McCovey The New York Times Friday October 26 1973 Retrieved November 28 2020External links editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors or Retrosheet or Pura Pelota Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vic Harris utility player amp oldid 1169670759, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
