| Matt Harrison | |
|---|---|
| Texas Rangers – No. 54 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Born: September 16, 1985 Durham, North Carolina |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| July 8, 2008 for the Texas Rangers | |
| Career statistics (through 2011) |
|
| Win-Loss | 30–19 |
| Earned run average | 4.49 |
| Strikeouts | 248 |
| Teams | |
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Matthew Reid Harrison (born September 16, 1985, in Durham, North Carolina) is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.
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Harrison attended South Granville High School in Creedmoor, North Carolina. He had signed a letter of intent to play baseball at North Carolina State University, but was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the third round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft and subsequently signed a professional contract.[1]
Harrison made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League's Gulf Coast Braves in 2003. He played in 2004 with the Danville Braves of the Appalachian League and in 2005 with the Rome Braves of the Single-A South Atlantic League. 2006 saw Harrison split time between the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League and the Double-A Mississippi Braves of the Southern League. He was named the Braves' Minor League Player of the Year, the Pelicans' Pitcher of the Year and was a Carolina League All-Star that season.[2]
Entering 2007, Harrison was rated by Baseball America as the third-best prospect in the Braves organization and the seventh-best prospect in the Carolina League.[2] He began 2007 with Double-A Mississippi, starting 20 games for the team, compiling a 5–9 record with a 3.39 ERA and 78 strikeouts. On July 30, 2007, Harrison, along with catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, minor league pitchers Neftali Feliz and Beau Jones, and shortstop prospect Elvis Andrus, were traded by the Braves to the Texas Rangers for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay.[3]
Harrison missed the end of the 2007 minor league regular season due to shoulder inflammation.[4] He made his first appearance for the Rangers organization with the Surprise Rafters during the 2007 Arizona Fall League season, where he accounted for a perfect 5–0 record.[4]
At the start of the 2008 season, Harrison was assigned to the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders of the Texas League. On May 18, he threw a no-hitter against the San Antonio Missions, only the second no-hitter in RoughRiders' history.[5] After only nine appearances with Frisco, Harrison earned a promotion to the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks in June.[6] While in Oklahoma, he went 3–1, with a 3.55 ERA in six appearances.
As the middle of the 2008 season wore on, the Rangers pitching staff suffered a number of injuries, forcing the club to call up Harrison from Frisco on July 8.[7] He made his major league debut with the Rangers that day, beating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 3–2, outdueling All-Star pitcher Joe Saunders in the process. On September 12, Harrison threw a complete game shutout in a 7–0 road victory against the Oakland Athletics.[8] This was the first shutout by a Rangers rookie left-hander in two decades. Harrison—one of 12 Rangers rookies to make their major league debuts in 2008[9]—finished out the season in the majors, ending up with a 9–3 record and a 5.49 ERA.
In 2010, he was 3–2 with a 4.71 ERA, pitching in 37 games (6 of which he started).[10]
2011 was Harrison's best season as a Major Leaguer, he was 14–9, with a 3.39 ERA. [10] Some of the many big moments for him in 2011 were;