Brian Harper
| Brian Harper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Catcher | |||
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Born: October 16, 1959 San Pedro, California |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 29, 1979, for the California Angels | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| April 29, 1995, for the Oakland Athletics | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .295 | ||
| Home runs | 63 | ||
| Runs batted in | 428 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Brian David Harper (born October 16, 1959 in San Pedro, California) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for teams in both the American and National Leagues during his 16-year career (1979-1995.) He is currently the hitting coach of the AAA-Toledo Mud Hens.
Harper was drafted by the California Angels in the fourth round of the 1977 amateur draft before being assigned to the rookie-league Idaho Falls Angels. He would then progress rapidly through the Angels' system, displaying the skills that he became known for in his major league career: an above-.300 average, good plate discipline, but an only average catcher's arm. After stops at Idaho Falls, Quad Cities, El Paso, he reached AAA Salt Lake City in 1981. However his career would soon stall.
Despite first seeing action for the Angels in 1979 and despite hitting .350 with 28 home runs and 122 RBI for Salt Lake City in 1981, the Angels were not interested in giving Harper time behind the plate, at first base, or DH over established stars such as Rod Carew, Bob Boone, Don Baylor, and Reggie Jackson. on 11 December, 1981, Harper was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 31-year-old utility infielder Tim Foli. However, his prospects would not improve with the Pirates as they had a star catcher of their own in the 25-year-old Tony Peña. Tried in the outfield, it was decided that he was too slow to be an adequate defender, and he again languished between Pittsburgh and AAA Portland. After three lackluster seasons where he spent much of the time on the Pirates bench, he would be traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1984 season along with future all-star pitcher John Tudor, for minor league infielder Steve Barnard and outfielder George Hendrick. After seeing time in only 43 games with the Cardinals in 1985, Harper would be release by the team following the season. Harper's career appeared to have neared the end of the line as he would spend only 19 games with the Detroit Tigers in 1986 and 11 games with the Oakland Athletics in 1987, seeing most of his playing time back at the AAA level. After being released by the A's following the 1987 season, his career was at a crossroads.
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