Josh Harrison

At 36 years old, Josh Harrison has this physical status:

Joshua Isaiah Harrison (born July 8, 1987) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Tigers.

He is a two-time MLB All-Star.

Personal life

Harrison is the nephew of former major league outfielder and coach John Shelby. Harrison's brother, Vince Harrison, played minor league baseball from 2001 to 2011, before joining the Pirates organization as a player-coach.

Beginning in 2014, Harrison started a youth baseball camp for kids and teens in Cincinnati. Harrison's brother Vince also sponsors and helps with the event.

Harrison and his wife, Brittney, have two daughters; one born in 2014, and one born in 2017.

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Early life and career

Harrison began playing tee ball at the age of three years. Harrison expressed an interest in the sport before playing in organized baseball. Harrison and his older brother, Vince, played makeshift baseball with a fork from his kitchen and a balled-up piece of paper.

Harrison was a shortstop at Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio, for a short time. Harrison attended University of Cincinnati and spent college baseball for the Cincinnati Bearcats as a second baseman. He was a middle infielder for the Cincinnati Steam of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League in 2006. In 2007, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cape Cod Baseball League's Cotuit Kettleers. Harrison was named Co-Player of the Year in 2008 by the Big East Conference, while batting.378.

Professional career

In the sixth round (191st overall) of the 2008 MLB draft, the Chicago Cubs selected Harrison. He was the first Bearcat drafted in the first ten rounds since Kevin Youkilis was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round of the 2001 draft.

Harrison made three stops in the Cubs' farm system in 2008 and 2009: Class A- Boise Hawks, Class A Peoria Chiefs, and Class A+ Daytona Cubs.

The Cubs traded Harrison, Kevin Hart, and José Ascanio to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitchers John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny on July 30, 2009.

Harrison was signed by the Pirates on May 30, 2011. He made his MLB debut on May 31, 2011, his first MLB hit off New York Mets pitcher R. A. Dickey. Harrison failed Justin Verlander's no-hitter in the ninth inning, his third no-hitter of Verlander's career.

On April 14, 2013, Harrison was traded to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. On May 7, he was recalled after being put on the disabled list. When Duke Welker was recalled, Harrison was sent home to Indianapolis on May 8. On May 31, Harrison was recalled to Indianapolis.

Harrison and colleagues Andrew McCutchen and Tony Watson were selected to his first All-Star Game in his career on July 6, 2014. Harrison was hitting.298 in 72 games at the time of his pick. During the season, he had played 5 different positions and was rated as a utility player for the All-Star Game.

Despite being a utility player for the 2014 season, Harrison appeared in 143 games and accumulated enough at bats to qualify for the National League (NL) batting championship. He came in second, behind Justin Morneau of the Colorado Rockies in second place, despite having a.315 batting average. Morneau won the title with a.319 average after playing out the team's final two games, one of which lasted twelve innings.

Harrison went on to play multiple positions for the Pirates. Following Pedro lvarez' transfer to 1st Base, he spent the majority of his time at third base. Harrison had the best statistics of his career in 2014 with a.315batting average (second in the NL), 13 home runs, 52 runs batted in, and finished ninth in voting for NL MVP.

Harrison was the starting third baseman for the Pirates in the 2015 season and has signed a four-year contract extension until 2020, with club options for 2019 and 2020 available shortly after the season began.

Following the 2015 season, the Pirates' regular starting Second baseman, Neil Walker, was traded to the New York Mets. Harrison was then named as the starting second baseman for the 2016 season.

Harrison was struck by a pitch against the Chicago Cubs and April 17, 2017, against the St. Louis Cardinals, in two consecutive plate appearances. He was the first batter with four straight hits since at least 1974.

Harrison was the first player in MLB history to break a no-hitter in extra innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 23, 2017. The home run was struck in the tenth inning, off pitcher Rich Hill, resulting in a 1–0 victory for the Pirates. Harrison was on the disabled list on September 3, 2017 after a fractured his fifth metacarpal on his left hand.

Harrison was struck by a pitch on the left hand and left the game on April 15, 2018. He was out for six weeks as a result of a fractured fifth metacarpal, which was similar to his last September. On October 31, 2018, the Pirates suspended his 2019 contract option and made him a free agent.

Harrison also committed to the Detroit Tigers on February 23, 2019. Lou Whitaker, a former second baseman who joined the team, flipped his number to 1 to honor former second baseman Lou Whitaker. Harrison batted.176 in 36 games before he strained a hamstring in May. On August 9, the Tigers cut him while recovering from the injury.

Harrison signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on November 26, 2019. Harrison demanded and was released from the Philadelphia Phillies on July 21, 2020.

Harrison signed with the Washington Nationals on July 27, 2020, extending his one-year major league contract. Harrison made a big leap forward on his 2019 debut, slashing.378/.418 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 33 games for Washington. Harrison resigned with the Nationals on a one-year deal on October 22, 2020.

Harrison and Yan Gomes were traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Drew Millas, Richard Guasch, and Seth Shuman on July 30, 2021. In 138 games between the Nationals and the Athletics, he finished the 2021 season with 8 home runs and 60 RBIs.

Harrison signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Chicago White Sox on March 15, 2022.

International career

Harrison was selected to the national baseball team of the United States at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

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