Томми Харпер – американдық бейсболшысы

American baseball player

Tommy Harper (born October 14, 1940) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven different franchises from 1962 to 1976, including six seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and three seasons each with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Boston Red Sox.

Harper played at Encinal High School in Alameda, California, where his teammates included Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Stargell and MLB player Curt Motton. He starred collegiately for San Francisco State University.

Harper signed as an amateur free agent with the Reds before the 1960 season (as Major League Baseball had yet to institute a draft) and was assigned to the Class B Topeka Reds, where he had modest success, batting .254 with five home runs and 36 RBI in 79 games. After hitting .324 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI in 124 games for Topeka the following season, he was promoted all the way up to the Triple A San Diego Padres, where he hit .333 with 26 home runs and 84 RBI in 144 games. In the 1963–64 seasons, Harper was a platoon player for the Reds, working mostly as an outfielder. 1965 was his breakout season, as he became the Reds' starting left fielder and leadoff hitter. He finished the season batting .257 with 18 home runs, 64 RBI, 35 stolen bases, and a National League leading 126 runs scored in 159 games.

Harper was the first player to come to bat in Seattle Pilots history when he led off the top of the 1st against right hander Jim McGlothlin of the California Angels. In that inaugural at bat, he was also the first Pilots player to record a hit, doubling to left field, and then scoring the Pilots first run on a home run by Mike Hegan. Harper led the American League with a career high 73 stolen bases—the most by an American Leaguer since Ty Cobb's 96 in 1915 and a mark that still stands today as a Pilots/Brewers record. He also showed his versatility in the field, making over 50 starts at both second and third base, 21 starts in center field, and also seeing playing time at both corner outfield positions. The 1970 season was probably the best statistically in Harper's career. He recorded career highs in hits (179), doubles (35), home runs (31), and RBI (82) on his way to the lone All Star game appearance of his career.

Harper was part of a ten player blockbuster that sent him, Marty Pattin, Lew Krausse and minor league outfielder Pat Skrable to the Boston Red Sox for George Scott, Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe Lahoud and Don Pavletich on October 10, 1971. Harper became the Sox' starting center fielder and leadoff hitter from 1972–74, playing well enough to earn him votes in the AL MVP balloting in '72 and '73. In 1974, Harper hit .237 with five home runs, 24 RBI and 28 stolen bases in 118 games, playing primarily as a designated hitter.

Harper played only part of the 1975 season for California, batting .239 with three home runs and 31 RBI in 89 games. On July 1, 1986, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vindicated Harper and cited the Red Sox for illegal actions. Harper was elected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010.