Billy Harris, baseball player, 1968-1969

Billy Harris

Born: 11/24/1943 in Hamlet, NC, USA

Died: 12/20/2020 in Hampstead, NC, USA

MLB Debut: 1968-06-16 | Final Game: 1969-09-26

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: James William Harris

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Biography

Billy Harris, born in 1943, was a professional baseball player who played as a position player in Major League Baseball from 1968 until 1969. His career spanned a brief period during a transformative time in baseball history, just before the sport experienced significant changes in player dynamics and fan engagement. Over the course of his career, Harris appeared in 43 games, where he accumulated 22 hits, resulting in a batting average of .218. Though he did not hit any home runs, he contributed to his teams with 3 RBIs and demonstrated some speed on the base paths with 2 stolen bases. Harris's playing style reflected the era’s emphasis on contact hitting and speed, characteristics that were valuable as teams began to shift their strategies toward more dynamic offensive play. Although his career was relatively short, he was part of a generation of players navigating the transition into a more competitive environment, setting the stage for future stars in the game. His contributions, while modest in terms of statistics, were part of the larger tapestry of baseball during the late 1960s, a time that would soon give rise to the game's modern era.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
43 101 11 22 6 1 0 3 2 8 23 0.218 0.275 0.297 0.572 -174.7

Career AVG .218 vs. league average .243 across their career seasons — 10.4% below league average.

Career OBP .275 vs. league average .310 across their career seasons — 11.4% below league average.

Career SLG .297 vs. league average .356 across their career seasons — 16.6% below league average.

Career OPS 0.572 vs. league average 0.667 across their career seasons — 14.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1968 CLE AL 38 94 10 20 5 1 0 3 2 8 22 0.213 .236 (-10%) .298 (-8%) .340 (-16%) .638 (-12%) -174.7
1969 KCR AL 5 7 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.286 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 28 21 36 63 3 9
3B 10 7 4 9 1 2
SS 1 0 1 1 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1968 CLE 2B 27 21 35 61 3 9
1968 CLE 3B 10 7 4 9 1 2
1968 CLE SS 1 0 1 1 0 0
1969 KCA 2B 1 0 1 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Second Base 28
Third Base 10
Shortstop 1

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wilmington NC 1963, 1964, 1966