Kernels' Harris making the most of his shot at baseball

CEDAR RAPIDS - He was a fourth outfielder for an independent league team part of last summer, yet found himself the fourth hitter last night for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. What an interesting year it's been for David Harris.

“Definitely. It's been crazy,” Harris said after the Kernels' 4-3 win over Quad Cities on another cold night at the ballpark. “I was taking a fifth year of school, finishing up school, and didn't know if I'd ever play baseball again.”

Nothing about Harris' career has been normal. He played at three colleges in his native California: the University of San Diego, Santa Barbara City College and Pepperdine.

Undrafted after a lackluster senior season at Pepperdine in 2009, the switch hitter tried out and made the Orange County Flyers of the Golden Baseball League last May, where he began the season as a spare part. But he got an opportunity to play when one of his teammates signed with the Detroit Tigers and made the absolute most of it.

A .330 batting average in 81 games caught the eye of the Los Angeles Angels, who signed him as a free agent in December. Even then, he was given no guarantees.

“The Angels had a workout in late September or early October for a bunch of us independent guys,” said Harris, who has secured his degree in advertising. “I was invited to spring training but wasn't guaranteed anything. Basically I had to earn my spot on a team.”

Needless to say, he did. He even got a couple of at-bats earlier this month as a temporary injury fill in at Double-A before being sent back to the Kernels.

Harris helped Cedar Rapids (9-5) win its fourth straight and for the seventh time in eight games with an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run home run to right in the sixth. Everyone should be rooting for a guy like this.

“Not to label independent ball, but it's kind of a black hole for guys,” said Kernels Manager Brent Del Chiaro. “You've got to try and get noticed, there's a ton of (player) turnover, guys moving in and out. You've got to do some pretty special things.

“He's got a good approach at the plate. I like the way he handles the bat.”

Another indy league graduate, Caleb Graham, got the save with two innings of relief. He began his pro career with the Midwest Sliders of the Frontier League.

Starter Brian Diemer (1-1) allowed only five hits and an unearned run in six innings to get the win. Quad Cities lost for the sixth time in seven games, a stretch in which it has been shutout five times and scored just seven runs.

The teams play again tonight at 6:35.