1980 Topps
BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher
“Why am I out here, anyway?”
That might have been a question Texas’ shortstop Toby Harrah asked himself on June 25, 1976.
You see, Harrah played both halves of a Rangers-White Sox doubleheader at short without a single fielding chance. … All 18 innings.
(For those who might need a refresher, the term “chance” is when a ball is hit to a fielder and he either makes an assist – throwing to another player – makes a putout himself or commits an error.)
On average, a shortstop handles 10-12 chances in a nine-inning game. Multiply that by two and we’re talking about a couple of dozen chances in back-to-back contests. Harrah’s chanceless doubleheader was a Major League first.
As dull as Harrah’s day was on the field, it was anything but boring at the plate. Apparently, all that pent up energy from lack of defensive action at short translated into being supercharged when he stepped into the batter’s box.
In the first game, the Rangers were down 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth. But Texas erupted for five runs, including a grand slam by Harrah to win it. He went 3-for-5, with five RBIs in Game One.
The White Sox prevailed in the second game 14-9. Yet Harrah homered again, going 3-for-3, with three RBIs. … For the day, he was 6-for-8, with two homers and eight RBIs.
At the start of the first game, Texas was two games out of first behind the Royals. The Chisox were seven and half games back in the six-team division. (At season’s end, the Royals had captured the A.L. West title, with the Rangers and White Sox pulling up the rear in fifth and sixth place respectively.)
Over a 17-year major league career (1969-86), Harrah was a four-time All Star, topping 20 homers five times, with 1,954 hits, 195 home runs, 918 RBIs, 1,115 runs scored, 238 stolen bases, while posting a .264 average. Harrah also had a lifetime on-base pct. of .365 and a 51.5 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) – which is in the top 300 all-time. … In other words, an excellent career.
Hurrah for Harrah.
1978 Topps
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