Pep Harris

Hernando Petrocelli "Pep" Harris (born September 23, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the California/Anaheim Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 to 1998.

Career In the seventh round of the 1991 draft, the Cleveland Indians chose Harris, then a recent graduate of Lancaster High School in Lancaster, South Carolina. He was a replacement player during the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, pitching in one inning of one game during spring training in 1995. He spent that season in class AA, and on February 15, 1996, the Indians traded Harris and pitcher Jason Grimsley to the California Angels for pitcher Brian Anderson.

On August 5, Harris started in the Hall of Fame game, giving up three runs in seven innings against the Expos, and on August 14 he was called up to the Angels, taking the roster spot of Jim Abbott. He made his major league debut that night against the Indians, pitching 2 scoreless innings and striking out three batters in an 8-7 win for the Angels. Harris would go on to spend three seasons with the Angels, chiefly as a relief pitcher. From 1996 through 1998, he earned 10 wins and five losses in 121 games pitched, posting a 3.92 ERA in 172 innings pitched. Due to his work as a replacement player, however, he was not allowed to join the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). Angels player representative Troy Percival argued in favor of Harris's reinstatement for 30 minutes in front of the union's executive board, but was unsuccessful.

Personal life Harris's nickname "Pep" was a derivative of his middle name, Petrocelli. His family had wanted a shorter name to use when referring to him, but they felt that "Pet" would be inappropriate, and thus they changed it to "Pep". His cousin Danny Clyburn was also a professional baseball player, spending two years with the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.