Harold Reynolds

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Harold Craig Reynolds
("H")

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Biographical Information[edit]

Harold Reynolds had a 12-year career in the major leagues as a second baseman. A multi-talented player, he won three Gold Gloves, led the American League once with 60 stolen bases in 1987, and led the league in triples once with 11 in 1988. He also achieved quite a bit of visibility after his playing days as a television sportscaster.

Reynolds was born in Oregon in 1960, and was signed as the #2 pick in the secondary phase in the 1980 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners and scout Jeff Malinoff. He worked his way up the Mariners' minor league organization pretty quickly, hitting well at every stop. He particularly impressed with the Calgary Cannons in 1985 when he hit .363/~.440/.514 in 52 games.

After a couple of cups of coffee in the major leagues in 1983 and 1984, and time spent as a backup in 1985, he became a big league starter in 1986.

His batting average was usually modest, except for the three-year stretch from 1987 to 1989, when he hit .275, .283, and .300. His base-stealing was great in 1987, when he led the league with 60 while often batting ninth in the order, but some of his other years were not nearly so good as he got caught too often. He had little or no home run power, with a peak of 5 in 1990. Even his fielding ability was sometimes criticized - when he won a Gold Glove one year in spite of leading the league in errors, Reynolds said he was shocked to be the winner, and asked "what am I supposed to do? Give it back?" In fact, his error totals were not outrageously high, and since he played virtually every day in the prime of his career, he sometimes led the league in assists and put-outs at his position.

He was on the All-Star team twice, in 1987 and 1988, and in 1991 won the Roberto Clemente Award.

According to the similarity scores method, the most similar player is Mickey Morandini, although Morandini never won a Gold Glove and didn't steal as many bases. Morandini was probably a somewhat stronger hitter than Reynolds, though.

Reynolds went on to become a broadcaster on ESPN, seen regularly on Baseball Tonight with John Kruk and Peter Gammons. He was let go in July 2006 following allegations of sexual harassment - although others say it was due to creative differences. He then became one of the most prominent faces on MLB Network, serving as an analyst on their in-studio shows and live games. In 2014, he moved to FOX Sports to partner with Joe Buck and Tom Verducci as the network's primary baseball broadcast team. They worked the All-Star Game and World Series in addition to regular season games for two years, but Verducci and Reynolds were dropped after the 2015 season in favor of John Smoltz.

Harold is the brother of Don Reynolds, who played 87 games in the major leagues. Another brother, Larry Reynolds, played in the minors.

Harold has his own website - http://www.haroldreynolds.com, where you can read his biography and purchase merchandise. You can read facts about Harold such as:

  • Honored by President George Bush as his 195th Point of Light
  • Member of the State of Oregon Hall of Fame
  • USA Today Most Caring Baseball Player award for community service (1993)

and others.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 2-time AL All-Star (1987 & 1988)
  • 3-time AL Gold Glove Winner (1988-1990)
  • AL At Bats Leader (1990)
  • AL Triples Leader (1988)
  • AL Stolen Bases Leader (1987)
  • 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1990)
  • 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 1 (1987)

Related Sites[edit]