Harold Reynolds

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Harold Craig Reynolds (born November 26, 1960) is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He is a native of Corvallis, Oregon and graduated from Corvallis High School. As such, he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Reynolds spent the first 10 years of his professional career in the majors with the Seattle Mariners from 1983 to 1992. He then moved to the Baltimore Orioles in 1993 and to the California Angels in 1994.

[edit] High school career

Reynolds was born in Eugene, Oregon and attended Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon, starring in football, basketball and baseball. He was a member of the 3A State Championship football team in 1978. He graduated for Corvallis High in 1979.

[edit] College career

Although Reynolds was drafted in the 6th round of the amateur draft on June 5, 1979, by the San Diego Padres, he elected not to sign and joined the Cal State Long Beach baseball team.

The following summer, on June 3, 1980, Reynolds was selected in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the amateur draft (Secondary Phase) by the Seattle Mariners. Reynolds signed with the Mariners after one season with Cal State Long Beach.

[edit] Professional career

Reynolds spent several seasons in the minor leagues before being called up by the Mariners and making his major league debut on September 2nd, 1983. The following season he played AAA ball before being called up again in September of 1984. The season of 1985 was his official rookie season in Major League Baseball.

Reynolds was an All-Star in 1987 and 1988, led the American League in stolen bases with 60 in 1987, in triples with 11 in 1988, and in at-bats with 642 in 1990. He was the only player other than Rickey Henderson to lead the American League in stolen bases during any season in the 1980s. In 1986, he played in Puerto Rico with the Mayaguez Indians.

In 1991, Reynolds was a recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award. The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to a Major League Baseball player selected for his character and charitable contributions to his community.

On October 26, 1992, he was granted free agency and signed with the Baltimore Orioles on December 11, 1992. After one season with the Orioles, he was again granted free agency on October 29, 1993. Reynolds signed with the San Diego Padres on January 28, 1994 before being traded to the California Angels on March 29, 1994 for Hilly Hathaway. The 1994 season was Reynolds final season in the MLB.

Reynolds was a career .258 hitter with 21 home runs and 353 RBI in 1374 games. A superb fielder, Reynolds regularly led the league in double plays turned and won three Gold Glove awards. He was a switch hitter and threw right-handed.

[edit] Post-MLB career

[edit] ESPN Broadcaster

Reynolds was a studio analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight from 1996-2006. He also was a commentator for ESPN's coverage of the College World Series and Little League World Series. He was also a four time winning coach in the Taco Bell All Star Celebrity Softball game held during the MLB All Star break. He was known for telling his players to "let it all hang out."

[edit] Sports education

Harold Reynolds also provides an in-game tutorial on how to hit, field, and pitch in the Triple Play Baseball and MVP Baseball series. Harold has also started an organization called HR Enterprises.^[1]

[edit] Termination at ESPN

On July 25, 2006, Harold Reynolds was fired from ESPN. The ESPN spokeswoman confirmed that Reynolds "is no longer with the network" but did not give a reason for the departure.^[2] "Three people who work at ESPN and familiar with the case said the cause was a pattern of sexual harassment."^[3] Reynolds confirmed that an accusation of sexual harassment was the reason for his departure but called it "a total misunderstanding" and that "I gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted."^[4]

It was announced on October 30, 2006 that Reynolds planned to sue ESPN after having tried "everything possible to handle this situation quietly behind the scenes," while stating that he is seeking the money owed to him under the remainder of his contract, including interest and lost earnings. He is also asking the court for damages for lost future opportunities.^[5]

The Smoking Gun obtained a copy of Reynolds' contract that was filed as part of the lawsuit. Reynolds' lawsuit is for $5m, roughly equivalent to the value of the contract Reynolds signed that was scheduled to cover the 2006-2011 seasons.^[6]

On April 15, 2008, ESPN settled the lawsuit with Reynolds for an undisclosed sum. ESPN admitted to no wrongdoing in the settlement, and maintains that Reynolds was fired for cause.

[edit] Post-ESPN Career

On June 11, 2007, Reynolds officially joined MLB.com as a baseball commentator.^[7]

On April 25, 2008, Reynolds officially joined Mets pre-game and post-game coverage on SNY as a baseball commentator. ^[8]

[edit] See also

• List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
• List of Major League Baseball triples champions

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Harold Reynolds website
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• First public interview following termination at ESPN on Charlie Steiner's show 12-Sep-2006
• Reynolds wants ESPN to explain its actions - The Seattle Times, 06-Nov-2006, by Steve Kelley
• Former ESPN Analyst Sues Network over "Brief Hug" by Urban Celebrity News