Cross & Crescent

When Brendan Harris (William & Mary 2004) was a young boy, you could catch him staring at the Atlanta Braves baseball poster hanging on his bedroom wall. Perhaps he thought that if he stared long enough, the images of his favorite players Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz would be imprinted in his memory forever.

Maybe they were, for a few years later Harris would walk into the Chicago Cubs’ clubhouse for his first major league game, which happened to feature starting Cubs pitcher Maddux.

“It was a little bit overwhelming at first. Greg Maddux was pitching against the White Sox,” Harris says. “The deer in the headlights kind of feeling I had, however, has worn off a little bit since when I first got there.”

Making the Team

The Cubs first called on Harris in 2001 after he completed a very successful season as shortstop during his junior year at William & Mary. He spent the first few years in the minor leagues before playing his first major league game with the Chicago Cubs in 2004.

Later that year, he was traded from the Cubs to the Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals), and today Harris is a member of the Nationals’ 40-man, protected roster as a utility infielder.

As a utility player, Harris has learned to adapt. In mid-April 2006, the club optioned him back down to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs in order to add more depth to the National’s pitching roster.

Nationals Manager Frank Robinson said telling Harris about the demotion was one of the toughest things he had to do. “This young man is kind of special,” Robinson told mlb.com. “He is good on the ball club. He brings something to the ball club to help it win.”

Harris took the news well, saying he understood why the Nationals needed to make the move. “They need pitching, that’s the main thing. I think they were happy with what I was doing and how I was working. They were positive,” said Harris.

Harris’ stock had risen significantly since the off season, when he played well in the Arizona Fall League. After he was called up on April 13 to the Nationals, Harris became a valuable player.

In 2006, Harris has played in nine games for the Nationals and more than 30 games for the Zephyrs. He’s batting over .300 for the Zephyrs, including four home runs and 19 RBIs. He prefers playing shortstop or second base, but says he will play any infield position needed in order to establish himself.

“I hope to stay here awhile,” Harris says of the Nationals organization. “I was very surprised when I got traded from the Cubs. I’d love to stay in Washington. I think I have a pretty good in-road here.”

Nationals New Owners

On May 18, the Nationals were sold by Major League Baseball to a group headed by Ted Lerner and his son Mark. This ended Major League Baseball’s four-year role in owning and operating the franchise, which relocated from Montreal prior to the 2005 season.

The team will remain in Major League Baseball’s hands until the anticipated $450 million sale closes sometime between June 15 and the All-Star break (July 10-12). Major League Baseball originally purchased the struggling franchise, then the Expos, in 2002 from Jeffrey Loria and his partners for $120 million.

Harris says he is very optimistic about the new ownership, as they have said they are going to do whatever it takes to make the Nationals a top contender.

Adapting to Change

In 2004, Harris advanced beyond Double-A for the first time and excelled, hitting .302 with 27 doubles, 17 home runs, and 59 RBIs in 102 Pacific Coast League games for Iowa and Edmonton.

That same year, Harris got his first shot at the big leagues with the Cubs when they played a game at Milwaukee against the Milwaukee Brewers. The game was sold out and lots of Cub fans were in attendance.

“I hit a double at my second at bat, which was my first major league hit,” Harris recalls. “My dad, cousins, and uncle were there. It was a pretty fun moment.”

In July 2004, Harris was traded unexpectedly to the Expos/Nationals from the Cubs in a trade that sent Orlando Cabrera to the Boston Red Sox and Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs.

Harris made his Expos debut on September 8, ironically, at Wrigley Field. He hit his first big league homer in the nightcap of a doubleheader on September 15 against the Florida Marlins.

Harris says the situation in Montreal had gotten pretty bad before the team moved to Washington, D.C. “On any given night, only 3,000 people would attend the games in a stadium that could hold up to 47,000,” he says. The games were not televised and the city was further distracted by the National Hockey League strike.

Fraternal Dugout

Harris grew up in upstate New York and graduated from Queensbury High School, where he played both basketball and baseball.

Even though Harris was drafted after his junior year at William & Mary to play baseball, he did go back and earn his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in business.

When he first went to William & Mary and was on the baseball team, he got to know a few other guys who were already members of Lambda Chi Alpha.

After hanging around the fraternity house and getting to know the guys, “one guy pulled the trigger and then we all joined,” Harris says. “We loved our time there. It was a great experience.”

Combining the tough academic standards of William & Mary, along with the grueling demands of college baseball, gave Harris a lot of challenges.

“It was tough,” he recalls. “There was a lot expected of you at William & Mary. Being in the fraternity really helped. We could get a little network of guys who had taken the classes before and could give you a little help.”

Time management and the pressure of getting everything done became two of Harris’ biggest obstacles. “The experiences really helped shape who you are,” he says. “They helped you mature at a very fast rate.”

During his junior year, Harris was the chapter’s social chairman. He says he will always cherish the friendships he developed as a member of Lambda Chi Alpha.

“Just the friendships you made there,” he said. “I’ve been in multiple weddings of guys who were there. We still talk and hang out. The relationships I built there are the greatest things I took away.”

Harris says his experiences with Lambda Chi Alpha have really helped shape who he is today and how he handles his changing environments.

“I think the structure of being a part of something bigger than yourself, especially moving around and being a part of different teams,” he says, “is much like joining a fraternity.”