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Washington Nationals Ten Seasons Later: Willie Harris

By Ricky Keeler

Apr 7, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; General view of Nationals Park before a game between the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; General view of Nationals Park before a game between the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Our look back at the 2008 Washington Nationals continues by looking at a utility player who had a career year in D.C.

Each week, we have been looking at a different player from the 2008 Washington Nationals. While that team only won 59 games, they were the first team to play their home games at Nationals Park. Today, our player spotlight looks like outfielder Willie Harris, who had a career year that season.

During the 2008 season, Harris (who was in his age 30 season), had a slash line of .251/.344/.417 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI’s in 140 games. He was second on the team in walks (50), tied for second in stolen bases (13), tied for third in home runs, and fourth in hits (92).

If you go by Baseball Reference’s WAR stat, Harris’s 2.9 WAR in 2008 was the highest of his career and the second highest on the Washington Nationals (Cristian Guzman – 4.6). In the field, he was a strong defender if you go by his 13 defensive runs saved as a left fielder (Fangraphs).

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Harris signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals in December 2008 after playing the 2007 season with another NL East team, the Atlanta Braves. He hit .270 that season with two home runs, 32 RBI’s, and stole 17 bases in 117 games.

Even though Harris wasn’t in the Opening Day lineup, he was a strength for the Nats because of his ability to play many different positions. He played left field, center field, third base, second base, and shortstop. For most of the season, he was in left field (86 games).

Over the course of the first three months of the season, Harris didn’t get more than 41 at-bats in a given month. However, in the month of July, he led the team in home runs (four) and hits (25).

On July 20, Harris hit one home run and drove in five RBI’s in a 15-6 win over his former team. Harris had his best success against the Braves that season (.327, two home runs, 12 RBI’s, 13 walks, .462 on-base percentage in 52 at-bats).

In the following month, Harris kept that success going. He hit four home runs and drove in 16 runs in 29 games. His best game during that month was on August 22 in Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. He went 2-for-4 in the game, but ended up hitting a pair of home runs (including a grand slam) and six RBI’s in a 13-5 Nats win.

After the 2008 season, the Washington Nationals re-signed Harris to a two-year contract. While he did play in over 130 games each of the next two seasons, his batting average dropped to .235 in 2009 and .183 in 2010.

Next: The Up And Down Career Of Michael Taylor

Although Harris isn’t the first name that pops into your head when you talk about the Washington Nationals, he did have a decent first season in Washington D.C.

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