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Pitcher Thomas Harrison was the lone inductee for 1997 into the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame at a strong 98.1%. Two others crossed the midway mark, but fell short of the 66% requirement. RF Dede Hayati had 58.6% on his sixth ballot and closer Lorenzo Amaru got 52.1% for his second attempt.



Thomas Harrison – Starting Pitcher – Guam Golden Eagles – 98.1% First Ballot

Thomas Harrison was a 6’0’’, 190 pound right-handed pitcher from Newcastle, Australia; a city of roughly 350,000 inhabitants in the Sydney Basin. Harrison was a well-rounded pitcher with solid stuff, movement, and control. His fastball hit around 97-99 mph and was his strongest pitch. Harrison mixed in a sinker and changeup to fool hitters. Compared to his contemporaries, his stamina was low and he didn’t toss many complete games.

Harrison was noticed as a teenage amateur by a scout for Guam, who signed him to a developmental deal in spring 1974. He officially debuted with one relief appearance in 1977 at age 21. Harrison was moved into the rotation full-time in 1978, although a strained oblique cost him two months. Still, he had enough innings to qualify for an ERA title at 1.58. This season, Guam fell two games short of the Pacific League title behind Port Moresby.

The next two seasons, the Golden Eagles won the Oceania Championship. They won 112-50 games in 1979, setting the top mark at the time for wins in a season. Harrison was second in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1979, then won the award in 1980. He missed the 1979 finals to a sprained elbow, but was a big part of their 1980 finals run, tossing 16 scoreless innings in his two starts. Guam remained solid for the next few years, but wouldn’t make it back to the final in the 1980s as Honolulu’s dynasty dawned. Harrison also started pitching for Australia in the World Baseball Championship, playing eight WBCs from 1981-91. He was mostly a reliever in the WBC, posting a 1.93 ERA over 56 innings with 87 strikeouts and 2.2 WAR.

Harrison signed a six-year, $3,016,000 extension in the spring of 1983. That season, he picked up his second Pitcher of the Year award, leading in ERA, wins, and WAR. Harrison led in wins thrice, WHIP thrice, K/BB twice, quality starts four times, and FIP- three times. He stayed solid over these next few years, although elbow and forearm inflammation cost Harrison a number of starts in this stretch. Guam finally bottomed out in 1987 at 64-98, needing to rebuild after having posted nine straight winning seasons. However, the Golden Eagles decided to keep Harrison around, adding a three-year extension for the 33-year old just before the 1989 season.

Sadly, 1988 was Harrison’s final full season. Elbow issues cost him much of early 1988, then he suffered a torn UCL in August 1989 to put him out 11 months. Harrison made it back for a few starts in late 1990, although his production was average at best. He looked good to start 1991, but had another torn UCL that ultimately ended his career. The Golden Eagles won the PL pennant in 1991, but Harrison was watching in a sling. He retired that winter at age 35. Guam retired his #12 uniform soon after.

Harrison’s stats saw a 203-108 record, 2.22 ERA, 3067 innings, 3030 strikeouts, 520 walks, 346/431 quality starts, 82 FIP-, 132 ERA+, and 67.3 WAR. He was the seventh pitcher to reach 200 wins and the 11^th to 3000 strikeouts. Harrison’s overall accumulations are a bit low compared to some others due to his injury issues, but his ERA and rate stats hold up very well against the best of the best. He was a big reason Guam was a consistent contender in the 1980s. The voters recognized this and gave Harrison the slam dunk first ballot induction at 98.1% as the lone member of OBA’s 1997 class.