|
By MICHAEL ROTHSTEIN Travis Harper had never before been part of a winning major-league baseball team. As a pitcher for the often lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays – first as a starter, now as a reliever -- opportunities to win were scarce after his initial call-up on Aug. 4, 2000. This year, however, both the former Circleville High School star and his team have finally grown comfortable in the always-tough American League East. "If you’re here for the low points, and there have been, it is always fun to be here when the team starts to turn the corner," Harper said by telephone this week. "The last month, month-and-a-half, we’re starting to turn a corner." The Devil Rays were 42-41 entering Thursday’s game against the Yankees, the first time in team history they were even .500 halfway through the season. It in part has to do with Harper, who is 2-0 with a 4.41 earned run average in 24 relief appearances. "The bullpen has been largely responsible for our turnaround this year," Tampa Bay pitching coach Chuck Hernandez said in an e-mail. "Because of his sinker ball and the ability he has to get hitters to hit groundballs, he usually enters games with men on base in tough situations. "He’s responded this year." Harper’s talent was obvious early. Drafted out of high school in the 14th round by the New York Mets, he instead accepted a scholarship from James Madison. Harper amassed a 20-10 record with a 4.08 ERA in three seasons at JMU before being taken in the third round of the 1997 draft by the Boston Red Sox. He quickly made his way to Tampa Bay, joining the team in 1998. He made his major league debut in 2000. This weekend will be a pivotal test for the rejuvenated Devil Rays, who play a four-game series against the first-place Yankees. It’ll also represent the first time Harper’s parents, Orville and Barbara, will be in Yankee Stadium, one of the Meccas of baseball. The Harpers, though, see plenty of their son’s exploits. They watch almost every game, using a Direct TV satellite dish from their home at the foot of remote Spruce Knob in Pendleton County, W.Va. "There are some games we don’t get if they are up in Toronto, [but] usually about every night we can get them," his mother, Barbara, said. "For Baltimore, we can go to those games." Orville traveled to Camden Yards to watch Travis pitch during Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Orioles. Father also coached son when Harper was a standout at Circleville, a kindergarten through 12th-grade school that has since been merged with Franklin to form Pendleton County High. There also are more members of the Harper family than before. Harper was married to his high school sweetheart, Tiffany, two years ago. The couple, who live in Riverton, W.Va., in the offseason, have a 10-month-old daughter, Leia. "I was able to be there for that," Harper, 28, said of his daughter’s birth in September. "It was great. I’m glad I didn’t miss that." This season also will give the right-hander three-plus years of major-league service, making him eligible for salary arbitration. In 2003, Harper received $300,000 for his 4-8 record and 3.77 ERA. The Devil Rays still own his rights for another two seasons, at which time he’ll become a free agent. Money is secondary now, however, as the D-Rays are finally winning. And Harper’s goal, as it’s been since he won his first big-league game on Sept. 24, 2000, is to stay in the majors. That first game was a milestone in other ways. Pitching a complete-game, two-hit blanking of the Toronto Blue Jays, Harper became the first American League player since 1992 to win his first game with a nine-inning shutout. "It was definitely a highlight," Harper said, "something that certainly did help propel me a little bit." So did adding a sinker to his repertoire in 2002 spring training and working on a curve ball this season. "When [Tampa Bay manager] Lou [Piniella] brings him into games, it’s when we need a groundball to get us out of an inning," Hernandez said. "This year, he worked real hard on his curveball and it has improved. "He was more of a one-pitch pitcher before this year." Now, he’s more varied – and he’s winning, just like the D-Rays. |