After 13 Major League seasons, Josh Harrison officially announced his retirement exactly 14 years to the day after he played in his first MLB game. The 37-year-old Harrison thanked his family, teammates, and the many others in his life that contributed to his career in a post on his X account, and ended his statement by thanking baseball itself:
“Thank you for helping shape me, humble me, and give me a platform to grow, not just as a player, but as a man. I’m blessed to have been a 2x All-Star and to play for as long as I did, but I never sought to prove people wrong, only to prove myself right in my beliefs. With that being said, future players don’t let other people’s expectations of you limit you from reaching your full potential. Put in the work and go get what you deserve.”
A sixth-round pick for the Cubs in the 2008 draft, Harrison never suited up for the Cubs at the MLB level, as he was dealt within the NL Central to the Pirates as part of a five-player trade deadline swap in July 2009. Harrison made his big league debut with Pittsburgh in 2011 and then spent the next eight seasons with the Bucs, playing several positions but primarily handling second and third base.
As Harrison noted, he was named to two All-Star teams in his career, in 2014 and 2017. The 2014 campaign was the best of Harrison’s career, as he hit .315/.347/.490 with 13 homers over 550 plate appearances, and finishing ninth in NL MVP voting to help lead the Pirates to a wild card berth. Andrew McCutchen was undoubtedly the biggest star of that era of Pirates baseball, but Harrison’s emergence as a regular (and in 2014, a star in his own right) contributed to the core of a Pittsburgh club that reached the postseason every year from 2013-15.
Harrison cashed in on his 2014 performance by signing a four-year, $27.3MM extension with the Pirates in April 2015. The contract also contained club options for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, but the Bucs declined the first of those options (paying Harrison a $1MM buyout instead of a $10.5MM salary for 2019) following the 2018 campaign. Beyond the fact that the Pirates have traditionally been wary of even moderate spending, Harrison’s performance dipped in 2018, and he spent a good chunk of the season on the injured list due to a fractured hand.
The last five seasons of Harrison’s career saw him hit .254/.314/.367 over 1335 PA with the Tigers, Nationals, Athletics, White Sox, and Phillies from 2019-23. He hit quite well with Washington in 2020 and in the first part of the 2021 season, though his bat cooled off after being dealt to the A’s at the 2021 trade deadline. Beyond these big-league appearances, Harrison also signed minor league contracts with the Rangers in 2023 and with the Reds in 2024, though those deals didn’t translate to any time at the MLB level. The latter contract represented a bit of a homecoming for the Cincinnati native, but Harrison opted out of his deal with the Reds during Spring Training 2024 after being told he wasn’t making the team.
For his career, Harrison hit .270/.316/.396 with 73 home runs, 1080 hits, 218 doubles, 91 steals (out of 128 attempts) over 4347 plate appearances and 1208 games. The utilityman played at least one game at every position except catcher over the course of his career, including six mop-up appearances on the mound.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Harrison on a fine career, and we wish him all the best in his post-playing days.
A good egg and fun to watch who became a fan favorite. Godspeed good sir!
Are you saying he is cracked? Fried? Scrambled? Well, the yolks on you!
Eggsellent pun-ditry. Now do the Champions League!
Nah, om let you do that!
thats just too easy, coop….id even say you took the over easy route..!
Id say you’re right, Larry, but I wouldn’t want to egg you on.
Consider these egg jokes poached.
I remember he knocked out two hits to get to 1,000 for his career, and pitched a scoreless ninth on July 5th 2022.
I watched him break up Rich Hill’s no-hitter with a walk-off HR in the 10th inning.
A fine career and an excellent retirement statement. Thank you, Josh, for all you’ve contributed to the grand game of baseball.
Always liked Josh. He played the game the right way, and always had a smile on his face.
Best of luck with your future endeavors, Josh!
Class on and off the field. One of the great guys in the game.
Best of luck in retirement.
When he left Pittsburgh he donated all the furniture in his house to Light of Life charity which is a shelter and helps/supports the homeless community. Paraphrasing here because my memory isn’t perfect but I remember part of his reasoning and explanation was that he could pay movers to take it to another city or he could just buy new furniture and try to help those in need in the process. He was great at baseball but seemingly much better at the game of life.
I remember that. It was a great show of character.
Always loved his energy and his excitement to play the game..Thanks
Great guy. Fun player. Nice career.
Definitely not a hall of famer.
Neither are you, McNasty, but he at least had a good career and was genuinely a nice guy , something else that you aren’t
yea….hes a millionaire. how bout u?
So strange how sensitive you guys get with these comments.
there’s no reason for insulting a player who doesn’t deserve it
Maybe just heading off the expected “See you in the HOF” comment?
@TheMan 3
Which players deserve insults?
I’d say guys like Wander Franco and Felipe Vazquez could warrant some insults
Pretty out of place comment
I still remember watching Josh play in Altoona, cheering him on every step of the way. A few of us even made it out to Citi Field to root for the Pirates, and we told him, “No more AAA you’re here to stay.” At first, he thought we were joking, but it didn’t take long for him to realize we were die-hard fans always have been, always will be.
Josh, any chance we’ll see you back in the game as a coach or manager sometime soon? It’d be incredible to see you continue sharing your passion and knowledge with the next generation.
John Shelby’s nephew!
T-Bone!
Dudes a total bro Godspeed sir
One of my favorites, wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
Congrats on a fine career, Josh. Respected you as a competitor, only sorry you never played for our side in your prime.
Onward and upward, Josh! One of my favorite players and people.
Much respect. For Josh. Someone should try to sign him as a base running coach 🙂
One of my favorite plays to watch. Well done.
Congrats on a terrific career and best of luck in your future endeavors, Mr. Harrison.
Even though McCutchen was a better and more productive overall player than Harrison was during those 2013-2015 seasons, Harrison always seemed like the more electric player. He was able to hit so well and started games at second base, third base, shortstop, and both outfield corners, and played all those positions with solid to well above average defense. I’ve also never seen a guy who was able to get out of rundowns safely like him. Those two rundowns back in 2014 were so entertaining. Hope Harrison enjoys retirement!
@mlb1225
Here’s a video of Harrison avoiding tags, including the rundowns.
youtube.com/watch?v=HTv6d0dJ3i8
Incredible stuff.
Josh Harrison escapes a rundown against the Mets; Terry Collins blows a fuse. Full video.
youtube.com/watch?v=WxqU_cBPZcc
I was at the game where he avoids the tag against the Cubs. Think it’s the second one in the first video you sent. But any close play, he was winning 99% of the time. He was a super crafty base runner and maybe the best baseball IQ I’ve een personally.
Thanks JayHa for some great times in Pittsburgh. Enjoy your retirement!
A 2 time All-star. A Thousand career hits. 10 plus years service time for Full benefits. And Almost 40 million banked. ! Not a Bad Career at All.
Sad part for the pirates today, he would be the all-star representative and his stats are pretty basic/average.
Skenes?
Clutch player. One of the hardest workers out their. Even after his injuries he still was a decent player
Always liked this guy….I was disappointed that his time with Detr’oit didn’t work out….
Nationals legend. Best of luck to him.
That retirement statement giving me chills. Congrats to J Hay on a great (and fun) career
2 time All Star. Not bad for super utility guy. He and Starling Marte privided a much needed spark to the last A’s Playoff contending team
One of my favorite all time Buccos.Fine player with a wonderful attitude who brought joy and light to the room.Enthusiasm was his forte.He brought 99% of what he had to every game.The Pirates dearly miss players like him now.
Very good player on som very good Pirates teams. I enjoyed watching him.