The St. Paul Saints are off to one of the best starts in the history of American Association baseball, and there is a lot of praise to go around related to the historic start. Solid defense, amazing pitching, power and timely hitting have all played key roles in the club’s early .770-plus winning percentage. What is often missed is that there is another dimension that is as key to the club’s success as any other – speed – and it is one of the Saints newest members that is making this club the most dangerous lineup in the league.

Following the 2014 American Association season, manager George Tsamis decided that he wanted to make a fundamental change in the way he built his St. Paul Saints club for 2015. To accomplish that goal he set his focus on acquiring outfielder Alonzo Harris from the New Jersey Jackals.

“I haven’t tried to steal bases enough,” Tsamis explained before the season began. “I wanted a guy who I knew could really put pressure on opposing defenses, and Alonzo is such a good base stealer. I knew he was the perfect fit for what we wanted to accomplish here.”

So far this season Harris has been everything that could have been asked for by the Saints manager. He has stolen 19 bases, despite missing ten games with a leg injury, and has added a .278 average and six home runs. He has proven that whether he has a bat in his hands, a glove on his hand in the outfield, or gloves on his hands on the base paths, he is as dangerous of a player as anyone in the league, including the four other guys on this roster that are vying for the American Association MVP. He is the complete package.

Alonzo’s love of the game began when he was just three and, interestingly enough, it was his sister who first fueled his passion for the game. “I was three-years-old and my older sister picked up a ball and put a bat in my hands. She threw the ball to me and I hit it and it went on from there. It was always fun.”

Recognizing his son’s athleticism and love for sports, Alonz0’s father ensured that his son had the opportunity to play and excel at whatever sport he chose to play. His father was wise enough to let the younger Harris learn to love the sport on his own, and would simply guide and direct as needed.

“My dad never pressured me to play any sports. He introduced me to football, to baseball, and to basketball, but he told me that it was up to me. He wasn’t going to pressure me. He just showed me how to play when I asked and helped me to get better.”

By the ninth grade, Harris was starting to show some real promise in his three favorite sports, football, basketball and baseball. Recognizing that he had a real shot of moving onto the next level if he dedicated himself to just one sport, Alonzo’s ninth grade baseball coach explained to the young man that if he committed himself to a single sport he had a real shot of becoming an elite athlete in college.

“There becomes a certain point where you have to focus on a certain sport, and when I got into the ninth grade my coach pointed out to me that I had a real chance if I focused on baseball, so that became the sport for me. My coach pointed out to me that I had a real shot at reaching an elite level in baseball, to even play professionally, if I committed myself. It was at that point that I made the decision to just play baseball and football so that I didn’t miss any of either season.”

The choice brought instant success. Alonzo not only become a top athlete in baseball, but in football as well. It wasn’t long before scouts were showing up to see the young man play, a fact that he was unaware of until his senior season.

“I started seeing scouts my senior year and that was the first time I realized that maybe I could play this professionally. Usually someone pointed them out to me because I didn’t really know they were there. They kind of work on blending in. One scout told me that they were looking at me since the ninth grade, and I was glad that I didn’t know that because I feel that if I would have known that someone was looking at me then I would have tried to play better or try harder and that might have caused me to make mistakes. By me not knowing that anyone was there scouting me I was just able to have fun and not worry about anything else.”

While playing at the Mississippi All-Star game, Alonzo learned that the New York Mets had drafted him in the 39th round. That came as a partial surprise to him because he hadn’t received any scholarships to play baseball, but had received several offers to play football. It was a “Wow” moment for Harris who realized that he had a big decision to make.

“I figured I would go to college and play football, but getting drafted still kind of surprised me. I wasn’t expecting that at all, but wanted to see if playing baseball was a better option for me. Once I went to the pre-draft workout I knew I had a chance.”

In 2008, the then 19-year-0ld headed to the Mets rookie league team where he hit .308 in 33 games with 5 home runs and 7 stolen bases. The next season the organization sent him to Kingsport where, again, he excelled, hitting .273 while leading the club in home runs (10) and stolen bases (15).  He would finish the season at Mid-A Savannah which would become his destination the next season as well.

It was in Savannah that the Mets decided that they wanted their budding star to make some dramatic changes in his positioning in the batter’s box. Wanting to give Alonzo a split second more time to see fastballs, the organization had him move from the front of the batter’s box to the back line, a move that drastically changed his approach to hitting.

“I like to scoot up in the box because I think it added to my balance and it allowed me to adjust to curveballs just as it was breaking. I had to make some adjustments to pitches in the back of the box, but in the back of the box the fastball losses a mile or two per hour, and I realized that it did make sense to try it that way.”

It may have made sense, but it did not produce results – at least not right away. Using the new position, Harris hit .224 in his first full season in Savannah and moved from being a top prospect to a fourth outfielder. Most would have been soured by the experience and angered that the organization was punishing them for doing what they asked, but all it did was drive Alonzo to want to succeed even more.

“In 2010 I was an everyday player; in 2011 I was the fourth outfielder. I realized what I needed to work on. Not as much on what they wanted me to work on, but more on what I needed to do to have fun again. I wanted to focus on what makes me tick, although I did listen to what they told me to do. I incorporated it all in, but I added it to my game so that I could get to improve my game.”

Alonzo started out as the fourth outfielder, but injuries and call-ups gave him to the opportunity to play every day, and once that happened he took advantage of the situation. At just 21-years-old, the outfielder hit .270 in 109 games and scored 56 runs. He also stole 15 bases, a sign of good things to come.

One season later Harris was the Florida State League MVP, after hitting .287 with 8 home runs, 74 runs scored, and 42 RBI for St. Lucie. He also stole a league leading 40 bases and had an outstanding .354 on-base percentage. These numbers were even more impressive considering that for the first two months of the season he was the fifth outfielder on the club, despite his success from the previous year.

“In 2012 for the first two months I didn’t even play. There were top prospects above me so I was the fifth outfielder. I had to train my mind that whenever I got the opportunities I was going to take advantage of that opportunity. I realized that I may only get to play once every two weeks so if I had four at-bats I needed to get four hits. I wanted to think that when I was called on I was ready.”

The numbers were quite impressive, and proved that he had all the physical tools to be a real superstar one day, but it was the mental aspect of the game that was the real key to his success. He had been asked to completely change a major portion of his game, and quickly learned not only how to incorporate that into his game, but how to excel using it. He was asked to sit for 10 days at a time without playing at all, yet blossomed when given the opportunity to prove himself.

It was truly remarkable how Alonzo had moved from fifth-wheel, so to speak, to league MVP, but what many people did not realize was that he was actually playing every day – in his mind. The outfielder developed a mentality that allowed him to prepare for games by visualizing each at-bat even when he was not physically on the field.

“In every game I was up there timing the pitcher’s pitches. It didn’t matter whether I was playing or not, I was watching and learning how to time the pitches. In my mind I was playing the game. I was getting ready, developing myself to be ready for any situation.

“Those every two or three at-bats helped me to be prepared so that when I finally got the chance I was ready. When I was made the everyday center fielder I was ready, and I took advantage of that opportunity.”

In 2013 he moved to AA-Birmingham where his season was derailed by a concussion. Feeling the effects for a majority of the campaign Harris hit just .218, but still stole 25 bases and had shown enough to prove that he deserved another shot. Surprisingly, the Mets organization didn’t agree. Coming out of Spring Training in 2014, Harris was let go; a move that left the then 25-year-old shocked and befuddled.

“The release killed me. I had a son on the way. I was thinking I was going to repeat double-A, I just figured that is the way things would work out, but then they released me. It really hurt a lot. I was wondering if there was something I did wrong, and I was questioning a lot what I did, if I should have done something differently.”

Alonzo was signed by the Miami Marlins organization, but was still struggling to wrap his mind around what had gone wrong with the Mets. He went to High-A Jupiter, but hit just .094 in 11 games and was released from there as well. The release was troubling, but the outfielder clearly understood that he had not come to the club in the right frame of mind.

“I went to the Marlins, but I was not able to get focused. I just couldn’t get it going in High-A. I had great at-bats, but just couldn’t get it going.”

With a son on the way and out of baseball, Alonzo found himself in the unfavorable position of trying to figure out what to do with himself. He had done everything that was asked of him, but was still out of a job. Understandably, it just didn’t make sense to him.

“That was my breaking point. It just hurt a lot. I felt like all the hard work didn’t pay off. I put in a lot of hard work but I didn’t get where I wanted to be. It just hit me. It was my lowest point.”

It wasn’t long after his release that independent teams began to call Alonzo wanting him to join their club. The New Jersey Jackals became the team that most intrigued him, but his experiences in the last year were still troubling him a bit. That was when he turned to the person whose opinion he values most.

“I got offered a spot by the Jackals, and I talked to my dad about it. He told me this was a new opportunity and a fresh start, and my dad just told me this was a great opportunity to have fun again.”

Taking advantage of that opportunity is exactly what Alonzo did. In 89 games for the New Jersey Jackals, Alonzo hit .290 with 54 runs scored and a team leading 34 stolen bases. He also showed a great propensity to get on base, doing so at a .354 clip. With those numbers it was easy to see why Tsamis was so enthusiastic about bringing the outfielder to St. Paul.

Harris has been everything the Saints could have asked for and more. He has played both second base and the outfield, delivered huge hits, scored runs, and added a lot of pressure to teams trying to stop him from stealing bases. He also has mastered the art of working pitchers to wear them down early.

“I understand my job and study what is best for me to do no matter where I bat. As a leadoff guy I understand it is more than me just getting on base. I also got to make that pitcher throw a lot of pitches. I need six or seven pitches per at-bat, because that helps my team as well.”

Using his physical skills and augmenting those skills with improvements are not the only ways that Alonzo has used his mind to excel in the game of baseball. It is the channeling of his emotions during games and his ability to remain composed when angered or frustrated that has aided in his performance.

Harris readily admits that his first four home runs this season came after becoming angered at a “bad call” against him. In a June 19th contest against the Gary Southshore RailCats, the Saints outfielder took a called second strike and was visibly upset by the call. He stepped back for a moment and two pitches later blasted a shot over the left field fence for a three-run home run. (Note to opposing pitchers: If a call goes against Harris do the smart thing and walk him.)

“I was angry at the call. I know that umpires make mistakes as well, but that fuels me. I use that as motivation.”

It is his ability to see the professionalism in others that has helped to motivate him as well. Alonzo is quite adept at seeing the character in others and using it as a means to improve his own game.

“The composure of others really motivates me. When I see Pedro (Hernandez) throw a strike and they call it a ball, yet he keeps his composure that motivates me. He is showing me how to play the game, how to stay composed, and play the right way.”

While being a sensational baseball player is the desire of his heart, it is setting a good example for his son that has become the driving force in his life. To be the best dad he can be he turns to the ultimate role model.

“My dad has been everything to me, always in my life. We are like brothers, like twins. I can’t explain how close I am to my dad. He has never missed a game since high school. He only missed two games I played in football because he had been sick, but he has always been there otherwise. A great man, a great father. My mother and he have been together for 33 years in a great marriage. I strive to be like him.”

He even credits his father for teaching him the most essential lesson he has learned about the game. “He taught me how to zone out what is being said negatively against me and turn that into motivation to play better. In this game you can’t succeed if you can’t do that.”

When St. Paul Saints manager George Tsamis acquired Alonzo Harris he was looking to bring a whole new aspect to the club’s game for the 2015 season. Harris has done that quite well, but he has done so much more. He has set a good example for a whole community on how to play the game with passion and composure; to play with love and professionalism; to play with great physical ability and intelligence. He has proven that the wisdom racing through his mind is far more dangerous than the runs scored, stolen bases, or hits he achieves. He has proven that you never count out Alonzo Harris.

By Robert Pannier
Member of the IBWAA