The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Indians’ player development director has multi-sport background
No matter what the job, James Harris always has been a quick learner.
It’s a trait that served the Los Angeles area native well when he served as chief of staff for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015 for head coach Chip Kelly. He had the same title before that for four years at the University of Oregon, when Kelly was the head coach there.
Prior to that, the 2000 graduate of the University of Nebraska had jobs in the athletic departments of his alma mater and Arizona State University.
In his various college posts and with the Eagles, Allen worked closely with players to round out their everyday lives.
Allen made the move from football to baseball in 2016 when he was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a special assistant to baseball operations.
In December 2016, having previously established a relationship with Indians general manager Mike Chernoff, he joined the Indians as director of player development. That puts him in charge of the team’s minor-league system.
Harris was at Classic Park on April 17 when the Captains opened a three-game series against the Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods.
His learning curve in baseball, Harris said with a smile, has been steady and steep.
“It feels like I’m getting a PhD in baseball. I learn something every day,” Harris said.
“For me, this is a dream come true and exactly what I want to do with my career,” he added. “I love the concept of taking individuals early in their careers and help them develop into something other than great baseball players. We want them to be responsible husbands, fathers and members of the community.”
Because such a small percentage of minor-league players make it to the big leagues, Harris said teams have an obligation to attend to nonbaseball considerations.
“It would be irresponsible of us to not to develop other aspects of their lives,” Harris said. “In the process, we believe they become better baseball players.”
Harris is aware that close attention is being paid to the relatively new trend of frontoffice executives crossing over from one sport to another. In Cleveland, analytics expert Paul DePodesta left the New York Mets to join the Browns as director of strategic planning.
“The games are different, obviously. But many of the keys to success are the same in every sport,” Harris said.”You have players building relationships with coaches and managers, coaches and managers building relationships with players.”
Harris was asked to characterize the challenge of overseeing the 204 players in the Indians’ minor-league system.
“It would be a daunting task for one person, but it’s not just one person,” he said. “We have a staff of 70 in player development. We have guys with thousands of years of combined experience.”
The 2017 Captains have caught Harris’ eyes.
“There are a lot of young pitchers here we are excited about and who could be factors in this organization for years to come,” Harris said. “There are young position players who are talented, too, and just need seasoning.
“This is a challenging time for many of these players because it’s the first time they’ll play a full season of 140 games. It will be great to see how they develop over the course of that season.”
While he is aware of the lists of top prospects compiled by Baseball America and similar publications, Harris said he is less concerned with outside evaluations of the team’s minor leaguers than inside observations of their progress.
“My job isn’t to tell you who’s a great player,” Harris said. “My job is to make sure they all get better.”
Ice lifts Captains to third straight “W”
Lake County catcher Logan Ice had to think for a few seconds when asked if he’d ever put together an effort akin to his tour de force in the Captains’ 1-0 victory over Bowling Green on April 17 at Classic Park.
Ice was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning that chased home LiJen Chu from third base with what proved to be the deciding run in the tightlycontested affair.
He threw out three Bowling Green baserunners, two on attempted steals. He also used a nifty fake motion to freeze Adrian Rondon of the Hot Rods when he strayed too far off the bag at third base before firing a strike to teammate Jorma Rodriguez at the bag to get Rondon.
“I don’t think I can remember anything like this,” Ice said, smiling, of the opener of a three-game series.
With their third straight win, the Captains improved to 6-5. Bowling Green slipped to 6-5.
“These are the kind of games you live for,” Ice said.
The Captains managed only three hits, leaving it to Lake County starter Micah Miniard and relievers Ben Krauth and Henry Martinez to hold the line. They did so, blanking the Hot Rods on six hits, five of them singles.
Krauth (3-0, 0.00 ERA) worked 3 1/3 innings in middle relief to earn the victory. Martinez went the final 1 1/3 innings to notch his second save.