Saturday, June 10, 2023

Ken Harring played two seasons, then went into sales; Returned to game for long career as college coach

Ken Harring 1990 Durham Bulls card, Harring holding a bat

Ken Harring played two seasons as a pro, then he left the game - for sales, The Lowell Sun wrote in 2022.

He eventually turned back to the game, taking volunteer college coaching jobs - then taking the head coaching job at UMass Lowell in 2005, The Sun wrote

"Everything happens for a reason," Harring told The Sun in March 2022, on the occasion of his 500th college win. "Without that sales background I don’t think I’m the recruiter I am."

Harring's original career in baseball began in 1989, signed by the Braves as an undrafted free agent out of LeMoyne College in Syracuse.

Harring started with the Braves at rookie Idaho Falls. He got into 54 games and hit .322. He also stole 11 bases.

He then moved to high-A Durham for 1990. He hit a triple in a game that April. That August, he doubled and scored the winning run. Overall, he saw 96 games and hit .211 to end his career.

Harring returned to baseball by1996 with Northeastern University. He then moved to Saint Anselm and managed Keene in summer league action. He spent four seasons at Saint Anselm, before arriving at Lowell for 2005. He remains at Lowell in 2023.

Upon arriving at Lowell, Athletic Director Dana Skinner praised Harring as impressive to The Boston Globe.

"His cutting-edge ideas about baseball, his aggressive recruiting strategies, and his vision for the program beyond the field made him the best fit," Skinner told The Globe of Harring. "He has a sense of passion and optimism. When it comes to recruiting, he is everywhere."

Ken Harring 1990 Durham Bulls card, Harring holding a bat

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,173
Made the Majors:1,375-33.0%
Never Made Majors:2,798-67.0%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:558
10+ Seasons in the Minors:342

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