First Major League Start

Way to go Matt. best of luck. keep up the great work.

Awesome news! Congratulations to Matt and his family!

Coach May, that news must have been so gratifying for you to hear!

I cannot imagine the excitement and anticipation that Matt and his family are feeling. Hope it's everything they hope for and more!

Best wishes and congratulations! I'll be pulling for him unless he is pitching to the O's.

How Exciting!! Good Luck! How do players stay calm after they get the call? Or their parents, and former coaches?

Great news! Best wishes to Matt!


Julie

This is great news. Way to go, Matt!

Great Job and what a moment for the family, Well done

How totally cool. Nice job Coach!

Good Luck to Matt!

Congratulations to Matt Harrison for notching his first major league win during his first major league appearance! Way to go!

Outstanding game for Matt. Amazing composure for a young man that had to wait an extra hour to make his major league debut because of a rain delay. Been looking forward to this since we traded for him last year with Atlanta.

Great news. Congrats to both of you!!!

I had so many emotions while watching him pitch last night. I thought about the first time I saw him pitch in middle school. I remember this skinny kid with poor throwing mechanics that got shelled in a 10-0 loss. I remember walking up to his mom Pam after the game (we went to HS together) and telling her to tell him not to be too upset with the loss. I then remember walking over to him and telling him to keep his head up. I remember his first hs season and how he had to throw in the playoffs that year for us as a freshman. He never made it out of the second inning and we lost 12-9. I also remember that summer when I took him to a travel team tryout and the coach later told me "I am sorry but he just doesnt throw hard enough to play for us." I remember telling him "Hey just keep working and you will be all right." I remember him calling me through out his hs career and saying "Coach are you going up to the field today?" "Can I come and help you on the field?" I remember standing on the steps leading up to the field after his soph year at 1am in the morning after a long bus ride back from a playoff loss. "Matt you have got to keep working hard in the off season. You have got to continue to want it." I will never forget what he said. "Coach I want it. I will work as hard as I can work. And I will do more than anyone else." I remember how he got no pub in the area even after having a good Soph year. He worked so hard that off season leading up to his Jr year. Our first game of his Jr year we were going to play a local powerhouse with some really good young players that were well known. One being Josh Horton who starred at UNC and was a first round draft pick out of college. Another being Daniel Hargrove another top notch player that signed with UNC Wilmington and was drafted this year. I will never forget seeing him in the bullpen before the game. He was so focused. He knew this was a big game for pride and for our team. He broke out that night the first game of his Jr year with a 2 hit 15 K performance and a 2-0 shut out performance. He was 87-89 all night long and was tremendous. I made some calls and no one believed he was as good as I told them. No one came to see him pitch that season his JR year. I remember taking him to the state games that year after the HS season ended. He was the last guy to pitch in the last game of the event. Most of the scouts had left all the top name guys had already thrown. Matt comes out and pitches two innings of no hit baseball and is sitting at 88-90. That night my phone is ringing off the hook. That was the start of people believing.

Matts first start his senior year there were over 20 pro scouts and several college coaches in attendance. He was lights out. He was 88-90 touching 92 on several pitches. Boy did he work that off season and prepare himself. The thing I always loved about Matt is he was the same kid when everyone believed in him as he was when no one did. He stayed humble and he never got the big head syndrome. Every off season he is at the hs working with the younger guys. Running with them and throwing to our catchers. He works with our pitchers and he still says "Coach can I come work at the field with you."

As I sat there and watched him all I could think about was how I watched him grow from a skinny boy into a grown man. I thought about how hard he worked and how he always believed. He never worried about the fact he was an unknown guy. He never worried about what people thought about him. He just worried about working to be the best player he could be. I sat with him this fall and I talked with him for at least two hours one afternoon at the field. He told me that he thought this would be the year he got the chance to pitch in the big leagues. Words can not describe how proud I am of Matt.

Not too shabby for a kid that came into hs at 6'3 170 lbs topping out at 78. I have to give alot of credit to Matts parents Pam and David. They raised a fine young man. Matt was not allowed to do anything until his chores were completed at home. He worked on their farm. Saturdays were work days at the Harrison home. I remember him telling me he had to get home from practice because he was digging a pond for the animals. I had to go for myself and see this. And there indeed was a huge hole that was several feet deep and several feet wide. I remember thinking to myself how many kids would do this? It took him several weeks to complete the digging.

What a great young man and a wonderful family. Regardless of what happens from here on out. Matt has done it in my book. He pitched in the show! And he earned every bit of it!

Coach

While reading your post I could almost see a tear in your eye and a big smile on your face. Thanks for sharing that.