Harrison Earns Postseason MVP Honors
Published on October 2, 2011 under Atlantic League (AtL)
York Revolution News Release
(York, PA): Baseball's a game of failure. Fail 70% of the time and you're still a star. And if hitting .300 makes you a star, hitting better than .500 must make you a legend, at least in small-town Pennsylvania. It's a game where a short memory comes in handy. Luckily for the York Revolution, third baseman Vince Harrison has just that.
"I'm sure I've won an MVP award, back in high school, maybe somewhere. But nothing like this. This is awesome."
And those were the first modest words from the York Revolution third baseman upon being named the 2011 Atlantic League post-season MVP, who graciously accepted his award rather than list his personal accolades. Perhaps such an unassuming approach is the only way to succeed in a game of failure.
Harrison's whole family was in attendance for the clinching Game 4 on Sunday, their eyes welling with pride as they watched the Revolution dog pile on the mound from beside the dugout, and the emotion bubbled over as they embraced together in a circle after hearing the announcement of Vince's MVP award. It's a family accustomed to success on the playing field; for starters Vince played SEC Football and Baseball at the University of Kentucky, and his brother Josh is only an infielder in the Majors for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But this day was decidedly Vince's.
Harrison went 3-for-4 with a double and a run in the series clinching victory, and by the standard he set throughout the playoffs, it was actually rather ho-hum. In the 2011 postseason, Harrison batted an eye-popping .529 in nine games, stroking five doubles and a triple while driving in five runs and scoring three against Lancaster and Long Island, the best the Atlantic League had to offer.
When Harrison rapped his third hit, the double to lead off the seventh, most reporters immediately put his name on their playoffs MVP ballot and turned it in. The score may still have been tied 2-2, but the feeling a big inning was brewing against the Long Island Ducks bullpen was palpable, and indeed Harrison would score two batters later for a 3-2 lead. Three more runs ensured a 6-3 victory and a series win in four games for the Revolution.
The significance of the accomplishment, and his own season-long contribution was not lost on Harrison, who first joined York in 2010 from the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Northern League for the tail-end of the regular season and championship run a year ago.
"Last year was the first championship I was ever a part of, and it was a little different because I was only here a month. But this one, to be here from April, from day one, it's a different feeling. Words can't even describe, it's a great feeling"
A season hasn't ended without the popping of a cork for the Revolution since 2009. Either way, it always seems difficult to grasp the fact that summer is over, and tomorrow, there is actually not a baseball game to go to. For the die-hard fans who gathered outside of the clubhouse Sunday afternoon until the Revs herded out to give them a little beer and champagne shower of their own as the celebration spilled outside, that great feeling Vince Harrison is enjoying is certainly mutual.
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The York Revolution Professional Baseball Club is a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. 2010 marked the franchise's first league championship, in just its fourth year of operation. Home games are played at Sovereign Bank Stadium, located at 5 Brooks Robinson Way, York, PA 17401. For more information, please call 717-801-HITS (4487), or visit the Revolution online at www.YorkRevolution.com .
Atlantic League Stories from October 2, 2011
- Revs Repeat - York Revolution
- Harrison Earns Postseason MVP Honors - York Revolution
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