June 3, 200421 yr Batting Around with Willie Harris By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com Willie Harris has some big shoes to fill. As only the second Major Leaguer ever to hail from Cairo, Ga., Harris knows he will never eclipse the legendary status of the first -- Jackie Robinson. But Harris has smaller goals in mind. For one, he is trying to become an everyday fixture in the White Sox lineup. MLB.com recently sat down with Harris to talk about his life on and off the field. He was asked nine, mostly offbeat, questions. MLB.com: What was your first job when you were younger? Harris: I worked at the pickle plant. I worked there in the summer of my sophomore or junior year of high school. I was the pickle stacker. They put the pickles in jars. They had a machine that put all the jars in one box, and it ran through a machine, and my job was to take it off and stack it on the crate. I was in the back end of the pickle line, stacking jars. It was kinda interesting. MLB.com: Talk about your first car. What do you remember about it? Harris: It was a brown Pontiac 6000. A 1980. No (mechanical) problems at all. But it was brown. Doo-doo brown. But, back then, it was just kinda cool having a car. I was in high school and had my first car in 10th grade, so it was kinda cool. MLB.com: If you could have dinner with any celebrity, who would it be and why? Harris: I'd probably say Alicia Keys. Mainly because she's just so beautiful, and I love her music. I'd probably want to get to know her a little better. MLB.com: What's your biggest pet peeve? Harris: Something that really bugs me? After a pitcher strikes you out, and he tries to show you up. Like (Jose) Lima. I hate that, man. MLB.com: What's your worst habit, and have you tried to correct it? Harris: Biting my nails. I'm trying to stop biting my fingernails. It's hard to do. It's bad. It's just something I've been doing for years. I've just really started concentrating on stopping, but it doesn't help. It's just something I want to stop doing. MLB.com: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Harris: Jamaica. The reason is because my buddy said the women over there are beautiful. That's the only reason. MLB.com: If you could go back in time and face any player in baseball's history, who would it be and why? Harris: If I could go back and play against anybody, it would probably be Jackie Robinson. Because we're from the same town, we'd probably get some good media hype out of that. I just like the way he played the game. He played hard all the time, and that's how I play. I'd want to play against him, if I could. I'm the only guy in the Major Leagues who can say he's from the same town as Jackie, and that's a privilege and an honor. MLB.com: If you weren't a baseball player, what career would you have chosen? Harris: Actually, I wasn't real big into baseball until college. I was more of a football player in high school. I signed a full scholarship to go to Florida State University and play wide receiver. Me and Peter Warrick actually were there the same time for our visit. Who knows what might have happened? I think I was a pretty good wide receiver. I was No. 1 in the state of Georgia my senior year. Maybe I could have pursued a football career. But I started thinking, "I'm small. I don't want those guys pounding on me." So, I took my chances with baseball, and it's worked out for me. MLB.com: What's your most prized personal possession? Harris: My high school glove. I still have it. It's at home in my trophy case. That probably means the most to me. A lot of memories with that.
June 3, 200421 yr Damn, I had no idea he was a receiver for FSU, or that he was atleast recruited as a receiver. He must have been pretty good if he was recruited by a bigtime NCAA school like that. Glad he chose baseball though.
June 4, 200421 yr She's already got a girlfriend. She's got a girlfriend? What's wrong with dating 2 women at once?
June 4, 200421 yr She's got a girlfriend? What's wrong with dating 2 women at once? Exactly. Willie can pimp them out.
June 4, 200421 yr Willie should steal the blonde big-titted babe that Johnny Damon has driving him around.. all he needs to do is grow out his hair and become jesus ;p
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