Oakland Baseball Native Returned to the Bay to Give Back to The Town [Video]

By Magaly Munoz

If anyone knows the struggles of breaking into minor league baseball, it’s James Harris.

Harris, an Oakland native, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011, starting a tumultuous 10-year career of jumping from one team to the next, and he had health problems that would hinder his career progress.

After dedicating almost his entire life to playing baseball, Harris never imagined he would be released and signed to 11 different teams over a decade.

“The experience is humbling,” Harris explained.

“I think that for most people, [the emotions] goes both ways, where you probably start off a little bit of anger because you feel like you’re better than other guys that are staying. But then you have to humbly look in the mirror and say, ‘Well, what do I need to do differently if given the opportunity again?’” Harris said.

Midway through his career, Harris experienced episodes of passing out while on the field, …