January 4: Harrison Getting Set For First Full Year In Winnipeg

The holiday season is over. New Year’s Day has come and gone. For Goldeyes third baseman Vince Harrison, it’s time to get down to baseball.

Acquired in that blockbuster deal on August 17, Harrison became an instant hit with Winnipeg fans and while he coaches football, basketball and baseball at his high school alma mater, Harrison says he’s now changing his off-season workout routine in order to “get ready for baseball.”

“I’ve been working out here in Cincinnati with my younger brother Josh and a kid I call my younger brother, Josh’s best friend, Jeremy Hamilton,” Harrison, 30, said last weekend. “Jeremy is with the Phillies organization and Josh is with Pittsburgh. They went in the fifth and sixth rounds of the Major League draft a few years ago and they’ve been to one spring training, so this is a big year for them.

“Jeremy has a shot at High A with the Phillies while Josh could get to Double A with Pittsburgh if they’re both ready for what spring training has to offer them. So we’ve been working hard to get ready. We’ve been doing all the heavy lifting, working to get big and strong. Now, we’ll start doing more baseball stuff – hitting and running – to concentrate more on the game than just strength training.”

While Harrison works out, he’s also coaching. A building superintendent at his old high school, Princeton High School in suburban Cincinnati, he coaches, football, basketball and baseball. He hopes to report to Winnipeg right after the state high school baseball tournament in early May.

“I’m excited about coming back to Winnipeg,” Harrison said. “I think Rick (manager Forney) is really building a good one up there and right now, we have a very good team.

“Just this week, I was showing my girl a poster from the 2008 All-Star Game in Winnipeg, just to give her and idea of what it’s like in Winnipeg. Based on what Rick’s done in the off-season, it looks like it’s going to be a good year.”