Former Major Leaguer named head coach of Xavier baseball team

(WNFL) – Tim Harikkala has been selected as the head varsity baseball coach at Xavier. After years in pro baseball, he was a varsity assistant coach for Xavier Baseball during the 2016 season and he was a varsity assistant baseball coach at Appleton West High School from 2010 thru 2015.“We are very fortunate to have Tim take over our head varsity baseball coaching position,” said Kathy Bates, the Xavier athletic director. “His outstanding experiences in professional and college baseball should be a fantastic plus for all of the players in the Xavier Baseball program. We look for him to be a great teacher of the game. He will be a great role model for all of our student-athletes.”He replaces Dan Gassner, who stepped down after 7 seasons due to his family situation, including the recent increased workload in his job with a local insurance company.Born in Florida, the former Major League Baseball pitcher was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 34th round of the 1992 MLB June Amateur Draft from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.Harikkala played 8 seasons in majors leagues, and his pro career included stints with the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, and Oakland Athletics. He pitched here at Goodland Field in Appleton when the minor league team was still called the Appleton Foxes, during the ’93 and ’94 seasons, before they later became the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.The righthander had a career pitching record of 123-128, which is a .510 winning percentage, over 19 seasons in the minor leagues, foreign leagues, and Major League before retiring in 2010. In his career, he pitched in 500-plus games and in more than 2000 innings. The 45-year-old and his family moved to Wisconsin in 2008.“Being on Dan’s staff last year was a great benefit for me,” said Harikkala. “As an assistant coach, most of your time is only with the actual practices and games. I am looking forward to the challenges of being involved in all of the other aspects of the baseball program at Xavier as well.”