With the 2017 Major League Baseball season under way, rosters for the year are set. The fact Bridgeport High School alum Harrison Musgrave isn’t on one may not be a surprise.

 

Back in February, the member of the Colorado Rockies organization told Connect-Bridgeport that he expected his spring training time with the Rockies to last a couple of weeks tops and then head back down to Class AAA Albuquerque Isotopes. While the move down did happen, it only happened this past Thursday.

 

What that means is that Musgrave was inches away from being on the opening day roster for the Rockies. According to CBSSports.Com, Musgrave was sent down to the minors on March 30. The article on their Web site said they believe it had do more to what the club’s long-term goals were for Musgrave as opposed to not being able to perform at the highest level.

 

“The young left-hander seemed to have the inside track to a long-relief role thanks to an excellent Cactus League showing, but the Rockies decided they would rather have Musgrave develop further as a starter back at Triple-A Albuquerque. That being said, it wouldn't be surprising to see him return to Denver relatively soon if he dominates minor-league hitters in tune with his spring performance,” the article stated.

 

That article, along with several others, tout that Musgrave was in the running for one of the spots on the 40-man opening day roster until the most recent of days. Again, it all points to the very real possibility that Musgrave has an excellent chance to do something that hasn’t been done for nearly half a century – and that’s seeing someone from Harrison County actually play in the big leagues.

 

According to the Web site www.baseballreference.com, it’s been 43 years since an individual being listed from Harrison County was on a Major League Baseball roster. In fact, the entire list of players that made it to the show is a small one.

 

The players listed include Ken Ash from Anmoore, Babe Barna of Clarksburg, Bert Hamrick of Clarksburg, and Dick Brown and Larry Brown of Shinnston. Larry Brown, in 1974, was the last. Even if the Web site is missing a name or even more than one name, if Musgrave makes the final jump he’ll be pulling off a very rare and unique journey that only few have taken.

 

Musgrave is a 2010 Bridgeport graduate and led the Indians to the Class AAA title game that season where they fell short of a championship. He also was a three-year player for West Virginia University.