Harkness was signed by the
Philadelphia Phillies before the season. He was traded by the Phillies on April 5, 1957, along with a
player to be named later,
Ron Negray,
Elmer Valo, a minor league player, and $75,000 to the
Brooklyn Dodgers in exchange for
Chico Fernández, with the Phillies completing the trade on April 8 when they sent
Ben Flowers to the Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers Harkness made his Major League Baseball debut on September 12, 1961, against the Phillies, working out a
walk in five pitches against pitcher
Chris Short as a
pinch hitter in the ninth inning in a 19–10 loss at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He finished the 1961 season with four
hits (including two
doubles) in eight
at bats, for a .500
batting average.
New York Mets Harkness was traded along with
Larry Burright from the Dodgers to the
New York Mets for
Bob Miller on 1 December 1962. In the season with the Mets, Harkness played in 123 games, achieving 79 hits (including 12 doubles, three
triples with 10 home runs) in 375 at bats, for a .211 batting average, together with 41 RBI. On April 17, 1964, Harkness led off for the Mets in the bottom of the first inning, collecting a single off
Bob Friend in the third inning to become the first Mets player to bat and the first to get a hit in the team's initial game played at the new
Shea Stadium as part of a 4–3 loss to the
Pittsburgh Pirates. With the
1964 Mets, he appeared in 39 games, getting 33 hits in 117 at-bats (including two doubles, a triple and two home runs) for a .282 batting average, and 13 RBI. On July 28, 1964, after Harkness went one-for-four as the Mets' first baseman in a 9–0 loss to the Dodgers, he was traded to the
Cincinnati Reds for
infielder Bobby Klaus and assigned to
Triple-A San Diego. He played at the Triple-A level for the rest of his professional career, retiring after the 1966 season at age 28.
Career summary and retirement In 259 big-league
games played through all or parts of four seasons, Harkness collected 132
hits, with 18
doubles and four
triples accompanying his 14 home runs. He batted .235 overall. ==Death==