Pitcher of the Year

The list of certainties in life is a short one. Death and taxes . . . and a victory by pitcher Matt Harrington.

The Palmdale High senior was close to a sure thing whenever he took the mound and is The Times’ Valley pitcher of the year.

He finished with an 11-0 record, a 0.54 earned-run average and 126 strikeouts and only 21 walks in 65 1/3 innings.

Harrington, taken by the Colorado Rockies with the seventh overall pick in the amateur baseball draft, led Palmdale to the Golden League championship.

The Falcons defeated league rival Highland three times, twice with Harrington throwing against Matt Parris, a sixth-round pick of the Detroit Tigers.

Harrington led Palmdale to important 4-3 and 2-1 victories over the Bulldogs, striking out 21 in the two games. His fastball was clocked as high as 97 mph.

Highland Coach Mike Van Cheri said Harrington improved greatly from his junior year.

“He was basically a thrower last year,” Van Cheri said. “He’d throw hard, but he wasn’t always accurate and sometimes got a little wild.

“This year, he had much better composure and presence. When he stepped out there, it was no question who was in charge. It was a man against boys.”

Van Cheri, who resigned after 10 years at Highland to become an assistant coach at Antelope Valley College, said Harrington is the best high school pitcher he has seen. That includes former Kennedy star Jon Garland and former Antelope Valley standouts Sean Douglass and Jeremy Holiday, all of whom are playing professional baseball.

“No doubt about it,” Van Cheri said.

Harrington merely shrugs his shoulders at such accolades.

“Good things happen to those who work,” he said. “It’s one of those things where you just go out there and do what you can.”

After his success at the high school level, Harrington said he is eager to play pro baseball.

“Getting ready to start a professional career is a lifelong dream,” he said. “There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted to do more. As soon as I start, it’s going to be exciting.”