Timothy Allan Harikkala (born July 15,1971) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2007. He also pitched in the KBO League from 2005 to 2007.
The Seattle Mariners selected Harikkala in the 34th round of the 1992 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He was named the Mariners Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 1994.[2] He made his MLB debut with Seattle on May 27,1995. In both 1995 and 1996,he pitched in one game in the majors for the Mariners,making his first MLB start in 1996. He allowed 11 runs in 7+2⁄3 innings with Seattle.[3] He signed with the Boston Red Sox after the 1998 season, pitching in 7 games in the 1999 season.[3] Harikkala remained in the minors, starting the 2003 season in the Mexican League, until returning with the Colorado Rockies in 2004. He retired the first 22 batters he faced, a franchise record.[4][5] He pitched in a career-high 55 games that season, with a 6–6 record and 4.74 ERA.[3]
He would make 71 major league relief appearances before making his second major league start for the Colorado Rockies on August 12, 2007. With 4,021 days passing between these two starts, Harikkala holds the MLB record for time elapsed between two starts.[citation needed] That was his only MLB game of the season.[3]
Harikkala later played in the Baseball Finnish Championship Series for the Espoo Expos, winning a championship in 2015 and playing with the team through 2023.[8][9] Harikkala's parents are from Finland.[10]
Harikkala has spent time after his pro baseball career playing for the Hortonville Stars of the Dairyland League in Hortonville, Wisconsin.[citation needed]
Harikkala began coaching high school baseball in Wisconsin in 2010. He was named the head coach at Xavier High School in Appleton in August 2016.[1][11]
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