The first Cardinal to play in the major leagues was pitcher Greg Harris, one of three players in the 1984 team that would go on to play in the majors. Harris was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 10th round of the 1985 Amateur Draft. He debuted with the Padres in the Major Leagues on September 19, 1988. He posted a career 3.98 ERA over 909 innings, while striking out 605 batters. Harris compiled a 45-64 record over eight years with three teams, and enjoyed his best season in 1993, when he was an 11 game winner with 123 strikeouts.
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Other notable Cardinals who have played at the highest level of professional baseball include Dana Allison who is a local hometown favorite who went on to play as a MLB pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. We had catcher John Flaherty, who saw 14 seasons in the Major Leagues, catcher Steve Decker, who played for seven seasons, RHP John Hudek, an All Star in his rookie season with Houston in 1994, LHP Chris Nabholz, who played from 1990-1995, and third base-man Jeff Manto, who hit 17 home runs for Baltimore in 1985.
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Roberto Hernandez, played under Gary Gilmore with the Front Royal Cardinals, went on to play for over 10 seasons at the MLB level.
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