Friday, April 27, 2001
CovCath's Harmon is tall order
6-foot-6 pitcher is strikeout king
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
Hitting is tough enough when the pitcher stands 60-feet, 6-inches away, but Northern Kentucky batters have a little less separation when Covington Catholic junior Robby Harmon faces them.
Robby Harmon
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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The 17-year-old right-hander from Villa Hills stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 225 pounds.
“Size is a huge advantage,” Harmon said.
Which means, when Harmon flings his fastball, he can seem about a third of the way to the plate.
Harmon carries a 4-1 record with a 0.87 earned run average and 42 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched.
“It's going great right now,” Harmon said of CovCath's 11-4 record. “We won 10 in a row at one point.”
CovCath coach Bill Krumpelbeck watches Harmon work and states the obvious.
“He's a very large individual,” Krumpelbeck said. “He's 6-6, 225; that's probably conservative. He throws hard, about 88 mph.”
To St. Henry coach Dave Gish, Harmon seemed to stand even taller on April 17, when he struck out 12 on the way to a 4-0 no-hitter.
“He took control and kept our kids off balance,” Gish said. “He has outstanding potential. He can probably throw it by many people at this level.”
Krumpelbeck said Harmon is on his way to becoming the latest in a long line of powerful CovCath pitchers that includes Todd Etler (a 1992 graduate who played in the Reds organization); former University of Cincinnati standout Tony Cento (1995), now in the Twins system; Casy McEvoy (a 1994 graduate and former Reds farmhand) and UC freshman Tony Maynard.
(Maynard) showed me the ropes, how to act,” Harmon said. “You don't show any emotion; you just throw your game.”
Harmon's dad, John, played in the Atlanta Braves minor league system.
“He just told me how great an experience it was,” the younger Harmon said. “When I was 5 years old, he started catching me and showing me how to pitch.”
Whatever dad taught his son is working. Robby Harmon played for the Midland Indians and Redskins, and he was CovCath's closer last year.
Still, becoming a starter was not an easy transition. Harmon could no longer rely on the fastball alone, and he had to build some stamina to go more than one or two innings.
“He's probably worked on his breaking ball (most),” Krumpelbeck said.
Harmon said he's added an 80-mph curveball and a changeup he can throw from a full windup or sidearm.
“I can throw them anywhere in the count,” Harmon said. “Usually I can set up my curveball with my fastball.”
Colleges are taking notice, too. Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Clemson and Arizona State are among the early suitors.
Harmon has a loss that lingers: last year's sectional loss to Nicholas County.
“From what I can see,” Harmon said, “we can play with teams around the state.”
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CovCath's Harmon is tall order
