Saint Mary's catcher Bear Harrison trying to follow his brother Kyle to the big leagues
On both sides of the Bay Area, there are Harrisons playing good baseball and contributing to their times.
In the East Bay, Connor "Bear" Harrison is a standout freshman catcher for St. Mary's. He helped lead the Gaels to a third-place finish in the West Coast Conference.
Across the bridge, Bear's big brother Kyle takes the bump every five days for the San Francisco Giants.
The brothers grew up in Danville and played baseball at De La Salle High School before going down their own paths in the sport, which has kept them close to home.
"It's awesome that I'm close to home, close to him," Bear said, referring to his older brother. "I love this sport and I'm glad we both made it pretty far in this sport and hopefully we can keep on rising."
Bear has always admired Kyle, who is four years older than him and bypassed college baseball after the Giants drafted him in the third round of the 2020 draft.
He earned his nickname while watching Kyle's little league and travel baseball games.
"I'd be climbing trees, messing around, playing with every ball I could possibly find," the younger brother said. "Everyone around me was like 'let's call him a bear, he kind of acts like a bear.'"
The eldest Harrison now gets to watch Bear on the big stage.
"It's cool, he's always my little brother," he said. "I love how he's settling into Division I baseball and he's doing great so far."
It's unique to have two different kids out of the house but still playing high-level baseball in their home areas. Bear admits that he goes home a few times a month, making sure all the essentials are taken care of.
"Definitely bringing home laundry and getting home-cooked meals for sure," Bear said. "That's kind of the only reason I go home. Sorry dad, sorry mom."
The same can't be said for the Giants rookie who is on the road for half the baseball season and spends his offseasons in Arizona. Like a big brother can only do, he gives Bear a hard time for the constant trips home.
"He cheats," he said. "'Told him, 'you're a cheater dude, you gotta do your own laundry.' He makes it seem really easy."
Bear still has two more years in college before he can even think about taking the next step and entering the MLB Draft. His ultimate goal is to play in the bigs and the Harrison brothers have already imagined playing on the same field together, Kyle on the mound and Bear behind the plate.
"I've definitely thought about it for sure," Bear said. "Hopefully we can make that happen one time."
