Harshman was born in San Diego, California, in 1927. He began his professional career at the age of 17 in 1945 for the San Diego Padres of the minor league AA Pacific Coast League. For his first five seasons, Harshman was being trained and conditioned to be a major league hitter instead of a pitcher. Harshman\'s short stint in San Diego ended with a .254 batting average in 67 at-bats.\n', '

In 1946, Harshman moved over to the Class C Modesto Reds, where he hit .288 in 56 games before being shipped back to the PCL San Diego squad for only 3 games. 1947 was his first busy season as he played in 151 games for the Victoria Athletics in the Western International League. Harshman smashed 36 home runs while batting a modest .306. He then moved up yet again to the San Diego squad for just 11 games and a poor .148 average. Despite the sluggish ending, the major league New York Giants purchased his contract as a first baseman in December 1947.\n', '

1948 had a change of scenery for Harshman. He went to the Jersey City Giants of the AAA International League. He posted fairly average but modest numbers for the squad, hitting 24 home runs, driving in 76 runs, and batting .245. He received a brief call up to the Giants, but only batted .250 in 9 plate appearances.\n', '

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