CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Former Clarksville High School and Austin Peay State University baseball player Ryne Harper will be making a trip to the Big Apple this week. The 30-year-old Harper is currently a major league pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, who take on the New York Yankees Friday in game one of the American League Division Series.

To solidify their spot in the postseason, the Minnesota Twins captured the American League Central crown Wednesday, Sept. 25 in what after the game Harper said was one of the more enjoyable locker-room celebrations that he’s ever been involved in.

“That was the first time I’ve ever been a part of something like that,” Harper said. “I’ve done some championship showers in the minor leagues and those are awesome too, but this was really hard to describe. It was special. It just means more being in the big leagues and for the division. We had to wait to find out if the Indians were going to lose. After the White Sox went up late, everyone had their phones out in protective cases and were getting their goggles ready. When the last out happened, everyone just went nuts. Popping bottles, screaming and hugging everybody. It was emotional and exciting. It was something that our whole organization worked really hard for. It was a special night and we hope to do it again three more times.”

After a solid spring training to begin 2019, Harper was notified on his birthday that he had earned a spot on Minnesota’s 40-man roster, heading into the regular season.

“It was awesome,” Harper said of the news. “The Twins have been great to me since the get-go. They were honest with me, told me what they liked about me and gave me an opportunity to come in and show them what I can do. I came in, competed and attacked the zone. It’s been a great ride ever since.”

Harper played in 61 games this year, finishing the season 4-2 with a 3.81 ERA. The right-hander also recorded a save while striking out 50 batters over 54 1/3 innings of work.

Most little league, high school and collegiate baseball players all share the common dream of one day playing in the big leagues. This wasn’t necessarily the case for Harper, who only recently came to the realization that he does in fact belong on the game’s biggest stage.

“Anywhere I’ve ever been I’ve always tried to be the best,” Harper said. “That’s just my competitive mentality. Even when I was drafted, I really just wanted to see what I could do. Once I started playing pro ball and I saw I was having some success, I just wanted to be the best I could be and try to outperform everybody else. When you’re trying to be the best, you’re going to bring out the best in yourself. The organization kept putting faith in me, I developed and made it. I couldn’t ask for a better team to be with right now.”

Harper was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 37th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. 10 years later, the memory still burns bright for the kid from Clarksville.

“I was just hoping my name would get called,” Harper said. “During my senior year at Austin Peay, we had just won the OVC and went to Atlanta and played Georgia Tech in the regional. Honestly, I was just kind of hoping to play baseball a little longer. I thought if I can go play it maybe a summer or two, it would be nice to say I played professional baseball and see what it’s like. I got an opportunity to go play and each year I kept doing a little better.”

For most late-round draft picks, the road to the show can oftentimes be filled with grueling stretches. According to Harper, it’s the big-game heroics that made it all worthwhile.

“The regular season is long, and just getting off to a good start is important,” Harper said. “There was a future prospects’ game after my first full year going into the 2013 season. I got invited to play in it and went out there and had a good three up, three down inning. That was a really cool outing. Other than a few memorable performances in Double-A, I also won two championships. One was in High-A with the Braves and then I won a championship in Double-A with the Mariners. It was great to be a part of and I built great relationships during those two.”

Without making a few specific connections, the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues may have never came to fruition for Harper.

“In high school, it’s a fun time for anybody,” Harper said. “I had a really good experience. I had a lot of close friends, teachers and coaches that were all helpful. That was just the beginning when it could’ve been the end. Honestly, I didn’t know I’d play in college until my senior year. I had a close relationship with Coach McClure who recruited me to Austin Peay. From the moment I was there, he showed a lot of trust and confidence in me. He was really great to me and had some connections to pro baseball. He could’ve been the one who really pushed me to the Braves who drafted me. I mean the list goes on. Coach Dunbar was a significant part of me signing with the Twins after being a free agent. I developed a lot of great relationships at Austin Peay and finished my time there with an OVC title.”

According to Harper, it was his family who perhaps had the biggest hand in aiding him on his journey to becoming a professional athlete.

“Everybody from the beginning helped me,” Harper said. “Mom and dad were always supportive of my athletic career. When my brother Reed and I would get home from school, we’d wait on my dad to get home from work and he’d take us out to practice baseball, football, basketball or always something to stay active. Being two years apart, me and my brother always had a good relationship, but we were also very competitive. I think that was good just to kind of grow up with a competitive mindset.”

First-year Minnesota Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli is one of the front runners to win American League Manager of the Year. Harper raved about the first-class nature of his coach as well as teammates.

“Rocco is awesome,” Harper said. “He’s a true player’s coach who cares about his guys. You can tell it means a ton to him. Coming into his first year, he’s brought in his own culture and won the division. It’s awesome. It just shows the kind of man, coach and person that he is. He’s got each of our backs and he was a player in the game so he knows how it is. It’s a really close group we have up there. As far as players on the team I don’t have any one favorite, but Nelson Cruz is unbelievable. He hit his 400th home run the other day and just brings leadership to the locker room. Everyone respects him and he’s an awesome guy.”

The Minnesota Twins (101-61) face off against the New York Yankees (103-59) Friday, Oct. 4 in game one of the ALDS.

Harper gave his thoughts on Minnesota’s first-round opponent and how he thinks the series could ultimately play out.

“I love it,” Harper said. “I mean it doesn’t really matter who you get matched up with in the playoffs, you have to beat them all anyways to win it. Against the Yankees, I like that matchup. If we come out and play our game, we’re capable of beating anybody. It’s baseball. It’s about who’s hot at the right time and I feel like we’re playing pretty well right now.”