Soul of 78: Slade Harbin
Former first baseman, BSCC-Fayette and Jasper High School
Words by Justin Hunter | Images by Al Blanton
The summer before his sophomore year at Jasper High School, Slade Harbin found out he needed minor brain surgery. As he stood waiting for a pitch during a summer travel ballgame, a fastball slammed into his head, knocking him unconscious.
A CT scan revealed Harbin had a Chiari malformation. In layman’s terms, the cerebellum pushes down through the opening at the base of the skull, preventing an easy flow of spinal fluid.
Harbin would need to have surgery. “There was a slight chance I could end up paralyzed,” he says. “I quit playing contact sports that summer. At first, I was sad over not being able to play football, but I was always better at baseball.”
Originally from Oakman, Harbin was 12 years old when his family moved to Jasper. He spent his childhood playing on travel ball teams all over Walker County. One team made it to the Dizzy Dean World Series, which was televised on CSS. It was Harbin’s only time to pitch on national TV. At Jasper High School, he was better known for putting the ball in play.
“Hitting was my meat and potatoes when I played,” says Harbin, who sported a .330 collegiate batting average. “The big difference between high school and college is the velocity of the ball. I’ve always had a great eye and quick hands.”
One of Harbin’s most cherished baseball memories is from last season, when Bevill State squared off against Frontier Community College. In his first collegiate at-bat as a freshman, Harbin sent a 360-foot bomb down the left-field line for a home run. “I didn’t flip the bat or anything. I had to make sure the ball went out,” he says. “I ended up going 2-for-3 that game.”
This fall will the first time Harbin will not anchor a spot on a baseball roster. The soft-spoken first basemen for the Bears will be foregoing his sophomore year of baseball eligibility and turning his attention to the classroom to pursue a mechanical engineering degree at The University of Alabama.
The exit from America’s pastime is bittersweet for Harbin, whose cleats have dug into the iron-rich dirt since he was big enough to swing a bat with two hands.
Harbin is excited about the new challenges that await him in Tuscaloosa. He says he may even join an intermural softball team, just to keep his swing in form.
“Of course, I will miss the competition and the game,” reflects Harbin, “but I am really going to miss the friendships and bonds I made with my fellow teammates. Every team I’ve played on was like a second family. I will miss all of my brothers.” 78