SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Harvey Hargrove has loved the game of baseball for a long time. Now, after a journey filled with several twists and turns, the game is loving him back.

Hargrove, a Cordova High School 1994 graduate and area baseball standout, is part of the 2024 class of honorees being inducted into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 14 at the Mills Station Arts and Culture Center. The former Lancers shortstop/pitcher is grateful to be part of such company. 

“It means a lot,” Hargrove said. “I know some of the names that have been inducted into the (Cordova Sports) Hall of Fame and it is an honor to be named amongst other Cordova sports legends.”

Hargrove, 48, was a two-time All-Metro League selection during his time at Cordova High School under legendary coach Guy Anderson. During his senior season, Hargrove produced a .423 batting average with 18 steals and compiled a 7-3 record on the mound. 

Hargrove played collegiately at Sacramento State University, where he was named a Third Team All-American in 1997 after knocking in 26 home runs and 62 Runs Batted In (RBIs). His 35 career home runs as a Hornet tied a school record that remained intact until this past season when it was broken by Hornets sophomore JP Smith.

Hargrove was drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 193rd pick in the 1997 MLB Draft. After six seasons in the Mariners’ minor league system and never appearing in a regular season Major League game, Hargrove made the decision to formally step away from the game of baseball in 2007. Hargrove joined the corporate sector and found it hard to discuss his professional career after it didn’t go the way he would have wanted, according to Hargrove.

It took a friend coaxing him out of retirement to begin coaching area youth in 2017, Hargrove said. He is currently on the coaching staff at Cosumnes River College, as well as the Baseball Performance Academy in Rancho Cordova. 

For Hargrove, it has been one of the best decisions he has ever made. 

“It has been different than I thought it was going to be,” Hargrove said. “It’s been therapeutic for me to be around the game and pass it on to the next generation.”