A True Professional: “My Man,” Aubrey Huff
In the movie American Gangster, Denzil Washington plays the role of Frank Lucas, a 1970’s drug-distributing gangster. Washington’s character says two words over and over again, “my man”. Often times, Washington’s character uses those words when he wants to communicate to another man he has done good work. While the drug game is different from the Major League Baseball game, the words are still applicable. While I was almost certain I was going to be writing my next article on “The Kid,” Aubrey Huff has inspired me more subtly to write about him. Recently on Sportscenter and during a Giants highlight in which Huff was extensively featured, I found myself saying to the TV almost immediately afterwards (in reference of Huff), “my man”. With that being said, this article is a tribute to Aubrey Huff and the factors that make him a true professional.
A true professional puts up numbers regardless of how much money they are getting paid. A couple days ago I witnessed Aubrey Huff hit two monster shots in a game; numbers 18 and 19 on the season, to go along with his above .300 batting average. I don’t want to sound like I know things, but Huff’s production is not a shock to me. While I do admit I did not think he would put up numbers this staggering, the man did jack up 32 bombs just 2 seasons ago while with the Baltimore Orioles. Therefore, it is clear the guy rakes. He puts up numbers. Not only that, but he was a bargain pickup. To just put the numbers into perspective, Huff is making 7 million dollars less this season than Aaron Rowand and is more than doubling his production.
A True Professional communicates well with the media and his fan-base. Being a former athlete, I am aware of the ego that comes along with having certain innate skills. While I do not condone third person references at the professional level (which have somehow been re-invigorated by Lebron and Co.), I do understand some ego inflation and believe it is a semi-integral part in being a successful professional athlete. After reading a couple of remarks written by Huff on his blog, it was clear that his perception is on point. He stated “ I know people are making a big deal about the year I’m having but I’ve had good years in the past. I just had them in Baltimore and Tampa Bay and nobody cared”. In this statement it is clear that he knows how to communicate objective remarks to the media/his fan-base without sounding cocky about his success. One other quote that I felt said a lot about him were his comments on playing for SF. He stated: “After playing on such awful teams for most of my career, I can’t tell you how happy I am to playing for San Francisco”. Even though his numbers are real nice and he could be focusing on why he is not getting paid more, he is choosing to focus on being grateful for the team he is playing on instead. Therefore, not only has Huff’s play has been impressive to me but also his positive perception.
Lastly, a true professional helps out his team however they need him to and exemplifies the role of a leader. Huff was playing Left field in tonight’s game versus the Marlins; during other games Huff has played right field and first base. Huff seems willing to play wherever the team needs him to. It is those types of players that make a true difference on teams (especially winning ones). Not only is Huff providing the numbers but he is also providing a crucial leadership quality that sets a healthy example for the younger players on the team.
To conclude, Huff is a true professional. His role on the Giants is highly instrumental to the teams’ current success. As well, his experience and leadership will provide a necessary quality to the team during the final stretch run. Unless a mysterious injury pops up that puts him on the shelf for the rest of the season, there will be multiple other times during the seasons final games where I am either in attendance or watching on TV and find myself saying “my man” after a Huff at bat.
P.S Props to Andres Torres and your recent success. While you have definitely become a “giwatpics” (guy I want at the plate in clutch situations) and an integral part of an 18-5 post-all star break record, my next article will not be about you. My next article will 100 percent be on “The Kid”. There is no way I can’t talk about the staggering numbers, work ethic, and 21 game hit streak (and its not even done with).
YARD BALL
I played against the San Francisco Giants this past Saturday. It was both an honor and a privilege. Being a former player and current fan, the opportunity was one that I had a to take advantage of. From the perspective of an individual who used to play the game, any organized game of hardball that is available for me to participate in is almost a no-brainer let alone against the SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS! It’s at this point where I do feel the need to confess/mention a couple things about the game I played in over the weekend. First off, the game was not located at AT&T Park; the games location was at San Quentin prison north of the city and off the Richmond exit. Secondly, while the team was wearing official Giants jerseys, I did not recognize one of the players; and to me, “the freak,” “the panda,” and “the kid,” (my newly created nickname for Buster) are all recognizable people. Turns out, the team I was playing was composed of current inmates at the prison. The Giants sponsored their jerseys and even donated other gear that included official Major League baseballs (pretty cool, even if they were made in China). During my morning and afternoon at San Quentin, there were two parts of the experience that stuck out more than others. Those two parts included the seemingly lack of guard supervision at the yard where the game was being played, and the appreciation the prisoners had not only for an outside teams participation but also the game of baseball.
After a security check at the entry way and entering through multiple different gates my squad and I (composed of former ballplayers now living in the bay area) walked into the yard. While the baseball field took up the most space, there were a lot of other things to look at as well. For starters, the yard was for the most part segregated by race. The blacks were at the basketball court, the Latinos were near the punching bag, and the whites were near the tennis court. While most all of the prisoners were doing some form of physical activity, there were some who were just chilling and preparing to watch the games about to take place (an outside team was also brought in to play basketball). As I walked onto the baseball field I took a moment to look around. The look though was different from the one Kevin Costner took in the movie “For the Love of the Game” before throwing the first pitch during the last game of his professional baseball career. What I noticed during my look around was the seemingly lack of guard supervision within the yard. While there were probably guards in secret towers who had guns and the inmates knew that, in the moment I did not feel comfortable with the ostensible low number of guards. However, the street smarts that I gained through working in low income neighborhoods in SF and the Tenderloin kicked it, and I had a gut feeling I was going to be okay.
From the beginning of my time on the field, it was clear all of the inmates were enjoying being on the field. Their love of the game shined through in a couple different ways. All of their uniforms were tucked in and it was clear they had a focus/desire to win the upcoming game. The team I was playing on showed up with only 7 guys. Therefore, we needed a couple of the players from the other team to play with us. The three guys they sent over were all nice guys; each of them went out of their way to introduce themselves. While I was a little bit apprehensive before my first at bat, I ended up lining a single right back up the box. As I was moving around the base paths I noticed the warmth from a few of the infielders on the inmate squad (saying “good hit” etc). While part of me wanted to engage with them and joke around (like I would during a normal game of pickup ball), I was hesitant because of the prison environment scenario. However, as the game progressed, I did loosen up….a little bit! While most of the players on the inmate squad were past their primes, they still had a fair amount of talent. That being said, my team ended up losing the game; for the most part though, the loss was as a result of our pitchers not being able to find the plate and walking an abundance of players. After the game, there were hugs and a higher level of love that I usually sense coming from a normal competitive athletic game.
While I want to win any game I participate in, as the game progressed it became clear that this game was really not about winning and losing. It was about gratitude. For the prisoners they were grateful for the opportunity to play baseball and play against an opposing team comprised of former ballplayers like themselves. And for me, the gratitude I felt was from the numerous opportunities I have been and am able to pursue past, present, and future, along with the abundance of freedom I have in my life. While I did make some bad decisions when I was younger, I have been able to turn my life around and am thankful that none of the decisions led me to being enclosed in a specified area (prison) all day everyday. All in all, I had a great experience playing at San Quentin and look forward to playing there again.
p.s Almost a guarantee my next article will be on Buster “the kid and main reason the Giants have a post-season shot” Posey!
Dontrelle Willis and other reclamation projects for the Giants
News out of San Francisco this week is that the Giants have signed embattled pitcher Dontrelle Willis to a minor-league contract. I wrote a piece on the troubles of the Bay Area native for my blog about a year ago and hope this new move works out. Best case scenario, I suppose, is that Willis helps the Giants make a run at the National League West title. They’re close as is.
Willis isn’t the first reclamation project that the Giants have attempted. Here are a few salvage jobs San Francisco has accepted, with varying results, over the past 20 years:
Brad Penny: Huge success. The Giants picked Penny up for a pro-rated portion of the league minimum last August after the Red Sox dumped him and the former ace proceeded to go 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA. Penny’s reward was a one-year $7.5 million contract from the Cardinals last December.
Russ Ortiz: His career started going downhill not long after Dusty Baker inexplicably yanked him in the 2002 World Series and the Angels subsequently came back to win. Ortiz was dealt that off-season to the Braves and proceeded to win 36 games over the next two years. Since 2005, though, Ortiz hasn’t had a winning record or an ERA south of 5.00. He rejoined the Giants in a comeback bid for 2007 and went 3-6 with a 5.51 ERA in 12 appearances and eight starts. He left after the season and hasn’t been back.
Mark Gardner: He was a long reliever and occasional starter for the Marlins before the Giants signed him as a free agent at the end of spring training in 1996. Gardner went a staff-best 12-7 with four complete games and one shutout and subsequently played the remaining five seasons of his career in San Francisco.
Cory Snyder: I fondly remember Snyder who gave me my first autograph one day at Candlestick Park when I was about nine. Snyder was one of the bright spots on a dismal Giants team that year, 1992. The Giants lost 90 games and finished second-to-last, but Snyder resurrected his career, hitting .269 with 14 home runs. This followed a .175 campaign for two American League teams in 1991. After his only year with the Giants, Snyder quietly signed with the Dodgers in December 1992, three days before the next fellow hit town.
Barry Bonds: Following the 1992 season, the Giants gave a chance to this Pirates outfielder that only baseball insiders had heard of. San Francisco offered Bonds an eight-figure contract, mostly as a favor to his father Bobby Bonds who played for the club 20 years before. At least, I think this is how it went. I dunno, you could look it up.
Graham Womack has been a Giants fan since elementary school and writes the blog, Baseball: Past and Present