Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Lewis Huff (born December 20, 1976 in Marion, Ohio) is a Major League Baseball Designated Hitter for the Baltimore Orioles.

High school career

Grew up in Mineral Wells, Texas. Transferred from Mineral Wells High School to Brewer High School in Fort Worth, Texas before junior year. At Brewer High School, Huff was an All-District baseball player and also excelled in basketball.

University of Miami

After attending Vernon College in North Texas, Huff transferred to the University of Miami and, as a junior, was named second team "All-American" by Baseball Weekly. In his final season, he set a University of Miami season record with 95 RBIs and led the Hurricanes in home runs (20), doubles (20) and total bases (172).

Professional Career

Out of the University of Miami, Huff was Tampa Bay's fifth-round selection in the 1998 amateur draft and quickly advanced through the minor league system. He was named the Devil Rays' "Minor League Player of the Year" in 2000 at Durham and International League Rookie of the Year. Huff made his major league debut later that year and spent the final two months of the season with the Rays, where he hit .287.

In 2002, Huff ended the season with a .313 batting average, leading the Rays. He then hit 34 home runs--another team high--during the 2003 season, adding 107 RBIs while sporting a .311 batting average that also led the club. Huff has appeared at five different positions in his career: third base, first base, left field, right field, and designated hitter. On July 12, 2006, the Houston Astros acquired Huff from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor leaguers Mitch Talbot and Ben Zobrist. In his debut with the Astros on July 13, 2006, Huff went 2-4 with a three-run homer. On December 30, 2006 he signed a 3-year $20 million contract with the Orioles. Huff has hit 141 career home runs, placing him in the Top 500 players by total career home runs, led currently by Barry Bonds. He hit for the cycle on June 29, 2007, a night on which he also made his 1000th hit, and 200th double. He is only the third Oriole to hit for the cycle, after Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken, Jr. and the first player to do so at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Incidentally, the Orioles lost 9-7 to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He remains the Devil Rays' all time leader in games played, total bases, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, extra base hits, and intentional walks.

Comments on the City of Baltimore

On November 13, 2007, on an appearance of Bubba the Love Sponge show, Huff described the city of Baltimore as "a horseshit city", after Bubba and the guys asked about the night life. He later said his remarks were taken out of context and he was only commenting on the city's night life. Both the audio and video of the show were available only to adult subscribers. The local media blew up the story way out of proportion. Feedback from Bubba´s listeners was supportive of Aubrey and various people from Baltimore agreed with his comments.

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Hitting for the cycle
• List of Baltimore Orioles Opening Day Starting Lineups
• Tampa Bay Rays all-time roster

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Aubrey Huff profile at MLB.com