Background and career
Aubrey Lewis Huff III (born December 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Huff played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and San Francisco Giants; he was a member of two World Series championship teams for the Giants. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Huff attended Vernon College and the University of Miami, where he finished his career second in school batting average. He was drafted by the Devil Rays in the sixth round in 1998, and debuted with them in 2000. In 2002, he finished tenth in the American League (AL) in batting average. He set a career high in 2003 with 34 home runs and batted .311 with 107 runs batted in (RBI), while tying for the lead in errors among AL right fielders with six. Next season, he batted .297 with 24 home runs and 104 RBI. In 2005, he batted .261 with 22 home runs and 92 RBI. During the 2006 season, he was traded to the Astros. In 2007, Huff signed a three-year contract with the Orioles. He hit 15 home runs his first season with the Orioles, his lowest total since 2001. In 2008, he won the Silver Slugger Award for the designated hitter position after batting .304 with 32 home runs and a career-high 108 RBI. During the 2009 season, he was traded to the Tigers. He became a free agent after the season and signed a one-year deal with the Giants. He batted .290 with 26 home runs in 2010, reached the playoffs for the first time, and won his first World Series. He signed a two-year deal with the Giants in 2011, and batted .246 and hit 12 home runs, his lowest total since 2001. In 2012, he batted .192, was used mostly as a pinch hitter, and appeared in a career-low 52 games but won his second World Series with the Giants. The team paid a $2 million buyout to release him. In January 2014, Huff announced his retirement from baseball, and took a position as a baseball color commentator for eight months.
Huff was born in Marion, Ohio, and grew up in Mineral Wells, Texas. In 1983, when he was six years old, his father, Aubrey II, was shot and killed as an innocent bystander in a domestic dispute while working as an electrician. When his mother told him that his father had been killed, Huff later wrote: "I went back to watching The Transformers on television. I remember thinking, ‘He was never here anyway.’" Huff's mother Fonda then raised him and his sister Angela. Growing up, Huff regularly practiced baseball in his yard, which had a batting cage with lights and a pitching machine. He said, "[My mother bought] it more to keep me out of trouble." He grew up rooting for the Texas Rangers, and frequently attended their games. One of his favorite players was Nolan Ryan. Huff initially attended Mineral Wells High School, but transferred to Brewer High School when his family moved to Fort Worth. While he was selected to the All-District baseball team in high school, he was better known as a basketball player. He graduated in 1995.
Huff attended Vernon College for two years and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of its baseball team in 1996. He transferred to the University of Miami for his final two years of college baseball. As a junior, he tied team single-game records for runs in a game (five against Harvard University on March 28) and most doubles in a game (four on May 16 against Georgia Tech). As a senior, Huff hit for a .412 batting average, the fourth highest single-season average in school history. His .768 slugging percentage was the second highest in school history. He also hit 21 home runs (fifth in school history) and a school record of 95 runs batted in (RBI). Baseball America, The Sporting News, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named him a first-team All-American. Huff finished his UM college career with a .400 batting average (second in school history) and a .719 slugging percentage (third in school history). In 2009, he was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.
Huff was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' fifth-round selection (162nd overall) in the 1998 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He spent 1998 with the Charleston RiverDogs of the single-A South Atlantic League, where he batted .321 with 85 hits, 19 doubles, 13 home runs, and 54 RBI in 69 games. In 1999, Huff played for the Orlando Rays of the Double-A Southern League and was named a Southern League postseason All-Star. In 133 games with the Rays (tied with three players for fourth in the league behind Brady Clark's 138, Brent Abernathy's 136, and Kurt Airoso's 134), Huff batted .301 (eighth) with 148 hits (fourth, behind Abernathy's 168, Clark's 165, and Tim Giles's 157), 40 doubles (third, behind Scott Vieira's 44 and Abernathy's 42), 22 home runs (tied with John Curl for second behind Javier Cardona's 26), and 78 RBI (tied with Bry Nelson for ninth in the league). Huff began 2000 with the Durham Bulls of the Triple-A International League. In 108 games, he batted .316 (fifth) with 129 hits, 36 doubles (fourth, behind Clark's 41, Ryan Jackson's 38, and José Fernández's 37), 20 home runs, and 76 RBI. He was named the International League Rookie of the Year and was named to the postseason All-Star team.
Huff was called up by the Devil Rays at the beginning of August to be the starting third baseman after Vinny Castilla suffered an injury. He had an RBI in his debut on August 2, a 5–3 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Two days later, he got his first career hit against José Mercedes in a 10–9 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. On August 10, he had a season-high three RBI by hitting his first career home run, a game-winning three-run hit against Jason Ryan in a 10–4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. In 39 games, Huff hit .287 with 35 hits, seven doubles, four home runs, and 14 RBI.
Huff began the 2001 season with Durham, but was called up on April 13 when Ariel Prieto was sent to the minors. He became the starting third baseman on May 11 when Castilla was released. Huff was moved from third base to first base on August 6 following an injury to Steve Cox. After batting .243 with six home runs and 33 RBI in his first 92 games, he was optioned to Durham on August 23 when Cox came off the disabled list (DL). In September, he was called up to replace Greg Vaughn as the Devil Rays' designated hitter (DH). On September 19, he had three hits and five RBI, including a game-winning single against David Cone, in a 12–2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. He finished the season batting .248 with 102 hits, 25 doubles, eight home runs, and 45 RBI in 111 games. In 17 games at Durham, he batted .288 with 19 hits, six doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI.
