Infield: First baseman Aubrey Huff (2000-12) hit 242 home runs and had more than 900 RBI. He drove in 100 runs three times. Huff came up with Tampa and then wandered around a bit before winning a World Series title with the Giants in 2010. During that pennant drive, he took to wearing a red "rally thong." We think he was joking with that, but the fans took it seriously. When he slumped the following year they sent him dozens of thongs for good luck. Second baseman Aaron Hill (2005- ) has hit more than 150 home runs. His best season was 2009 when – coming back from a concussion the year before – he went .286-36-108 season for Toronto. Third baseman Art Howe (1974-85) was a very functional player whose best years were with the Astros. He was a .260 hitter who made good contact and could play decent defense all over the infield. Shortstop Adeiny Hecharvarria (2012- ) is a Cuban defector who has a solid glove and arm but doesn't contribute much to the offense.
Outfield: Left fielder Adam Hyzdu (2000-06) hit almost 300 home runs in the minors, but he never stuck in the majors. In 407 plate appearances, spread out over six seasons with four teams, he batted .229, struck out 98 times and hit 19 home runs. In 2000, playing for the Altoona Curve in the Eastern League, he went .290-31-106 and was named the league’s MVP. People got excited over that, not realizing that if a first-round draft pick is still in Double-A in his 11th season of pro ball, he probably ought to win the league MVP award. Right fielder Albert Hall (1981-89) sadly never played in Kansas City and therefore never became “the Royal Albert Hall.” (Rimshot) He spent almost his entire career with the Braves, a .250 hitter with a little bit of speed but not much else. Center fielder Aaron Hicks (2013- ) came up with the Twins and is now with the Yankees. He has been given every opportunity to play but has yet to show that he can hit.
Catcher: A.J. Hinch (1998-2004) batted .219 and had a terrible batting eye, but he had a little bit of power (32 home runs in 953 career at-bats) and he was a pretty fair defensive catcher.
Rotation: Andy Hawkins (1982-91) won 84 games, mostly for the Padres. Pitching for the Yankees in July 1990, he had a very eventful stretch of three starts. First, he threw a no-hitter but lost 4-0 because his teammates could neither hit nor field the ball. As the losing pitcher in a road game, he only pitched eight innings, and for that reason his performance was later ruled to not be an official no-hitter even though he pitched a complete game in a nine-inning game and allowed no hits. You decide for yourself. Putting linguistics aside, in his next start he pitched 11 shutout innings but lost 2-0 in the 12th. Then in his next next start, he lost 8-0 to the Chicago White Sox as Melido Perez pitched a rain-shortened six-inning no-hitter. So in the space of two weeks, Hawkins made three starts in which he got zero runs from his teammates, involving two complete-game no-hitters that were later declared not to be no-hitters when the statistic was re-defined, and in between those two he pitched shutout ball for 11 innings but lost. Atlee Hamaker (1981-95) was a talented lefty who could generally get people out when he was healthy but who was very rarely healthy for an entire season. In 1983 he was the best pitcher in the NL for the first half of the season, but he got clobbered in the All-Star Game (7 runs in 2/3 of an inning) and had a miserable second half, though he still led the league in ERA (2.25). The following year he had a 2.18 ERA in six starts before injuries ended his season. He struggled in 1985, missed the entire ’86 season, and then came back for a successful run as a swing man, finishing with 59 career victories. Aaron Harang (2002-15) had a career record of 128-143. He was the first A.H. pitcher with 100 wins, but he was not the first A.H. pitcher with 100 losses. That distinction belongs to Al “Boots” Hollingsworth (1935-46), who finished at 70-104 after a fairly decent career as a journeyman swing man. He had some good seasons along the way and later worked for years as a manager, coach and scout at the major- and minor-league levels. Art “Hard Luck” Houtteman (1945-57) went 87-91 for the Tigers and Indians. He was a solid pitcher whose career record was torpedoed by two bad seasons – he went 2-16 in 1949 and he went 8-20 in 1952, and for the rest of his career he was 77-55.
Bullpen: Closer Al Hrabosky (1970-82) fashioned himself as The Mad Hungarian. He had long, dark hair and a Fu Manchu mustache, and between hitters he would step behind the mound, turn his back to the plate and work himself into a frenzy before charging back up the mound with a glare in his eye. Hrabosky had a couple of very good seasons for the Cardinals (13-3, 1.66 with a league-high 22 saves in 1975), but when straight-laced manager Vern Rapp demanded that he shave and cut his hair, Hrabosky – like Samson – seemed to lose his mystique. He had a fine career – 64 wins, 97 saves and a 3.10 ERA – but his legacy remains the image of the angry man with the bushy mustache. Al Holland (1977-87), another compact lefty, was actually a very similar pitcher to Hrabosky, right down to the facial hair and the angry stare. Holland saved 78 games, mostly for the Phillies and the Giants. Andy “Swede” Hansen (1944-53) won 23 games in a career split between the Phillies and the Giants. Aaron Heilman (2003-11) was a Mets prospect who struggled as a starter but put together a respectable career as a middle reliever. Andy Hassler (1971-85) was a lefty swingman who pitched a long time for a lot of teams and generally had success by keeping the ball down and pitching to contact. Al Hargesheimer (1980-86) pitched a few games here and there for the Giants, Cubs and Royals but never got a strong foothold in the bigs. Art “Red” Herring (1929-47) was a swingman who pitched mostly for the Tigers and the Dodgers.
Bench: Infielder Andy High (1922-34) was primarily a third baseman but he moves to short, where he played occasionally, because that’s where he is most needed on this roster. He was a journeyman who never struck out, and his four seasons with the Cardinals (1928-31) included three pennants and a World Series title. He was 5-foot-6, and his nickname was “Knee” High. Utility man Al “Who Goes There?” Halt (1914-18) played mostly in the Federal League and didn’t make much of an impression. Outfielder Al Heist (1960-62) had a long, serviceable career in the minors before graduating to the Cubs in his early 30s. He stole just six bases in his career, which is disappointing since you would think that a guy named Heist would steal more. (Rimshot.) Arthur “Hoss” Hoelskoetter (1905-08) played all nine positions for the Cardinals in the early 20th century, and it didn’t appear to be a novelty. He played at least a dozen games at every position, including 49 behind the plate and 15 pitching. He couldn’t hit, but his versatility will come in handy. Backup catcher Austin Hedges (2015- ) hit .168 in his first shot at the majors, but he has some talent and he is still young. He could eventually push A.J. Hinch for the starting job.
Manager: Art Howe will be the player-manager. He has managed the Astros, A’s and Mets and has won 1,129 games and two division titles. Played by Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman in the movie “Moneyball.”
Outfield: Left fielder Adam Hyzdu (2000-06) hit almost 300 home runs in the minors, but he never stuck in the majors. In 407 plate appearances, spread out over six seasons with four teams, he batted .229, struck out 98 times and hit 19 home runs. In 2000, playing for the Altoona Curve in the Eastern League, he went .290-31-106 and was named the league’s MVP. People got excited over that, not realizing that if a first-round draft pick is still in Double-A in his 11th season of pro ball, he probably ought to win the league MVP award. Right fielder Albert Hall (1981-89) sadly never played in Kansas City and therefore never became “the Royal Albert Hall.” (Rimshot) He spent almost his entire career with the Braves, a .250 hitter with a little bit of speed but not much else. Center fielder Aaron Hicks (2013- ) came up with the Twins and is now with the Yankees. He has been given every opportunity to play but has yet to show that he can hit.
Catcher: A.J. Hinch (1998-2004) batted .219 and had a terrible batting eye, but he had a little bit of power (32 home runs in 953 career at-bats) and he was a pretty fair defensive catcher.
Rotation: Andy Hawkins (1982-91) won 84 games, mostly for the Padres. Pitching for the Yankees in July 1990, he had a very eventful stretch of three starts. First, he threw a no-hitter but lost 4-0 because his teammates could neither hit nor field the ball. As the losing pitcher in a road game, he only pitched eight innings, and for that reason his performance was later ruled to not be an official no-hitter even though he pitched a complete game in a nine-inning game and allowed no hits. You decide for yourself. Putting linguistics aside, in his next start he pitched 11 shutout innings but lost 2-0 in the 12th. Then in his next next start, he lost 8-0 to the Chicago White Sox as Melido Perez pitched a rain-shortened six-inning no-hitter. So in the space of two weeks, Hawkins made three starts in which he got zero runs from his teammates, involving two complete-game no-hitters that were later declared not to be no-hitters when the statistic was re-defined, and in between those two he pitched shutout ball for 11 innings but lost. Atlee Hamaker (1981-95) was a talented lefty who could generally get people out when he was healthy but who was very rarely healthy for an entire season. In 1983 he was the best pitcher in the NL for the first half of the season, but he got clobbered in the All-Star Game (7 runs in 2/3 of an inning) and had a miserable second half, though he still led the league in ERA (2.25). The following year he had a 2.18 ERA in six starts before injuries ended his season. He struggled in 1985, missed the entire ’86 season, and then came back for a successful run as a swing man, finishing with 59 career victories. Aaron Harang (2002-15) had a career record of 128-143. He was the first A.H. pitcher with 100 wins, but he was not the first A.H. pitcher with 100 losses. That distinction belongs to Al “Boots” Hollingsworth (1935-46), who finished at 70-104 after a fairly decent career as a journeyman swing man. He had some good seasons along the way and later worked for years as a manager, coach and scout at the major- and minor-league levels. Art “Hard Luck” Houtteman (1945-57) went 87-91 for the Tigers and Indians. He was a solid pitcher whose career record was torpedoed by two bad seasons – he went 2-16 in 1949 and he went 8-20 in 1952, and for the rest of his career he was 77-55.
Bullpen: Closer Al Hrabosky (1970-82) fashioned himself as The Mad Hungarian. He had long, dark hair and a Fu Manchu mustache, and between hitters he would step behind the mound, turn his back to the plate and work himself into a frenzy before charging back up the mound with a glare in his eye. Hrabosky had a couple of very good seasons for the Cardinals (13-3, 1.66 with a league-high 22 saves in 1975), but when straight-laced manager Vern Rapp demanded that he shave and cut his hair, Hrabosky – like Samson – seemed to lose his mystique. He had a fine career – 64 wins, 97 saves and a 3.10 ERA – but his legacy remains the image of the angry man with the bushy mustache. Al Holland (1977-87), another compact lefty, was actually a very similar pitcher to Hrabosky, right down to the facial hair and the angry stare. Holland saved 78 games, mostly for the Phillies and the Giants. Andy “Swede” Hansen (1944-53) won 23 games in a career split between the Phillies and the Giants. Aaron Heilman (2003-11) was a Mets prospect who struggled as a starter but put together a respectable career as a middle reliever. Andy Hassler (1971-85) was a lefty swingman who pitched a long time for a lot of teams and generally had success by keeping the ball down and pitching to contact. Al Hargesheimer (1980-86) pitched a few games here and there for the Giants, Cubs and Royals but never got a strong foothold in the bigs. Art “Red” Herring (1929-47) was a swingman who pitched mostly for the Tigers and the Dodgers.
Bench: Infielder Andy High (1922-34) was primarily a third baseman but he moves to short, where he played occasionally, because that’s where he is most needed on this roster. He was a journeyman who never struck out, and his four seasons with the Cardinals (1928-31) included three pennants and a World Series title. He was 5-foot-6, and his nickname was “Knee” High. Utility man Al “Who Goes There?” Halt (1914-18) played mostly in the Federal League and didn’t make much of an impression. Outfielder Al Heist (1960-62) had a long, serviceable career in the minors before graduating to the Cubs in his early 30s. He stole just six bases in his career, which is disappointing since you would think that a guy named Heist would steal more. (Rimshot.) Arthur “Hoss” Hoelskoetter (1905-08) played all nine positions for the Cardinals in the early 20th century, and it didn’t appear to be a novelty. He played at least a dozen games at every position, including 49 behind the plate and 15 pitching. He couldn’t hit, but his versatility will come in handy. Backup catcher Austin Hedges (2015- ) hit .168 in his first shot at the majors, but he has some talent and he is still young. He could eventually push A.J. Hinch for the starting job.
Manager: Art Howe will be the player-manager. He has managed the Astros, A’s and Mets and has won 1,129 games and two division titles. Played by Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman in the movie “Moneyball.”
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