Thursday, December 31, 2009

One of Those Orioles Crown Cards That Doesn't Picture the Player Wearing an Orioles Uniform or TTM Success: Phil Huffman

Phil Huffman 1985

I've brought this up before and I try not to complain too much on my blog, but I really don't like how some of the cards in this Crown set show a guy wearing something other than an Orioles uniform. Phil was only an Oriole for a short amount of time but I feel like someone with the club would have taken a picture of him in the O's uniform either during a game, on a picture day or in spring training. He was in the organization for three seasons! And that's all I have to say about that.

Moving along; Phil had a very interesting career arc. He was drafted in 1977 by the Giants and was traded to the A's along with others for Vida Blue prior to the '78 season. Later in 1978, he was traded to the Blue Jays, with whom he made his MLB debut in 1979. He pitched the entire season for Toronto and unfortunately led the league with 18 losses in his only complete season in the Bigs. He made 31 starts that year and had a 5.77 ERA, going 6-18 with 2 complete games including a shutout. He wouldn't make it back to the Majors for another 6 years.

After his disappointing 1979, he toiled in the Jays minor league system for 2 seasons before being traded to the Royals prior to the '82 season. The Royals eventually released him and he signed with the Mets but he didn't see any Big League action for either of those teams.

On July 13, 1984, the Orioles purchased him from the Mets. He finally made it back to the Majors in 1985 with the Birds and appeared in only two games but earned a decision in both games (a win and a loss). I doubt that many pitchers earn a decision in their only two appearances of a season. He earned the loss in his relief appearance but got the W for his one start.

Phil continued to pitch in the Minors for the O's and then Twins organizations until retiring after the 1987 season. I think that's quite an interesting path in the baseball world and I'm sure he earned some frequent flier miles over his 10 years around the show.

2 comments:

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Orioles Magic said...

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