Ken Huckaby

From SoSH

Kenneth Paul (Ken) Huckaby (born January 27, 1971 in San Leandro, CA) spent most of his brief Red Sox career as a catcher for AAA Pawtucket. A long-time minor league catcher, he has seen the majors only a few times.

Contents 1 Career Overview 2 Moment in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Awards 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Career Overview

Huckaby was drafted in the 22nd round in the 1991 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of San Joaquin Delta JC. He reached AAA in 1995 despite mediocre-at-best performance in his first four seasons. There, he bounced through the Yankees', Mariners', and Diamondbacks' organizations before finally making his major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002 at age 31, receiving a sizable amount of playing time due to the struggles and eventual retirement of incumbent catcher Darrin Fletcher. Unfortunately for Huckaby, his .578 OPS in 273 at-bats ensured that his journeyman path would continue. He has received only cups of coffee in the three years since then. However, despite only appearing in 5 major league games in 2003, he is most famous for an incident on opening night that season when he was involved in a collision that sent Derek Jeter to the disabled list.

The Red Sox signed Huckaby to a minor league contract on December 12, 2005. His chances of making the major league team out of spring training were severely diminished by his injuries at the time and the acquisitions of John Flaherty and Josh Bard. He spent most of year sharing time with Corky Miller in AAA, hitting astonishingly poorly.

Huckaby was called up for a cup of coffee in 2006 after the injury to Jason Varitek. Following the season, he signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Moment in the Sun

Trivia

After separating Jeter's shoulder, Huckaby felt bad and arranged a meeting with Jeter to apologize.

(the following comes from the link below)

"I said, 'I hope you're all right. I didn't know where the base was when I was looking for the throw,'" Huckaby says. "I told him, 'It wasn't on purpose. I didn't know where I was on the field. It was just unfortunate we were at the same place at the same time.'"

Huckaby says the words were heartfelt. The guy genuinely felt bad, and the fact that the play sidelined Jeter for so long made it worse.

Jeter's reaction?

"He stonefaced me," Huckaby says. "He just stared at me.

"He didn't say one word."

Huckaby tries to apologize to Jeter

Awards

• 1991 Pioneer League All-Star
• 1993 Florida State League All-Star

Transactions

• June 3, 1991: Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 22nd round of the 1991 amateur draft. Player signed June 4, 1991.
• October 17, 1997: Granted Free Agency.
• December 3, 1997: Signed as a Free Agent with the Seattle Mariners.
• June 13, 1998: Released by the Seattle Mariners.
• June 28, 1998: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
• October 16, 1998: Granted Free Agency.
• January 22, 1999: Signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• October 15, 1999: Granted Free Agency.
• November 15, 1999: Signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• October 18, 2000: Granted Free Agency.
• November 2, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• October 29, 2001: Released by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• February 10, 2002: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• September 29, 2003: Granted Free Agency.
• November 19, 2003: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
• July 6, 2004: Selected off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles from the Texas Rangers.
• August 16, 2004: Granted Free Agency.
• August 18, 2004: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
• October 8, 2004: Granted Free Agency.
• January 6, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• August 26, 2005: Released by the Toronto Blue Jays.
• December 11, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• November 18, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Ken Huckaby at ESPN.com