O's Huff finds there's more to life than baseball

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The death of a close friend and the birth of his son convinced Aubrey Huff that it's silly to worry about an 0-for-4 performance at the plate.

Joe Kennedy, a pitcher who played with Huff in Tampa Bay, died unexpectedly in November 2007 of heart disease. Huff said he deeply mourned the loss and, with the consent of Kennedy's wife, asked the Baltimore Orioles to give him No. 17 -- the Kennedy's number with Tampa Bay.

Then, last September, Huff's wife Barbara gave birth to the couple's first child, a son they named Jayce.

"There have been some crossroads in my life the past few years. My friend Joe Kennedy died -- he was 29 years old -- and the birth of my son just made me realize this is just a game," the 32-year-old Huff said.

"We play a kid's game for a living and get paid good money to do it. We're blessed in what we do. No matter what place we finish in, I could be very easily getting kicked out of my house right now the way the economy is. Baseball isn't life."

Huff did very little over the winter to get ready for the 2009 season, but that wasn't necessarily because he was tending to Jayce. Actually, Huff was following an offseason regimen he stumbled upon a year ago after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.

"Last year I had the surgery, didn't do anything before coming into spring training, missed the first week and had a good year," he said. "So I'd be stupid to work out hard this offseason, would I not?"

Not after a season in which he batted .304 with 32 homers and 106 RBIs and led the AL with 82 extra-base hits.

Those numbers persuaded him to keep his bat and glove in storage for a second straight winter.

"It wasn't rocket science for me. In '03 and '04 I had some good years in Tampa, and I tried to think what I did that offseason. I remembered not doing that much," Huff said. "So I thought to myself, 'What if I worked hard? I could probably be an MVP type of guy.' I worked really hard, and the next three years were just, what in the world happened?"

In 2005, Huff batted .261. A year later, he had a meager 66 RBIs, and in 2007, his first year with Baltimore, he could muster only 15 homers and 72 RBIs.

His comeback season of a year ago began under a cloud. During November 2007 -- the same month Kennedy died -- Huff made derogatory comments about the city of Baltimore on a satellite radio show in Florida. He received a fine from the club and was jeered by Orioles fans during the early part of April.

Were it not for his torrid hitting, Huff might never have recovered from the fallout.

"Honestly, if I didn't have the year I had last year, I might not have a job now," he said. "It was definitely a good feeling. I let a lot of people down in Baltimore last year on that radio show. It was big mistake. I've expressed that. We've all moved on. It just goes to show, when you put on numbers, nobody remembers or cares."

With Kevin Millar gone, Huff has taken on more responsibility in the clubhouse. He's not one to gather the players and implore them to win, but his quips and relentless sarcasm can take the edge off an extended losing streak.

"I like messing around with other guys. I like to keep it loose in here because Lord knows, everybody in this clubhouse -- especially the younger guys -- gets kind of stressed out," Huff said. "I know how it is to be crazy about baseball and then put too much pressure on yourself. The last thing this game needs is more stress."

Huff now realizes there are more important things in life than baseball, but that doesn't mean he's not focused on playing well and helping Baltimore win.

"He's a fun guy to be around but he's pretty serious about his work," Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley said. "He's always on time, he's always ready to play, he cares about whether we win or lose and he gives 100 percent effort on defense. From my end of it, he's as close to a perfect player as there is."

(usatoday.com)