Giants: Huff not welcome at 2010 reunion
When the Giants hold the 10-year reunion for the 2010 World Series champions this year, the leading home run hitter from the team won’t be at Oracle Park.
Aubrey
Huff was told he won’t receive an invitation.
Huff, who has alienated fans with controversial posts on social media, was on the field after the 2019 regular season finale as the Giants honored manager Bruce Bochy. That appearance could be Huff’s last at China Basin in an official capacity as the Giants issued a statement explaining the decision.
“Earlier this month, we reached out to Aubrey Huff to let him know that he will not be included in the upcoming 2010 World Series Championship reunion,” the Giants said in a statement. “Aubrey has made multiple comments on social media that are unacceptable and run counter to the values of our organization. While we appreciate the many contributions that Aubrey made to the 2010 championship season, we stand by our decision.”
The Athletic first reported the news of the Giants’ decision and in an interview with the former player, Huff said he was
Huff
“shocked,” and “disgusted.”
Multiple sources have indicated that Huff’s political posts that include fierce support for President Donald Trump did not influence the team’s decision to keep the former first baseman away from the reunion. Instead, the Giants perceived many of Huff’s posts as misogynistic, derogatory and offensive and concluded that those views are in opposition to what the organization stands for.
The decision was not made based on a specific controversial post by Huff, but instead after the former first baseman displayed a consistent pattern of vulgarity. At the Winter Meetings in December, sources told the Bay Area News Group the team was considering banning Huff from future reunions honoring the 2010 team and it appeared there may be little Huff could do to change the organization’s decision.
Huff hit .290 with a .891 OPS and a team-high 26 home runs in 2010 as he also led the Giants with a 5.7 WAR. He was a catalyst in the clubhouse and on the field, but over the last decade, Huff’s public image and perception within the Giants fan base has changed dramatically. — Kerry Crowley
TROUT LOSES RESPECT FOR ASTROS >> Normally mildmannered, reserved and easy-going, Mike Trout did not hold back when making his first public comments about the Houston Astros on Monday morning.
“I lost some respect for some guys,” the Los Angeles Angels outfielder said before the team’s first fullsquad workout of the spring.
The Astros were found to be stealing signs electronically en route to the 2017 World Series title, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. Major League Baseball suspended Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for a year and fined the team $5 million. The Astros then fired the pair.
Trout said he considers himself friends with a few of the Astros, and a couple of them had even reached out to him over the winter to give their side of the signstealing situation.
The 2019 American
League MVP did not express much sympathy for them.
“It’s sad for baseball,” Trout said. “It’s tough. They cheated. I don’t agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing. It sucks too, because guys’ careers have been affected. A lot of people lost jobs. It was tough.
“Me going up the plate knowing what was coming? It would be fun up there.”
Major League Baseball did not punish the players in the Astros cheating scandal because Commissioner Rob Manfred said he didn’t believe he could get honest answers from the players without offering them immunity. Manfred also said he considered stripping the Astros of their 2017 World Series title, but opted against it.
Trout said he doesn’t view that championship in the same light now.
“You don’t know what helped them or what not, but if you know what’s coming, it’s going to definitely help them,” Trout said. “I don’t know if you take the trophy away or take the rings away, but they should definitely do something. I don’t know what. To cheat like that, it’s sad to see.”
During much of the 2017 season, the Astros were banging a trash can to alert hitters to the type of pitch being thrown.
“I didn’t notice the banging,” he said. “I noticed the banging off the bat, from center field. It seemed like they weren’t missing pitches. ... I can’t tell you when this happened, but I’m sure it did. I can’t imagine what the pitchers feel like. It’s a mental game. You go in a stretch where you’re doing good and you go into Houston and got banged up. It could mentally drain you.”
Third baseman Anthony Rendon, who signed a free agent contract with the Angels in December after playing for Washington, had a slightly different tone.
“Everyone’s quick to hammer them down and just kill them, basically,” Rendon said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and we’re not perfect people. Whether it’s a speeding ticket or whatever it might be, some of us are trying to get an edge some way or another in life. They happened to get caught for doing it. You can forgive them, but doesn’t mean you have to forget.”
Rendon said he had heard rumors about signstealing with the Astros for a few years, and when the Nationals played them in the World Series last year they were on full alert.
“Even when I watched the games over the previous years, it was suspicious,” he said. “It looked weird. They were spitting on balls that were very tough pitches, and just the way that they were playing the game. They were all talented players, and I love those guys over there, especially with what they’ve done with my city of Houston to help them out. But it definitely raised a lot of question marks watching those guys.” – Jeff Fletcher
ASTROS PITCHER MARTES BANNED FOR SEASON >> Houston Astros pitcher Francis Martes was suspended for the 2020 season following his second positive test for a performance-enhancing substance under baseball’s major league drug program.
Martes tested positive for Boldenone, the commissioner’s office said. Boldenone is used commonly on horses.
A 24-year-old right-handerwas suspended last March 12 for 80 games following a positive test for Clomiphene, a women’s fertility drug that has been used by some athletes to counter side effects of steroids use.