Chad Daniel Huffman (born April 29, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Career

Amateur

Huffman attended Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, and Texas Christian University (TCU), where he played for the TCU Horned Frogs' baseball team from 2004 to 2006 and

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team from 2003 to 2005. With the baseball team, he was named to the All-

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

Tournament Team in both

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and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. In 2005, he played

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with the Falmouth Commodores of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres selected Huffman in the second round, with the 53rd overall selection, of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. Huffman won the 2009 AAA Home Run Derby in PGE Park as a member of the hometown Portland Beavers. Huffman was waived by the Padres prior to the 2010 season to make room on the 40 man roster for Matt Stairs.

New York Yankees

He was claimed off waivers by the Yankees. On June 13, 2010, the New York Yankees recalled Huffman to replace the injured

Marcus Thames Marcus Markley Thames ( ; born March 6, 1977) is an American former baseball left fielder, designated hitter, and current coach. He played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball ...

. Prior to the call up, Huffman hit .279 with 5 home runs, 22 RBIs, and an on-base percentage of .344 over 190 at bats with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. On June 13, 2010 Huffman had his first career hit in his first Major League at bat. Huffman was designated by assignment by the Yankees on September 15.

Cleveland Indians

On September 17, he was claimed by the Cleveland Indians and optioned to the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. Huffman was removed from the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

on November 3 and sent outright to Columbus.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On December 14, 2013 Huffman signed a one-year deal with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. During the 2014 season, Huffman batted .270 with 20 doubles, four home runs and 28 RBIs in 67 games. He also spent the 2015 season with Chiba Lotte.

Detroit Tigers

On December 30, 2015, Huffman signed a minor league contract with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. On March 28, 2018, Huffman became a free agent.

St. Louis Cardinals

On November 18, 2016, Huffman signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals that included an invitation to spring training. The Cardinals promoted Huffman to the major leagues on June 7, 2017. On June 13, he hit a triple against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

as a pinch hitter to garner his first major league hit since 2010. On July 25, 2017, he was outrighted and given unconditional release.

Washington Nationals

On July 27, 2017, he signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Second Stint with Tigers

Huffman signed a minor league contract with the

on November 25, 2017. The deal includes an invitation to the Tigers' 2018 spring training camp. He elected free agency on November 3, 2018.

Awards and honors

* 2004 All- Conference USA Tournament Team * 2004 C-USA Freshman of the Year * 2004 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-AmericanGoFrogs.com
''Three Horned Frogs Named to the "Louisville Slugger's" Freshmen All-American Team'' ; June 11, 2004 * 2005 Louisville Slugger Second-Team Pre-season All-American * 2005 All- Conference USA Tournament Team * 2005 2nd-team all-Conference C-USA * 2006 NCBWA preseason second-team All-American * 2006 Louisville Slugger Third-Team All-AmericanGoFrogs.com
''Huffman named Third-Team All-American by Louisville Slugger''; June 4, 2006 * 2006 NCBWA 3rd team All-American * 2006 Rivals.com Honorable Mention All-America * 2006 Northwest League Player of the Week * 2006 Northwest League Post-Season All-Star * 2006 ''

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'' Short-Season All-Star * 2007

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

Mid-Season All-Star * 2008 Texas League Mid-Season All-Star * 2008 Arizona Fall League Rising Stars * 2009, 2018 AAA Home Run Derby winner * 2010 Inducted into the Elkins HS Baseball Hall of Fame

Personal

He is the son of Debbie and Royce Huffman ( TCU Horned Frogs football player 1969–73), and has two older brothers, Royce Jr., an all-conference performer in TCU Horned Frogs football and TCU Horned Frogs baseball from 1995 to 1999, and Scott, who played football and baseball at Rice University from 1998 to 2002.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huffman, Chad 1985 births American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Texas Chiba Lotte Marines players Columbus Clippers players Eugene Emeralds players Falmouth Commodores players Fort Wayne Wizards players Lake Elsinore Storm players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Living people Major League Baseball left fielders Memphis Redbirds players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders People from Houston Peoria Saguaros players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Portland Beavers players San Antonio Missions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players St. Louis Cardinals players Syracuse Chiefs players TCU Horned Frogs baseball players TCU Horned Frogs football players Toledo Mud Hens players Toros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic