John Halama Still Plays Baseball?
I’m Ron Burgundy?
Anchorman reference. You know, because of the question mark in the headline. Makes sense. Sorry if you didn’t get it.
Anyways, former Seattle Mariners pitcher John Halama signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday, which is surprising to me because I was unaware that he was still alive. I’m going to be honest with you, I figured Halama retired around 2002 or 2003 at the very latest. But that’s not the case at all.
According to his Wikipedia page (yes, he actually has one of those…maybe he created it himself) Halama has bounced around some since his days as a Mariner ended in 2002. Here’s a brief chronology of the stops Halama has made on his nationwide tour:
1999-2002: Seattle Mariners
2003: Oakland Athletics
2004: Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2005: Boston Red Sox/Washington Nationals
2006: Baltimore Orioles
2007: Long Island Ducks (independent Atlantic League)
2008: Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (wow)/Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians)
2009: Southern Maryland Blue Crabs/Gwinnett Braves (Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves)
Remember Scott Bakula’s character in Major League 3? Gus Cantrell? Ring a bell? Okay, maybe you didn’t see the movie. Anyways, Halama is basically that guy. And he’s getting another shot at the bigs in 2010.
I will say that I always liked Halama. He’s a Brooklyn native, which you would have no trouble finding out after hearing him speak two words. He’s also a gritty tough guy who embraced every role he was given with the M’s (starter, long relief, short relief) and endured the frequent car ride between Tacoma and Seattle that so many Mariners players (namely, Brandon Morrow) have been on over the years.
And in case you forgot about his claim to fame, Halama tossed a perfect game for the Rainiers in 2001. His feat is one of eight perfect games in the history of the Pacific Coast League.
Finally, he also looks a little like Billy Bob Thornton. In case you hadn’t noticed.
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