John Thadeuz Halama (born February 22, 1972) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. During his major league career, Halama played with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(),

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

(–),

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

(),

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

(),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(),

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

(2005), and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(). He bats and throws

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

Career

Houston Astros

Halama made his debut with the Houston Astros in 1998. Prior to that he had attended St. Francis College and Pitched for the

Terriers Terrier () is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. There are five different groups of terrier, wi ...

from 1991 to 1994. Halama also attended and graduated from

Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School was a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Open from 1962 through 2014, it closed following a period of steeply falling enrollment and with an esti ...

in Brooklyn, New York in 1990.

Seattle Mariners

In midseason 1998, Halama was sent to Seattle along with Freddy García and

Carlos Guillén Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born September 30, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers. Guillén was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft a ...

in the same trade that brought

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed, "the Big Unit," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizo ...

to Houston. Halama won 41 games for the Mariners in a four-year span, with a career high 14 victories in . In , Halama threw the first nine-inning perfect game in the history of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

Oakland Athletics

In 2003, Halama went 3–5 in 35 games for the A's.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

In 2004, Halama went 7–6 with a 4.70

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 34 appearances, including 14 starts for the Devil Rays.

Boston Red Sox

Halama was signed by Boston as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on December 17, 2004. After appearing in 30 games, Halama was released by the Red Sox on July 17, 2005.

Washington Nationals

Halama was signed by the Nationals on August 5, 2005, and made ten appearances for them, including three starts, before his release on October 2.

Baltimore Orioles

In 2006, he played his last big league season with the Baltimore Orioles, pitching to a 6.14 ERA over 17 contests.

Long Island Ducks

Halama pitched for the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

of the Atlantic League in , leading the league in innings pitched with 167.1, He was later selected by the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Base ...

in the expansion draft.

Cleveland Indians

On June 5, 2008, Halama signed a minor league contract with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

At the end of the 2008 season, Halama signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. There he went 8–1 with a 2.38 ERA. After his stint with Gwinnett, Halama rejoined the Blue Crabs in September 2009, and won two games, including the decisive game 5, in the first round of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball playoffs.

Atlanta Braves

On June 13, 2009, the Atlanta Braves purchased Halama's contract from the

. He started 13 games for the Triple-A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevi ...

, and had a 4–7 record with 90 innings pitched before his release on September 18.

Milwaukee Brewers

Halama signed a minor league contract with the

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

in November 2009. On March 16, 2010, Halama was released by the Brewers.

Return to Oakland Athletics

On May 23, 2010, Halama signed a minor league contract with the

. He was released by the team in September.

Lancaster Barnstormers

Halama pitched for the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Stormers (formerly known as the Lancaster Barnstormers) is an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner l ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He was named to the 2012 Atlantic League All Star Team and was named the

Starting Pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

for the Freedom Division.

Retirement

Halama served as the pitching coach for the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

, rivals of his former team, the

, for the 2013 season.

Major league summary

Spanning a career of seven-plus seasons in the Major Leagues, Halama compiled a 53–44 record with 469

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and a 4.60 ERA in 860.1 innings pitched.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halama, John 1972 births Living people Houston Astros players Seattle Mariners players Oakland Athletics players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Boston Red Sox players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Baltimore Orioles players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Brooklyn Auburn Astros players Quad Cities River Bandits players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players New Orleans Zephyrs players Tacoma Rainiers players Long Island Ducks players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Gwinnett Braves players Sacramento River Cats players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic St. Francis Terriers baseball players Lancaster Barnstormers players