There’s always a reason. No player in the Atlantic League has ever been cast out of affiliated ball just because. They may not have played well, or maybe even got injured.
John Halama experienced neither.
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs starting pitcher has been out of the Major League for three seasons now. Over nine years in the big leagues, Halama racked up 58 wins, 492 strikeouts and a 4.65 ERA in 262 games — solid numbers for a back-of-the-rotation guy.
“Maybe my years are just past me,” Halama told me over the phone. “I think I’ve performed well at the big league level so hopefully I’ll get another chance.”
Halama says it was his mind, not his arm that got the best of him. He was going through some personal off-the-field issues in 2006, which translated into a rough performance on the mound. For a man who has never spent time on the disabled list, it was hard to overcome.
“When I was in Boston and Baltimore, I was going through some stuff,” Halama said. “That’s all behind me and I’m having fun again.”
The Baltimore Orioles brought Halama in to be their long reliever in 2006. The club was young and needed some veteran arms to balance out their staff. In 17 games, he was 3-1 with a 6.14 ERA. The Orioles released him in June and he was out of baseball.
Halama went from the majors to the Atlantic League with no stops in between. He signed with the Long Island Ducks in 2007 and worked to an 8-10 record with a 4.14 ERA over 26 starts. Southern Maryland manager Butch Hobson took notice, and when Halama was left unprotected in the expansion draft, he snapped him up.”I have to give a lot of credit to Butch,” he said. “If you pitch well, he’ll reach out to friends he has in the majors and try and get you a job.”
The 37-year-old pitched masterfully in eight starts. Hobson made some calls to organizations and told them about Halama, who was 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA and 48 strikeouts. The Cleveland Indians liked what they heard and signed him to a deal.
Halama would spend the rest of the season in Triple-A Buffalo. His numbers weren’t bad (8-6, 4.60), but not good enough to re-sign him. So he returned to the last place he was successful: Southern Maryland.
This year, Halama is slated to be the club’s third starter. He doesn’t care where he is in the rotation, as long as he gets an opportunity to throw the ball. If things go as planned, Halama will pitch well and get another shot with an affiliate.
“I keep hearing teams are going younger and younger, but they always need a veteran presence,” Halama said. “I can be that guy.”