Huff makes himself at home

ARLINGTON -- Watching the numerous former Texas Rangers walk out onto the field during the pregame ceremonies was like the old days for Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Aubrey Huff.

Huff, who starred in baseball and basketball at Brewer High School in White Settlement, grew up watching the Rangers and had the chance to see one of his favorite players up close.

"I grew up watching guys like Steve Buechele here and Pudge Rodriguez," said Huff, who led Baltimore's offense Tuesday with a 4-for-4 showing and four runs driven in. "Steve Buechele was one of my favorites, so when I saw him walk by today, that was a cool experience."
Huff came into Texas with only two hits in four games against Seattle, but he did hit a game-winning home run Monday. Tuesday, he had a walk to go with his 12th career four-hit game.

Coming off hernia surgery in January, Huff is erasing the slow start he had last season.

"When he had the surgery for the hernia, he had to go through a lot more to get back and be ready to play, and I think that's benefited him," Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said. "I said it in spring training -- there was no way that he was going to get off to the slow start this year that he did last. I was confident that he was going to hit right from the get-go and he's doing that."

After playing at Brewer, Huff went to Vernon College before becoming an All-American at the University of Miami. He was Tampa Bay's fifth pick in 1998 and spent five full seasons with the Rays before he was traded to Houston in 2006.

Huff signed with Baltimore last year as a free agent, hitting .280 with 15 home runs and 72 RBI. In his career, Huff has 11 homers against Texas.

"I've always enjoyed playing here and still see some friendly faces in the stands every now and then," he said. "It's a good hitter's park and the ball always travels good here. It definitely helps the offense for sure."

Huff walked on four pitches in the first inning and singled up the middle in the third, scoring on a Luke Scott home run. He had his second single in the fifth.

"I just came off a pretty bad Seattle series where I didn't get a lot of hits, and I didn't feel too great coming into this series," Huff said. "I just felt a little more relaxed and let the ball get deep."

Huff nearly had his third homer of the year in the sixth inning, as the ball hit off the yellow line in the right-field corner but bounced back onto the field. It was called a home run, but was changed to a double.

"This ballpark is friendly," Huff said. "I hit it on the barrel but didn't have a whole lot of great extension on it, but in this park I thought it was going to go."

(star-telegram.com)