Aubrey Huff on Giants snub: ‘If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be having a reunion’
Aubrey Huff was a key player on the San Francisco Giants team that won the 2010 World Series. He has also been known to post some controversial material on social media.
Because of the latter point, Huff has been informed that he won’t be invited to a reunion celebrating the 10-year anniversary of that championship this summer.
“Aubrey has made multiple comments on social media that are unacceptable and run counter to the values of our organization,” the Giants said in a statement released to the Athletic. “While we appreciate the many contributions that Aubrey made to the 2010 championship season, we stand by our decision.”
Huff told the Athletic he was “quite frankly, shocked” and “disappointed” by the team’s decision.
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“If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be having a reunion,” said Huff, who also won a World Series ring with the Giants in 2012. “But if they want to stick with their politically correct, progressive ... that’s fine.”
Huff was a 10-year veteran when he signed with the Giants as a free agent before the 2010 season. He started 154 games that year, mostly at first base, and led the team in several categories, including home runs (26), RBIs (86), hits (165) and walks (83). During the postseason, he hit .268 with eight RBIs, 15 hits and one home run, which came in Game 4 of the Giants’ five-game World Series win over the Texas Rangers.
But Huff has created controversy with his conservative views and how he expresses them. In November, he tweeted a photo of himself at a shooting range, with the caption, “Getting my boys trained up on how to use a gun in the unlikely event @BernieSanders beats @realDonaldTrump in 2020.”
In a tweet last month, Huff advocated the kidnapping of Iranian women so “we can bring them back here as they fan us and feed us grapes.” He later called the statement a joke.
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Also in January, he criticized the Giants for making Alyssa Nakken the first female coach on a major league staff.
“I got in trouble for wearing a thong in my own clubhouse when female reporters were present. Can’t imagine how it will play out with a full-time female coach running around,” Huff tweeted. “This has #metoo & #BelieveAllWomen written all over it.”
He also tweeted, “Couldn’t imagine taking baseball instruction from an ex female softball player,” along with an eyeroll emoji.
So, when it came to responding to his ban from the 2010 reunion, naturally Huff did so on Twitter — and he didn’t hold back. He called Giants President and Chief Executive Larry Baer “hypocritical.” Baer was suspended nearly four months last year after a video showed him in a physical altercation with his wife.
“All I did was tweet,” Huff wrote.
“I’m proud of what I accomplished in my 3 years with the Giants,” Huff said in his statement. “I made lifelong memories with teammates that can never be taken away from me. And while I’m disappointed the Giants are so opposed to President Trump, and our constitutional rights that they’d uninvite me to my teams reunion, it shows me that now more than ever we have to stand up for our first 1st amendment rights. Otherwise, the America we know and love is already dead.”
He added: “To all the fans, you were always amazing to me. And just because I might not share some of your political views (which are stupid) I still respect your right to express them.”
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