Philip Humber
From BR Bullpen
Philip Gregory Humber
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 210 lb.
- School Rice University
- High School Carthage High School
- Debut September 24, 2006
- Born December 21, 1982 in Nacogdoches, TX USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Pitcher Philip Humber was selected by the New York Yankees in the 29th round of the 2001 amateur draft, but did not sign, choosing to attend Rice University instead. As a freshman, he was 11-1 with a 2.77 ERA and 130 K in 111 IP. Baseball America picked him as a first-team freshman All-American and third-team All-American. He was the Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year, led the Conference in strikeouts and made the All-Conference team. Only Justin Verlander struck out more as a freshman that year. In the 2002 World University Championship, Humber pitched five scoreless innings in a win over Venezuela.
Philip was 11-3 with 138 K in 128 IP and a 3.30 ERA as a sophomore and again made the WAC All-Conference team. His string of 17 straight wins was snapped with the final games of the year. In the 2003 College World Series, he hit a College World Series record three straight batters against the University of Texas and was knocked out after 3 2/3 innings. In the finals against Stanford University, Humber only allowed five hits to a powerful offense featuring Ryan Garko and Carlos Quentin and pitched a complete game for the victory.
In 2004, Humber went 13-4, 2.27. He tied for 5th in NCAA Division I in victories and struck out 154 in 115 innings, the 4th-highest K total in NCAA Division I. He led the WAC in wins, was third in ERA and led in strikeouts but lost pitcher of the year honors to teammate Wade Townsend. Humber made All-Conference and Baseball America picked him for second-team All-American. The American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball magazine both made him a first-team All-American pick.
Overall, he had posted a 35-8 record with a 2.80 ERA and 422 strikeouts over his college career. He was then selected by the New York Mets with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft. He did not sign until a year later, inking a deal for $4.2 million guaranteed shortly before a new law would have made signing bonuses eligible for Social Security taxes. The hurler was then 2-6 with a 4.99 ERA for the St. Lucie Mets and 0-1, 6.75 for the Binghamton Mets before his season was cut short by right elbow surgery.
In 2006, Humber pitched for the GCL Mets (0-0, 6.75), St. Lucie (3-1, 2.37) and Binghamton (2-2, 2.88), then made his first big league appearance for the Mets in late 2006, pitching two scoreless innings.
