John Halama

JOHN HALAMA WAS a 6-foot-5, soft-tossing, left-handed pitcher whose greatest success in major-league baseball came with the Seattle Mariners around the turn of the millennium. He logged a historic achievement in 2001 that was unlikely at the time and may never be accomplished again. It is even more improbable considering that the opportunity only presented itself thanks to his struggles on the mound.

John Thadeuz Halama was born on February 22, 1972, in Brooklyn, New York. The son of Vasil and Janina (née Kalkowska) Halama rooted for the Mets as a child, and his favorite players were Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.1 According to his sister, Barbara, his dream was to pitch at Shea Stadium.2 Halama graduated from Bishop Ford Catholic High School in 1990 and will forever be the only player from there to appear in major-league baseball. The school closed in 2014 due to declining enrollment.3

Halama went undrafted out of high school and stayed in Brooklyn, where he attended St. Francis College. During his four-year college career, he tossed a no-hitter4 and registered a 15–5 record and 3.05 ERA.5 He was one of three St. Francis Terriers to appear in major-league baseball and enjoyed the longest career of all of them.6 St. Francis eliminated its athletic department in 2023.7 The Houston Astros selected Halama after his senior year in the 23rd round of the 1994 June amateur draft.

“We were at the stage of the draft where we were alternately drafting senior-fillers and draft-and-follow candidates,” recalled Astros assistant scouting director David Rawnsley. “We had a scout in the Northeast named Bob Blair, who had yet to have one of his players drafted, just missing on a couple of very good prospects early. Noting that, and for no other good reason than Bob needed a player, and 6-foot-5 left-handers are always a good risk, I decided to draft John Halama.”8

After Blair signed Halama, the Astros assigned him to the Auburn Astros in the short-season-A New York-Penn League. The southpaw displayed good command of his 88-90 mph fastball, an above-average changeup, poise, and an “unbelievable” pickoff move. “It was apparent from the first time Halama pitched at Auburn that Bob, and every scout in the area, had under-evaluated Halama and that he was a future major leaguer,” said Rawnsley.9 Halama logged a 1.29 ERA in 28 innings for Auburn, earning a promotion to the Quad Cities River Bandits in the single-A Midwest League for the remainder of the 1994 season. He was less successful there with a 4.56 ERA in nine starts. He remained in Quad Cities in 1995, though as a reliever instead of a starter, and he enjoyed a successful campaign with a 2.02 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings. For the 1996 season, the Astros promoted Halama to the double-A Jackson Generals and returned him to the starting rotation. He responded to the challenge favorably with 3.21 ERA across 162 2/3 innings pitched.

The Astros promoted Halama to the triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs in 1997 where he performed even better in 171 innings. The Sporting News noted Halama’s performance twice that year in their “Prospect Watch” feature and how quickly he rose from relative anonymity to major-league prospect. Their first mention of Halama was on June 23, 1997, where they mistakenly listed him as a right-handed pitcher and quoted Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker saying, “He’s come on quickly this year.”10 A couple of months later, in August, The Sporting News accurately listed Halama as a lefty and wrote, “…[Halama] is expected to get a call-up in September, unless injuries necessitate an earlier arrival.”11 That call-up did not come, but Halama’s Astros debut came early in 1998.

Houston entered the 1997 offseason with concerns around its starting rotation. Darryl Kile, who hurled over 250 innings for the team the previous season, was a free agent. Matt Galante, the New Orleans manager, was quoted in The Sporting News at the end of the season, saying, “I wouldn’t want to lose Kile, but if we had to, Halama could step in. I compare him—and this is a stretch of the imagination—to a young Denny Neagle, who doesn’t throw very hard (but has) an outstanding changeup and real good location. That’s John.”12 Concern escalated to reality when Kile signed with the Colorado Rockies. Houston began spring training with a starting rotation competition on their hands. They had planned to replace Kile with one of three pitching prospects: Halama, José Lima, or Sean Bergman. However, injuries mounted, and all three pitchers began the year in Houston’s rotation.13

Halama made his major-league debut in Houston against the San Francisco Giants on April 2, 1998. He recalled, “A lot was going on that day. I was very excited that I accomplished a dream of making the big leagues. I had my parents and brother in the stands that game. As far as the game itself; wasn’t that great for me. I took a beating.”14 He lasted four innings, gave up six runs, and took the loss in a 9–2 Astros defeat. Halama would make five more starts but struggle enough that the Astros decided to send him back down to triple-A New Orleans, replacing him in the rotation with Pete Schourek, who had signed a minor-league deal in the offseason after some difficult seasons in Cincinnati.

Halama pitched better in New Orleans, but a combination of factors would keep him from reappearing in the majors. He missed some time with an injury, Schourek pitched relatively well, and Houston soared to the top of the NL Central. Hunsicker bet on the team’s success in a big way, orchestrating a trade with the Seattle Mariners for their disgruntled staff ace, Randy Johnson. Houston parted with prospects Freddy García, Carlos Guillén, and a player to be named later, leaving the major-league roster untouched. Johnson replaced Schourek in the Astros’ starting rotation, resulting in a deal a week later where Houston sold Schourek to the Boston Red Sox. Halama lacked a path back to the major leagues as a result of all of these developments.

Johnson’s acquisition stalled Halama in 1998 but ultimately gave him his career breakthrough. On October 1, as Houston thrilled a sold-out Astrodome with a walk-off victory over the San Diego Padres in Game Two of the National League Division Series, Halama was announced as the player to be named later in the Johnson trade. The Mariners had scouted Halama in July, but he was just returning from his elbow injury at the time. He completed a physical for the Mariners after the minor-league season was over,15 a possible indication that the injury played a role in the structure of the trade.

The dramatic lead-up and fallout of the Randy Johnson trade extends well beyond John Halama, but it is important to note that immediate reactions labeled the Mariners as clear losers. However, opinions started to change early in 1999. Guillén and Halama both looked ready for starting roles on the Opening Day roster, and García looked likely to make his major-league debut later in the year. As it turned out, all three cracked the Opening Day roster with Guillén leading off and playing second base, García taking the third rotation spot, and Halama opening the season in the bullpen.

Guillén appeared overmatched and was sent down quickly, but both Halama and García blossomed into starting rotation anchors as the season progressed. A July 1999 Mariners update in The Sporting News even carried the headline “John Halama makes his case to be the ace of the staff.”16 Writer Larry LaRue noted that Halama’s eight starts on the year included a complete-game shutout and said more specifically about his style and success, “Using an 86 mph fastball, pinpoint command and an assortment of off-speed pitches, Halama was called a ‘young Jamie Moyer’ in spring training. ‘Now, I think I’ve become the old John Halama,’ Moyer says.”17 Halama pitched 179 innings for the 1999 Mariners, trailing only García and Moyer, and logged a 4.22 ERA that was well below the league average of 4.86.

The emergence of both García and Halama, along with the development of prized prospects Ryan Anderson and Gil Meche in the minor leagues, gave the Mariners an abundance of young starting pitching at the turn of the millennium. They were characterized as the best collection of young arms in Mariners history.18 Seattle’s team identity shifted from out-slugging opponents to shutting them down on the mound, and Halama’s contributions were central to the change.

The development of the Mariners’ rotation became even more important when Ken Griffey Jr., unquestionably the greatest Mariners star of the 1990s, requested a trade to Cincinnati after the 1999 offseason. Rumors swirled about how Seattle would handle this request. Many involved trades that could take advantage of Seattle’s enviable young pitching depth. One such rumor suggested Halama could be used to acquire either Rondell White or Jim Edmonds as a center-field replacement.19

Halama was not traded and spent all of 2000 in Seattle’s starting rotation, once again finishing with the third-most innings pitched on the team. However, trade rumors involving him continued to circulate. The 2000 Mariners were the most competitive Seattle team since the division-winning 1997 squad and thus were clear buyers at the 2000 trade deadline for their pennant push. Seattle wanted to acquire an outfielder and trading away a starting pitcher seemed obvious. Halama remained a fixture in these rumors, suggested as a centerpiece in separate hypothetical trades to the Brewers for Jeromy Burnitz, the Twins for Matt Lawton, and the Blue Jays for José Cruz Jr.20 Ultimately the Mariners retained Halama and acquired Padres outfielder Al Martin in a modest trade deadline deal.

The Mariners made the 2000 playoffs as a wild-card team and swept the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series before losing to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Halama did not pitch against the White Sox but made two starts against the Yankees in place of an injured Jamie Moyer. Halama left the team between his starts to attend his sister Barbara’s wedding. Game Four occurred during the wedding, and he listened to it on a Walkman radio at the ceremony. Halama admitted, “I had to be here, but my heart was in Seattle.” The wedding took place in New York, which presented a unique challenge to avoid Yankees fans in the middle of the ALCS. Halama maintained his normal throwing schedule by tossing a baseball with his brother in a local park. The logistics did pose a challenge for Halama, but, as he dryly noted, “My sister doesn’t plan on getting married again.”21

Halama faltered in 2001, one of only a few Mariners who did not have a strong individual season amid the team’s 116-win campaign. He opened the year in Seattle’s starting rotation but could not keep hitters off balance. The struggles may have been a result of lingering issues with surgery he had to remove bone chips from his elbow.22 Seattle optioned Halama to the triple-A Tacoma Rainiers in June with instructions to work on his sinker.23

Rainiers pitching coach Chris Bosio helped Halama find the sinker in short order. On July 7, 2001, Halama’s second start with Tacoma made history. He pitched the first nine-inning perfect game in Pacific Coast League history. It was the fifth perfect game in the 98-year history of the league, but the previous four were all seven-inning contests.24 It was a remarkable accomplishment for any pitcher, and a particularly stunning one for a struggling, demoted veteran who pitched to contact and stranded baserunners even when on top of his game.

Halama understood his perfect game was a rare accomplishment but did not fully grasp its magnitude until others told him. He shared, “I signed some stuff for the Hall of Fame, and, to my knowledge, they shipped it up there because it was the first in the PCL. I didn’t know about any of the history of the Pacific Coast League when it came to that kind of stuff, but you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know the PCL has been around a long time. … It’s not something that comes along that often. Look at how many years baseball has been in existence, and there have been, what, 14 perfect games or something like that in the Major Leagues? I’m very proud of what I did, and it’s something I’ll never forget.”25

Nine days after Halama’s rare feat, the Mariners recalled him from Tacoma, though as a bullpen arm instead of returning to the rotation. Moyer was in the midst of a resurgence, sporting an ERA under 4.00 after struggling with a 5.49 ERA in 2000, and Mariners manager Lou Piniella felt one factor was the removal of Halama from the rotation because the two pitchers had such similar styles.26 It also helped that the team had other options to try as starters. Denny Stark got an opportunity as the fifth starter but faltered. Brett Tomko also received an audition but found himself down in Triple A with Halama. He threw a no-hitter (though not a perfect game) just four days after Halama’s feat.27 Joel Piñeiro emerged in August and asserted himself as the fifth starter on the team.28

Halama stuck with the Mariners the rest of the 2001 season after his short run in Tacoma but pitched rather sparingly, largely in middle relief. He made the postseason roster, logging two relief appearances in the ALDS against Cleveland and two more relief appearances in the ALCS against New York, working a total of five innings across all appearances.

Reports in The Sporting News seemed utterly convinced that Seattle would trade Halama after the 2001 season. Rumors in four separate issues during the 2001–02 offseason mention him.29 Ultimately, once again, the Mariners did not trade away Halama. Instead, Seattle used him as a starter, sort of. Piñeiro had officially won the fifth starting spot, but Piniella desired a power arm in his bullpen that the current roster lacked. So, he flipped Piñeiro to the bullpen, at least for a couple of months, because the Mariners’ schedule fell in such a way that the fifth starter slot could largely be skipped. Halama would be the primary fifth starting option in this time period, though fellow long reliever Ryan Franklin would replace Halama if Moyer was also slated to start in the same series.30 Perhaps no decision better captures the predicament that John Halama regularly found himself in—used marginally but with intent. Halama pitched noticeably better in 2002 than in 2001, producing an ERA over a run lower while increasing his strikeout rate. Still, the Mariners quietly moved on from Halama, granting him free agency on December 21, 2002.

The rest of Halama’s career involved a series of short stints, none lasting more than a season, with several teams. With the Oakland Athletics in 2003, he posted a 4.22 ERA in 108 2/3 innings. He pitched the following year for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, tossing 118 2/3 innings with a noticeably worse 4.70 ERA, though his ERA+ of 96 indicates he was only slightly below league average. He signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2005 and struggled mightily with a 6.18 ERA in 43 2/3 innings before being released midseason, after which the Washington Nationals picked him up for the remainder of the season. Although he rebounded with a 4.64 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, the Nationals still released him at the end of the season. Halama then signed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2006 but once again struggled. Baltimore released him in June after an appearance against the Twins in which he gave up four runs while only recording two outs.

Halama continued to pitch after his final Orioles appearance for a variety of teams. He pitched with the independent Long Island Ducks in 2007, then jumped back into affiliated baseball when he inked a minor-league deal with Cleveland halfway through the 2008 season, followed by appearances in the Atlanta Braves’ minor-league system in 2009. Halama received a spring training invite from the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010 and revealed some of his mindset after a few years roaming around various professional baseball leagues. “I’m getting an opportunity,” he shared, “Hopefully, it all works out and I can revive my career, finish it off on a good note and then walk away with a clear mind, on my own terms.”31

Halama did not make the Brewers roster and ultimately never returned to the major leagues. He opted for free agency, returning to the A’s on a minor-league deal in May 2010. Now at 38 years old, he pitched in 18 games for their triple-A team, the Sacramento River Cats. These were Halama’s final appearances in affiliated baseball, but his career continued.

Halama’s career after the major leagues proved that there is always room for a left-handed pitcher with some history of success. He showed a continued ability to find opportunities. His 2007 season with the Long Island Ducks was the first of six seasons in the independent Atlantic League. He also pitched for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs from 2008–10 and the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2011–12. Halama pitched in a few foreign leagues, too—the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) for Aguilas in 2010–11 and Gigantes in 2011–12. He also started eight games in 2011 for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (Taiwan). All told, John Halama spun 911 innings in major-league baseball, 923 2/3 innings in affiliated minor leagues, and 833 2/3 innings between independent and foreign leagues, pitching until he was 40 years old.

Halama’s success in the Atlantic League led to his first pitching-coach job with the York (Pennsylvania) Revolution in 2013.32 He also served in the same capacity in the minor leagues for the San Diego Padres and in two separate stints with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, a collegiate summer wood bat league.33 He has not coached in professional or semipro baseball since 2022.

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

NOTES

1 Andrew Martin, “John Halama Looks Back on His Baseball Career.” The Baseball Historian, February 12, 2017. https://baseballhistorian.blogspot.com/2017/02/john-halama-looks-back-on-his-baseball.html, accessed July 19, 2024.

2 Ronald Blum, “Halama Grows in Brooklyn,” Ledger (Lakeland, Florida), June 5, 2009. https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2000/10/17/halama-grows-in-brooklyn/26664562007/, accessed June 29, 2025.

3 “Brooklyn’s Bishop Ford H.S. Closing In June,” NBC New York, April 14, 2014. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/bishop-ford-high-school-closing/1019178/, accessed July 19, 2024.

4 Kevin T. Czerwinski, “Halama hurled PCL’s first perfect game.” MiLB.com, July 2, 2008. https://www.milb.com/news/tacoma-s-john-halama-hurled-pcl-s-first-perfect-game-302969132, accessed January 15, 2024.

5 Tara Sullivan, “Halama a Homesick Hurler,” Newsday, August 28, 1994: 252.

6 Joe Vitko, who pitched in three games for the 1992 Mets, and Edwin Almonte, who made 12 appearances for the 2003 Mets, are the other two.

7 Lorenzo Reyes, “St. Francis College (N.Y.) announces elimination of entire Division I athletic program,” USA Today, March 20, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2023/03/20/st-francis-college-brooklyn-eliminates-entire-athletic-program/11510364002/, accessed July 19, 2024.

8 Allan Simpson and David Rawnsley, “College Seniors: Draft Wild Cards,” June 9, 2008. https://www.perfectgame.org/articles/View.aspx?article=106, accessed June 29, 2025.

9 Simpson and Rawnsley, “College Seniors.”

10 Alan Truex, “Prospect watch: John Halama, RHP,” The Sporting News, June 23, 1997: 28.

11 Alan Truex, “Prospect watch: John Halama, LHP,” The Sporting News, August 11, 1997: 23.

12 Alan Truex, “Houston Astros,” The Sporting News, October 27, 1997: 35.

13 Carlton Thompson, “Rotation needs to overcome early injuries,” The Sporting News, March 30, 1998: 31.

14 Martin, “John Halama Looks Back.”

15 Martin, “John Halama Looks Back.”

16 Larry LaRue, “Halama makes his case to be the ace of the staff,” The Sporting News, July 19, 1999: 25.

17 LaRue,”Halama makes his case.”

18 Larry LaRue, “Seattle,” The Sporting News, January 10, 2000: 63.

19 Mike DiGiovanna. “Anaheim,” The Sporting News, February 14, 2000: 56.

20 “TSN Rumor Mill,” The Sporting News, July 31, 2000: 22. Ironically, Cruz had been traded by the Mariners to the Blue Jays for pitching help in 1997.

21 Associated Press, “Halama’s absence a case of blood over batterymates,” Tacoma News Tribune, October 17, 2000: C4.

22 Czerwinski, “Halama hurled.”

23 Czerwinski, “Halama hurled.”

24 Czerwinski, “Halama hurled.”

25 Czerwinski, “Halama hurled.” It is worth mentioning that, to Halama’s credit, there had been either 14 or 16 perfect games in major-league history when he spun his in Tacoma. The two perfect games in question come from the 1880 season.

26 Larry LaRue, “Moyer is thriving with Halama in the bullpen,” The Sporting News, August 13, 2001: 33.

27 Larry LaRue, “Halama or Tomko will be the No. 5 starter,” The Sporting News, July 16, 2001: 39.

28 LaRue, “Moyer is thriving.”

29 Larry LaRue, “Seattle Mariners,” The Sporting News, October 22, 2001: 16; Larry LaRue, “Seattle Mariners,” The Sporting News, November 5, 2001: 19; Matt Crossman. “Inside Dish,” The Sporting News, November 12, 2001: 19; Scot Gregor, “Chicago White Sox,” The Sporting News, November 19, 2001: 54.

30 Larry LaRue, “Seattle Mariners,” The Sporting News, April 15, 2002: 27.

31 Tom Haudricourt, “Getting to Know: LHP John Halama,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 1, 2010. https://archive.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/85846367.html, accessed November 1, 2025.

32 “#41 John Halama – Profile,” Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs. https://d15k3om16n459i.cloudfront.net/baseball/player.html?playerid=429086, accessed July 24, 2024.

33 “Coach Profile, Associate Head Coach (Instructor), John Halama,” US Sports Camps. https://www.ussportscamps.com/coaches/john-halama, accessed July 24, 2024.