Rookie of the Year: Huston Street, 2005

Pitcher, Oakland Athletics

Age:  22 (Aug. 2)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 205 

Prior to 2005:

Son of former star Univ. of Texas quarterback and pitcher James Street, Street was a native of Austin, Texas and began pitching in Little League. An all-state safety on the Westlake High School football team, Street lettered in baseball as well. Moving on to the Univ. of Texas, he distinguished himself as a closer out of the bullpen, receiving All-American honors three times as he compiled 41 saves and a 1.31 ERA. In addition, he was named MVP of the 2002 College World Series. Chosen by the A’s with the fortieth pick of the 2004 amateur draft, relying on his slider/sinker combination he worked his way up from Class A to AA and AAA with three teams in ’04, producing a combined 8 saves and 1.38 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. He was called up to the A’s early in the 2005 season and took over as closer in May when RHP Octavio Dotel went down with an elbow injury. With his fine control and fastball, slider, and changeup, Street proved to be very effective at the major league level.

2005 Season Summary

Appeared in 67 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 67 [18, tied with seven others]

Games Started – 0

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 5

Losses – 1

PCT - .833 [Non-qualifying]

Saves – 23 [11]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 78.1

Hits – 53

Runs – 17

Earned Runs – 15

Home Runs – 3

Bases on Balls – 26

Strikeouts – 72

ERA – 1.72 [Non-qualifying]

Hit Batters – 2

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 1

Midseason Snapshot: 3-1, ERA - 1.67, G – 35, SV – 5, SO - 44 in 43 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 4 (in 2 IP) vs. Toronto 4/11

Fielding

Chances – 19

Put Outs – 7

Assists – 12

Errors – 0

DP – 2

Pct. - 1.000

 

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

23rd in AL MVP voting, tied with Bartolo Colon, LAA & Grady Sizemore, Clev. (3 points, 1% share)

AL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Huston Street, Oak.: 97 points – 15 of 28 first place votes, 69% share

Robinson Cano, NYY: 57 points – 4 first place votes, 41% share

Jonny Gomes, TB: 39 points – 2 first place votes, 28% share

Tadahito Iguchi, ChiWS.: 30 points – 5 first place votes, 21% share

Gustavo Chacin, Tor.: 14 points – 2 first place votes, 10% share

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Athletics went 88-74 to finish second in the AL Western Division, 7 games behind the division-winning Los Angeles Angels. The pitching staff led the league in fewest hits allowed (1315). Following a 12-12 April with a 7-20 May, the A’s surged into contention during the summer but came up short in September.

Aftermath of ‘05:

Street followed up in 2006 by going 4-4 with 37 saves and a 3.31 ERA in 69 appearances, striking out 67 batters in 70.2 innings. Oakland topped the AL West and advanced to the ALCS where Street surrendered a walk-off three-run home run to Detroit’s Magglio Ordonez that sealed the series defeat for the A’s. He spent two months on the disabled list in 2007, limiting him to 48 appearances during the season that resulted in a 5-2 record and 16 saves with a 2.88 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched (an average of 11.3 per nine innings). Street started 2008 as Oakland’s closer but dealing with nagging injuries he lost his closer role following a poor stretch after the All-Star Game. He ended up appearing in 63 games and recording 18 saves to go along with a 7-5 tally and 3.73 ERA. He had 7 blown saves but pitched better in the second half in a lesser bullpen role. In the offseason he was traded to the Colorado Rockies as part of a major deal for outfielder Matt Holliday. Overcoming some early rough spots with his new club in 2009, he regained the closer role and went 4-1 with 35 saves in 64 appearances along with a 3.06 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched. Rewarded with a three-year, $22.5 million contract extension by the Rockies, Street was sidelined by shoulder stiffness for a large portion of the 2010 season but appeared in 44 games and compiled a 4-4 mark with 20 saves, a 3.61 ERA, and 45 strikeouts in 47.1 innings. During 2011 he saved 29 games in 32 opportunities until August when a triceps strain put him on the DL. Upon his return he was utilized as a setup man and for the year he ended up at 1-4 with 29 saves in 62 appearances along with a 3.86 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. Dealt to the San Diego Padres in the offseason, he had an excellent first half in 2012 until suffering a calf injury in August. He finished with 23 saves in 24 opportunities and a 2-1 record with a 1.85 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched. In 2013 Street was prone to giving up the long ball during the season’s first half before putting together a long scoreless streak on his way to a 2-5 mark with 33 saves and a 2.70 ERA while pitching in 58 games. He had recorded 24 saves with a 1.09 ERA in 2014 when the Padres dealt him to the Los Angeles Angels. He added 17 more saves the rest of the way for the Angels to finish with a combined 41 and a 1.37 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. Signed to a two-year contract extension by the Angels, Street had another fine season in 2015 to go 3-3 with 40 saves and a 3.18 ERA. He had a difficult year in 2016 until being shelved for knee surgery in August, ending up with just 26 appearances and 9 saves with a 6.45 ERA. He pitched in only four games for the Angels in 2017 and retired in the offseason due to his injury problems. For his major league career, Street pitched in 668 games and produced a 42-34 record with 324 saves and a 2.95 ERA along with 665 strikeouts in 680 innings pitched. With Oakland he appeared in 247 games with a 21-12 tally, 94 saves, a 2.88 ERA, and 271 strikeouts in 269 innings. Street appeared in 10 postseason games and was 0-3 with 3 saves, a 6.75 ERA, and 8 strikeouts in 12 innings. He was a two-time All-Star. He has been named to the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor and the Omaha College Baseball Hall of Fame.  

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.