Philip Gregory Humber (; born December 21, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros in seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Although he debuted in the major leagues in 2006 and had worked mostly as a starter in the minor leagues, he did not become a regular MLB starter until 2011.
Humber earned three Texas Little League state championships. He subsequently attended Carthage High School in Carthage, Texas, where he led the baseball team to the state championship game in 2001, his senior season, winning state Player of the Year honors. He then attended Rice University, where he played college baseball for the Rice Owls baseball team. Humber was the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the 2003 College World Series. He has also represented the United States at the World University Baseball Championship.
The Mets selected Humber with the third overall selection in the 2004 MLB draft. During his minor league career, he underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction before making his MLB debut with the Mets in 2006. It took him several years to regain his ability to throw with the same velocity that he had prior to the injury. After being included in a trade to the Twins for Johan Santana, Humber struggled to establish himself. He spent a year with the Royals organization and was briefly a member of the Oakland Athletics organization, before being claimed on waivers by the White Sox in 2011, getting an opportunity to pitch in the White Sox' starting rotation. On April 21, 2012, Humber pitched the 21st perfect game in MLB history, defeating the Seattle Mariners.
Early life
Born in Nacogdoches, Texas, Humber was raised in Carthage, Texas. Living in an area with an abundance of baseball fields, Humber grew up with a batting cage in his backyard. At the age of 11, Humber visited the Chicago White Sox during spring training in Florida as the guest of Robert Ellis, a family friend of the Humbers, who then was a minor league baseball pitcher for the White Sox.
Carthage was a Texas anomaly, its baseball athletes being the most admired role models rather than its football players. As of 2004, the Panola County Dixie League teams had won 15 state championships in the preceding 20 years and Humber played for three state champions.
Amateur career
Humber attended Carthage High School. The Carthage Bulldogs had won the state title in 1990 and been one of the final four teams in the state tournament in 1994. Humber was promoted from junior varsity midway through his sophomore season. He compiled a 4–0 win–loss record with a low 1.09 earned run average (ERA). He went 7–2 as a junior, and posted a 13–1 record with a 0.90 ERA and 146 strikeouts as a senior. A capable batter, he also had a .371 batting average with six home runs. Humber threw a shutout in the Texas University Interscholastic League Class 4A semifinals against Cedar Park High School in 2001, his senior season. Although Carthage lost the state championship to Western Hills High School in baseball that year, Humber was named Texas High School Class 4A Player of the Year by the Texas Sports Writers Association. According to former Major League Baseball prospect and East Texas native Alan Move: "Back in high school, he (Humber) threw harder than everyone else and changed speeds pretty well and that's all you need in high school."
Humber was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 29th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. As the 875th pick overall, he described himself as "more of a draft-and-follow" prospect. The Yankees made Humber an offer in an attempt to lure him away from his college scholarship, but he did not sign, choosing instead to attend Rice University in order to play college baseball for the Rice Owls baseball team, competing in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) of NCAA Division I.