John Habyan: Baseball Player, Coach & Teacher

Since I was "Spheroid" and mentioned writing stories about John Habyan, I’ve decided to post one of them about his career.

Baseball is a game that takes time to perfect; it consists of working hard, determination and grit. Most players develop and become good through the years of extensive training and practice. John Habyan, former Major League pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, California Angels and Colorado Rockies, knows the trials and tribulations that come with competing on the major league level.

Just as in the movie The Natural, Roy Hobbs attributed his hard work to his father – when they made the bat “Wonder Boy” and practiced pitching and throwing in the opening segments of the film. Habyan attributes the same – making a pitching mound in the backyard of their home and practicing the mechanics of pitching. His father noticed his talent and sensed he was more advanced than the other boys were.

“My father gave me good advice…he encouraged me and said, ‘I’ll help you make a career out of this if you want?’ I then started to work out with my father’s guidance,” Habyan said. “Parents today think they can help their kids in sports by just watching television, they don’t educate themselves. My father didn’t do that. We would sit down and read books on pitching. From my father’s guidance, I always had that confidence in my career. Sure it’s tough but I always had that self confidence.”

Habyan is a product of St. John’s the Baptist High School in West Islip, New York, where Buddy Corr was head coach until Habyan was offered the position in 1998. Corr also worked with Habyan throughout his career, emphasizing the mechanics of pitching, and strength and conditioning training. After school and practice, Corr would take Habyan to Jones Beach State Park in New York and have him run in the sand up and down the beach. The hard work paid off; he pitched St. John’s to the 1982 Catholic League Championship Title and soon found himself being looked at by collegiate and professional scouts. He considered attending Miami or Texas University, where both his father and Corr left that decision in his hands. Many professional scouts told him he would be drafted right out of high school and the Orioles already had him in their sights.

“Now I realize the chance I took going pro…” Habyan said. “I always had that confidence and hard work ethic.”

In the 1982 Major League Baseball draft, he was picked up by the Baltimore Orioles and assigned to Blufield (Appalachian/Rookie League) where he posted a 9-2 record and a 3.54 ERA. When Bluefield’s season was over (it’s for half the summer) he was called to Hagerstown (Carolina League/A-ball) for the latter part of the season. The following year (1983) he started at Hagerstown where he pitched to a 2-3 record with a 5.81 ERA. He then received a call to report to Newark of the New York Penn League where he went 5-3 with a 3.39 ERA. When the ’84 season started, he went back to Hagerstown and then was assigned to Charlotte (Southern League/AA-ball) for rest of the season. At Charlotte, he posted a 13-5 record, 3.27 ERA and compiled 127 strikeouts. The following year, he was called up to the Baltimore Orioles and invited to spring training and pitched most of the ’87 season. The dream and reality was short lived, he started at Rochester (International League/Triple-A) the following year.

“They [Orioles] called me up because two pitchers were hurt,” said Habyan, referring to his invitation and call up to spring training. “My first major league appearance with the Orioles was at Yankee Stadium.”

Considered by many scouts to be a standout player, he has won numerous awards to show for his success. While in Bluefield, he led the league in wins. He was Southern League right-handed pitcher of the year, Triple-A rookie pitcher of the year and pitched a 6-0 no-hit victory against Columbus. He also appeared in the 1989 International League playoffs.

“I owe much to Dom Chiti,” Habyan said about Chiti, a pitching instructor for the Baltimore Organization at the time.

Even though it looked like he had a promising career set for him in baseball, a freak sledding accident at his home in Maryland in January of 1989 sidelined him for sometime. He suffered a career-ending third degree shoulder separation. Determined to keep a positive attitude, because doctors told him they never saw an injury like his, he worked his way back to sufficient health. He made such a remarkable recovery, that Baltimore decided to start him in Triple-A Rochester, instead of Single-A, as desired by the front office. Several months later he found himself in Yankee pinstripes, acquired for Stanley Jefferson on July 19, 1989.

“I was shocked when I was traded,” Habyan said. “There were rumors that guys would be traded, but I didn’t think I would be one of them.”

Not knowing what to expect from the trade, Habyan feels that it turned out to be a good move and springboarded his baseball career. The Yankees according to Habyan “believed in me.”

“The organization was good to me…they are class people,” he said. “George Bradley (former Yankee general manager) believed in me when I signed with the team. They also put me on the spring training roster.”

At the time, to maintain his ability to compete on the major league level, Habyan put most of his off-season time into training. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he worked out at Shea Stadium’s indoor batting and pitching range. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, he did most of his roadwork – running, lifting weights and other exercises.

“Long and middle relieving is what I handled best,” Habyan said confidently. “Most [sports] writers wrote that I wanted to be a starter. I didn’t. I wanted to be a reliever.”

Once the ’93 season came around, trade rumors were swirling and Habyan soon found himself packing his bags for Kansas City. He moved from team-to-team and decided in 1997 to retire. He then set his sights on something that is all too familiar to him – coaching. With a hard work ethic and constant guidance from his father while he was playing, Habyan knew his heart would be coaching kids at his alma mater.

“He was the logical choice,” said former St. John the Baptist Baseball Coach Buddy Corr.

When Corr was coaching, he would always make it a point to have Habyan come to his practice sessions. During the session he would let the kids play and he, along with Habyan, would overlook what type of talent is actually out there.

“I had Habyan come down and talk with them about how important education is,” Corr said. “Right now this is fun for the kids, but once the season starts they need the grades. If not, they don’t play.”

Habyan also made it a point to give back to his coach and the team that made him what he is. He would donate baseball spikes, tutor and coach the students at  St. John’s.

“Buddy Corr played an integral part in helping me get where I am today,” said Habyan, in a media release announcing his donation. “So I wanted to give something back to the school and to the people that supported me.”

Corr said about Habyan’s comments: “It’s great that someone has made it and remembers where they came from.”

John Habyan is seen in the footsteps that Corr created at  St. John’s the Baptist. He’s making his presence known the way he likes it – by winning.

So a baseball player hailing from Long Island, middle-class family and hard work ethics was given the chance. Major League Baseball believed in him, now St. John’s believes in him. He is confident not to let stories get to him about unsteady playing or coaching performance on the diamond. He proves most of those stories incorrect.

“I just shrug stories off like that,” Habyan said. “You have to…” In today’s world it’s something every pro athlete must do.