For 21 seasons, Rick Honeycutt was among the favored few who wore the uniform of a Major League Baseball player. The Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., native pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.
Along the way, he made the American League All-Star teams in 1980 and 1983, led the American League in earned run average in 1983 at 2.42 and won a World Series ring during his time with Oakland in 1989. During one of the longest careers in the majors, he finished with 109 wins and 38 saves, made 268 starts and 529 relief appearances and pitched 2,160 innings. In both 1996 and 1997, Honeycutt was the oldest player in the majors.
From 2002 to 2005, Honeycutt served as minor league pitching coordinator for the Dodgers organization, and the following year he was named the Los Angeles team’s pitching coach. In 2008 and 2009, the Dodgers won the National League West Division, and last season Honeycutt’s pitching staff led the National League in team earned run average at 3.41.
Across the years, Honeycutt has maintained a sense of wonder and awe, realizing the blessing and good fortune that have come his way. “Every kid grows up wanting to be a Major League Baseball player,” he reflects. “I had always enjoyed playing. I didn’t think that much about pitching early on. I was just happy to be on the field with a ball, bat and glove. Mickey Mantle was my idol, and I always followed the Yankees.”
When Honeycutt took the mound for his first major league start in the summer of 1977, it was in Yankee Stadium. Two weeks earlier, he had been pitching in the AA minor leagues.
“The Yankees had won the World Series in 1976, and I remember staying awake at night thinking about pitching against them,” he remarks. “It was truly a thrill. There were a lot of guys coming up in the major leagues that were tough hitters, and sometimes they had your number. Sometimes you had theirs. Paul Molitor (Brewers), Dave Winfield (Yankees) and Mike Schmidt (Phillies) were a few of the toughest hitters that I faced. If they would get you, you would try to make adjustments. George Brett (Royals) was always a tough out, and it was a challenge to go up against “Chili” Davis (Giants) and Eddie Murray (Orioles).”
Of course, Honeycutt did get the best of some big name players. One of those was Barry Bonds of the Giants, who actually got his first major league hit off Honeycutt and then went hitless in 12 at bats during the rest of his career. Will Clark of the Giants and Fred McGriff of the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves were unproductive against Honeycutt and former Yankee great Don Mattingly, now the hitting coach for the Dodgers, admits that he never got a hit off Honeycutt.
“There were a lot of great personalities in Major League Baseball, and Reggie Jackson was with the Yankees during that time,” smiles Honeycutt. “The middle of the Yankees batting order was Jackson, Graig Nettles and Chris Chambliss. I always pitched Jackson inside, and it seemed like I either knocked him down or hit him. Then, one day the A’s signed Reggie, and we were teammates. I was sitting in the training room, and I felt his presence behind me. I was afraid he was going to throw me against the wall. He said, ‘I never did like you, but I did respect you.’”
Throughout his career in the majors, Honeycutt, who has also undertaken a sports apparel business in Chattanooga, gained a reputation as a true competitor. Shoulder and elbow surgery affected his endurance, and A’s manager Tony LaRussa converted him from a starter to a relief role in 1988. Seizing the opportunity, Honeycutt became an outstanding setup man for Oakland closer Dennis Eckersly.
“I wasn’t happy when they converted me to the bullpen, but it was a blessing in disguise,” Honeycutt says. “When I was a starter, my sinker and curve ball were my best pitches. As a left-handed reliever, I saw a lot of left-handed hitters, and the slider was a really good pitch for me.”
For Honeycutt, the path to the majors was one of great promise. He grew up playing Dixie Youth baseball during the summer. At Lakeview High School, he played football, basketball and baseball. The baseball team won a Georgia state championship. Drafted out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles, he chose instead to attend the University of Tennessee.
“I grew up a UT fan,” he says, “and I took my coach’s advice and really concentrated on baseball. A lot of SEC teams were talking to me, but I wanted to go to Tennessee, and they said I could both pitch and play first base, which would allow me to hit on a regular basis.”
One of the all-time greats in Tennessee and Southeastern Conference baseball history, Honeycutt was an All-American pitcher and first baseman who won a Southeastern Conference batting title with a .404 average. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round of the 1976 draft, while Tennessee teammate Mike Smithson went in the fifth round. The two would reunite in 1983 with the Texas Rangers. Honeycutt was later inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and named to the University of Tennessee’s All-Century baseball team. He pitched two seasons in the minors, was traded from Pittsburgh to Seattle, and at the age of 23 made his major league debut with the Mariners, pitching two scoreless innings on August 24, 1977.
“I enjoyed every bit of it,” he says of his playing career. “I’m really taking things a year at a time now. Although, my wife, Debbie, says they’ll have to tear the uniform off me. If I hadn’t had ‘Tommy John’ surgery, I would have pitched again. Then, the Dodgers gave me the opportunity to work in their system, and the only thing that might cause me to leave Major League Baseball now would be the chance to coach the Vols. I have really enjoyed working with Joe Torre (Dodgers manager). He was a great player and had so much success with the Yankees. We get along very well.”
The Honeycutts have developed other interests besides baseball, and a number of worthy causes in the Chattanooga area have benefited. For the last 26 years, Honeycutt has hosted a charity golf tournament. Hutcheson Medical Center, Kiwanis Club youth programs and funding for a future YMCA complex in North Georgia are among those efforts that have received support. Several years ago, the Honeycutt family purchased a 100-acre, 42-stall ranch near Ringgold, Ga. They named it the Heartland Ranch. The retreat for special needs children offers horseback riding and other activities.
“My wife and daughter, Holli Griffith, love horses and like to ride,” says Honeycutt. “Then my daughter got involved with a therapeutic riding program, and they volunteered with that. After we moved back to Chattanooga, Debbie had this vision of what she wanted to do. She hoped to provide a place for the kids. The lady who was running the program lost her place and was talking to Debbie about it. Debbie told her, ‘I have a ranch and you can use it anytime you want to.’ It has really become a passion for my wife and daughter.”
The Honeycutts are content to make their home in Chattanooga, and their family continues to grow. Their son Rick is engaged, and they also have two granddaughters. Holli’s girls, Haden and Kendall Grace, are four years old and just a few months old, respectively.
“We have lived in Seattle, Los Angeles and Texas,” observes Honeycutt, “and we wanted to get the kids stabilized when they were ready for school. Those were great places, but we wanted the kids to have the same values that we grew up with, a Christian home and down to earth people. Our parents and families are in Chattanooga, and with the kids involved in sports and activities, it was tough on Debbie while I was away. I missed so much being away, but it has been great to have family.”
Rick Honeycutt has lived the American dream of baseball, from his youth to his successful career in the major leagues. Today, his dedication to family and his community truly make him a hometown hero.