James Anthony Happ (born October 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He won the World Series as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, and was an All-Star as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Happ was born in Peru, Illinois, and raised with two older sisters. Though his name is James Anthony and his initials are "J. A.", he pronounces his name as "Jay." He attended high school at St. Bede Academy, where he was a four-year letter winner in baseball and basketball. He was named Bureau County Athlete of the Year during his senior season.
After graduating from high school in 2001, Happ enrolled at Northwestern University, where he majored in history and played college baseball for the Northwestern Wildcats. He was named to the All-Big Ten Conference First Team in his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons, during which he compiled a 16–11 win–loss record, an earned run average (ERA) of 2.88, and 251 strikeouts to 90 walks over 228+1⁄3 innings pitched. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
The Philadelphia Phillies selected Happ in the third round, with the 92nd overall selection, of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. Happ chose to forgo his senior season and signed with the Phillies. Immediately after agreeing to terms on June 16, 2004, Happ was assigned to the Batavia Muckdogs of the Short-season A-level New York–Penn League, where he posted a 2.02 ERA in eleven starts, averaging more than one strikeout per inning pitched. Happ again impressed in 2005 with the low-A Lakewood BlueClaws. While Happ played for only half of the season, he compiled a 2.36 ERA in 72+1⁄3 innings. He was promoted to Double-A for a single game at the end of the season, in which he gave up only one earned run in six innings and struck out eight.
In 2006, Happ began the season for the Clearwater Threshers of the High-A Florida State League, but earned a promotion to the Double-A Reading Phillies at midseason. He also pitched one game at the end of the season for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, then the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate. Combined for the year, Happ went 10–9, with an ERA of 2.69, 162 strikeouts, and 49 walks in 160+2⁄3 innings. He was rewarded, during the following offseason, with his first appearance in Baseball America's "Top Ten Prospects" list for the Phillies organization, in which he was ranked eighth. (Prior to this, Happ had rarely been identified as a prospect despite his impressive performances in 2004 and 2005 due to his average pitch velocity.)
After pitching in the Arizona Fall League in the fall of 2006, Happ moved with the Red Barons to Ottawa when they became the Ottawa Lynx for the 2007 season.
Major league debut and return to Triple-A
On June 30, 2007, while suffering from a spate of injuries to their starting rotation, the Phillies purchased Happ's contract from the Lynx. At the time, Happ's record in Triple-A was 1–2 with a 4.02 ERA. He made his major league debut against the New York Mets and allowed five runs, all earned, in four innings. He was then returned to the Lynx and did not pitch at the major league level again that season, thus ending the year with an 11.25 major league ERA.
Happ struggled upon his return to Ottawa. Despite striking out 36 batters over five starts in the months of July and August, Happ's ERA ballooned to 5.02 by the end of the season. It was later revealed that he had been pitching that season with elbow fatigue. As a result, he did not participate in any fall or winter leagues during the following offseason.
Happ began the 2008 season with the Phillies' new Triple-A affiliate in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He went 5–6 with a 3.54 ERA in his first seventeen starts, striking out 104 batters in 101+2⁄3 innings.
On July 4, Happ was called up to take the place of Brett Myers in the Phillies' starting rotation, after the struggling Myers went to the minors in an effort to regain his form. That same night, Happ made his season debut against Johan Santana and the Mets. He fared better in his second major league start, pitching 4+2⁄3 innings, giving up three hits, two earned runs, four walks while striking out three. He earned a no-decision as the Phillies went on to win the game, 3–2. Happ was also awarded a no-decision in his third career start (second of the season), in which he pitched 6+1⁄3 innings and gave up two runs, but the Phillies went on to defeat the Cardinals by a 4–2 score. He was then optioned back to Lehigh Valley, as the Phillies would not need a fifth starter for two weeks. Myers regained his place in the rotation on July 23.
Happ was recalled to the major leagues on July 29 when the struggling Adam Eaton was demoted to Lakewood. However, Happ never took Eaton's spot in the rotation, as the Phillies had already acquired starter Joe Blanton from the Oakland Athletics on July 17. Happ instead pitched out of the bullpen, appearing in two games (in which he struggled), and was then sent to Triple-A once again. He ended the Triple-A season at 8–7, with a 3.60 ERA. He was second among International League pitchers with 151 strikeouts in 135 innings.
Happ joined the Phillies for the third time in 2008 on September 1 when the rosters expanded. On September 16, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel announced that Happ would start on the following night against the Atlanta Braves, replacing the struggling Kyle Kendrick. Happ pitched six shutout innings in the game, earning his first major league win in a 6–1 Phillies victory. Happ was named to the postseason roster, and pitched in one game in the National League Championship Series. In total, Happ posted a 1–0 record in 2008, with an ERA of 3.69 and 26 strikeouts over 312⁄3 innings. He received a World Series ring after the Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, for their second championship.
Happ became a member of the starting rotation after fifth starter Chan Ho Park struggled in his starts and was sent to the bullpen. Happ threw his first career complete game and shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 27, 2009. He got his first major league hit on July 2, against the Atlanta Braves. It came during the fifth inning with two outs and no one on base. On August 5, Happ pitched his second career shutout, giving up four hits and striking out ten in a home game against the Colorado Rockies. In that game, he also collected his first career extra-base hit, an eighth-inning double off Rockies pitcher Josh Fogg. He became the first rookie pitcher to 10 wins on August 22 against the New York Mets. He made his first career postseason start against the Rockies on October 11, 2009.
On October 20, 2009, Happ was named Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year. He was also named by his fellow players as Players Choice Awards NL Outstanding Rookie. Baseball fans voted him the MLB "This Year in Baseball Awards" Rookie of the Year (in both leagues). He came in second in balloting for MLB's Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award (in the NL). He was also selected as the left-handed pitcher on the Topps MLB All-Star Rookie team. Baseball America chose him as one of the five pitchers on its All-Rookie Team. The Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America presented him the "Steve Carlton Most Valuable Pitcher" award. In 2009, Happ posted a 12–4 record, 2.93 ERA, 119 strikeouts, and a 1.24 WHIP.
With the Phillies in 2010, Happ made three starts totaling 151⁄3 innings and earned a 1–0 record, 1.76 ERA, nine strikeouts, and a 1.63 WHIP.
On July 29, 2010, Happ was traded to the Houston Astros along with minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar in exchange for Roy Oswalt. He would make 13 starts with Houston in 2010, going 5–4 with a 3.75 ERA, 61 strikeouts, and a 1.32 WHIP in 72 innings. The following season, Happ would post his worst career numbers, with a 6–15 record, a 5.35 ERA, 134 strikeouts, and a 1.54 WHIP in a career-high 1561⁄3 innings pitched.