TJ House

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = TJ House

| image = TJ House with the Cleveland Indians in 2014 (Cropped).jpg

| width =

| caption = House with the Cleveland Indians in 2014

| position = Pitcher

| team =

| number =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1989|9|29}}

| birth_place = Slidell, Louisiana, U.S.

| bats = Right

| throws = Left

| debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = May 17

| debutyear = 2014

| debutteam = Cleveland Indians

| finalleague = MLB

| finaldate = August 25

| finalyear = 2017

| finalteam = Toronto Blue Jays

| statleague = MLB

| stat1label = Win–loss record

| stat1value = 5–7

| stat2label = Earned run average

| stat2value = 4.44

| stat3label = Strikeouts

| stat3value = 90

| teams =

Cleveland Indians ({{mlby|2014}}–{{mlby|2016}})
Toronto Blue Jays ({{mlby|2017}})

}}

Glenn Anthony "TJ" House (born September 29, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays from 2014 to 2017.

Early life

House was born in Slidell, Louisiana, and moved to Picayune, Mississippi, as a child. His stepfather's family owns Liuzza's, a restaurant in the New Orleans area. While in high school, he was displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina; his family's house flooded and a tree was blown through his bedroom.{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2014/07/tj_house_cleveland_indians_hur.html|title=T.J. House's journey through triumph and trying times en route to his first win with the Cleveland Indians|first=Zack|last=Meisel|work=The Plain Dealer|publisher=Cleveland.com|date=July 21, 2014|access-date=September 1, 2014}}

Career

=Cleveland Indians=

House attended Picayune Memorial High School, where he starred for his school's baseball team.{{cite web|url=http://www.wlox.com/story/22674366/cleveland-recalls-pitcher-tj-house-of-picayune-to-the-indians|title=Cleveland recalls pitcher T.J. House of Picayune to the Indians|publisher=WLOX|first=AJ|last=Giardina|date=June 24, 2013|access-date=September 1, 2014}} The Indians drafted House in the 16th round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He began his professional career with the Class-A Lake County Captains in 2009. That year, he had a win–loss record of 6–11, a 3.15 earned run average (ERA), and 109 strikeouts. He spent the next two years with the Kinston Indians, going 6–10 in 2010 and 6–12 in 2011.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=house-001tj-|title=T.J. House Minor League Statistics & History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference, LLC|access-date=September 1, 2014}} He was an invite to spring training in 2012, but was kept in the bullpen, and the Indians front office considered releasing him if he did not perform well the following season.

House split the 2012 season with the Carolina Mudcats and Akron Aeros. In 23 games with the Aeros, he went 8–5 with a 3.98 ERA. The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the 2012 season.{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121120&content_id=40384062&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb |title=Tribe adds four Minor Leaguers to 40-man roster|work=MLB.com|date=2013-05-24 |access-date=2013-06-24}} House spent the 2013 season with the Aeros and the Triple–A Columbus Clippers. The Indians promoted House from the minors on June 24, 2013.{{cite web|first=Chuck|last=Crow|work=The Plain Dealer|url=http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2013/06/cleveland_indians_recall_tj_ho.html |title=Cleveland Indians recall T.J. House and option Carlos Carrasco to Class AAA Columbus |publisher=cleveland.com |date=2011-11-01 |access-date=2013-06-24}} After making no appearances in any major-league games, House was optioned back to Columbus for the remainder of the season.{{cite news|url=http://www.the-review.com/latest%20headlines/2014/05/17/indians-recall-lefty-house-from-triple-a-columbus|title=Indians Recall Lefty House From Triple-A Columbus|work=The Alliance Review|date=May 17, 2014|access-date=September 1, 2014}}

House spent the first 1.5 months of the 2014 season with the Clippers, going 1–4 with a 3.79 ERA and 42 strikeouts in ten games. The Indians promoted House to the major leagues on May 17, 2014, and he made his major league debut that day. For the season, he had five wins, three losses, and a 3.35 ERA in 19 appearances. House missed much of the 2015 season with left shoulder inflammation, and posted an ugly 13.15 ERA in 4 games for Cleveland.

House spent much of the 2016 season in Columbus, and also logged a 3.38 ERA in 4 major league games. House was designated for assignment by the Indians on September 20, 2016. After clearing waivers, House was outrighted to Columbus on September 27. He elected free agency following the season on November 7.{{Cite web|title=Minor League Free Agents 2016|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/minor-league-free-agents-2016/|access-date=July 27, 2024|website=baseballamerica.com|language=en}}

=Toronto Blue Jays=

File:TJ House pitching for the Buffalo Bisons in 2017 (Cropped).jpg

On December 14, 2016, House signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-sign-left-hander-t-j-house-minor-league-deal/ |title=Blue Jays sign left-hander T.J. House to minor league deal |first=Ben |last=Nicholson-Smith | work=sportsnet.ca |date=December 14, 2016 |access-date=December 14, 2016}} House was struck in the head by a line drive on March 10, 2017, during a spring training game in Lakeland, Florida. He remained on the ground for many minutes being attended to by medical staff, and left the field in an ambulance.{{cite web|url=http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/218766218/blue-jays-tj-house-injured-on-line-drive/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311012700/http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/218766218/blue-jays-tj-house-injured-on-line-drive/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 11, 2017|title=Reliever House struck in head by line drive|last=Odom|first=Jeff|work=MLB.com|date=March 10, 2017|access-date=March 10, 2017}} He was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons to begin the 2017 season.

On August 19, House was called up to the major leagues by the Blue Jays.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-promote-left-hander-t-j-house-triple/|title=Blue Jays promote left-hander T.J. House from triple-A|work=Sportsnet|date=August 19, 2017|access-date=August 19, 2017}} He was designated for assignment on August 27 after recording a 4.50 ERA in 2 appearances.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-designate-t-j-house-assignment-call-joe-biagini/|title=Blue Jays designate T.J. House for assignment, call up Joe Biagini|work=Sportsnet|date=August 27, 2017|access-date=August 27, 2017}} On October 13, House elected free agency.{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/player/tj-house-543334|title=TJ House Stats, Highlights, Bio|work=Minor League Baseball|access-date=October 15, 2017}}

=Chicago White Sox=

On January 22, 2018, House signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox organization.{{cite web|title=White Sox's T.J. House: Inks NRI deal with White Sox|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/white-soxs-t-j-house-inks-nri-deal-with-white-sox/|website=CBSSports.com|date=January 22, 2018}} He was assigned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, but was released on June 12, 2018 after struggling to a 6.81 ERA in 9 games.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/06/white-sox-release-t-j-house.html|title=White Sox Release T.J. House|last=Todd|first=Jeff|work=mlbtraderumors.com|date=June 13, 2018|access-date=June 13, 2018}}

=Milwaukee Milkmen=

On May 13, 2019, House signed with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association. In 17 games for the team, House pitched to a 7–9 record and 4.35 ERA with 78 strikeouts in {{frac|111|2|3}} innings pitched.

=Kansas City T-Bones=

On August 24, 2019, House was traded to the Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association. He pitched in three games for the T-Bones, logging a 2–0 record and 3.52 ERA with 22 strikeouts in {{frac|15|1|3}} innings pitched.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

=Eastern Reyes del Tigre=

On March 3, 2020, House was traded to the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. However, the 2020 ALPB season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. House stayed in Sugar Land, however, and signed on to play for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the Constellation Energy League (a makeshift 4-team independent league created as a result of the pandemic) for the 2020 season. After recording a 3.38 ERA and 1–2 record in 7 games, he became a free agent after the year.

Personal life

House came out as gay on December 8, 2022, announcing his engagement to his boyfriend, Ryan Neitzel.{{cite web |last1=Schultz |first1=Ken |title=Former MLB pitcher TJ House comes out with emotional public announcement about his engagement to his boyfriend |url=https://www.outsports.com/2022/12/10/23501952/tj-house-gay-mlb-pitcher-coming-out |website=outsports.com |date=10 December 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2022}} They were married on March 29, 2024.{{cite web |last1=Gartland |first1=Dan |title=Pioneering Gay MLB Player TJ House Marries Partner |url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2024/04/04/pioneering-gay-mlb-player-tj-house-marries-partner |website=Sports Illustrated |access-date=5 April 2024}}