9:57 AM PT -- Aubrey Huff says he will NOT apologize for his tweets that got him banned from the Giants' planned World Series reunion ... telling TMZ Sports, "This is who I am."
"Listen, I'm not apologizing for something I'm not sorry for," Huff says.
The former 1st baseman tells us being open and honest with his Twitter account has helped him deal with anxiety and depression issues ... and he says he's not willing to change that just to participate in the Giants' ceremony on Aug. 16.
"I don't believe at my heart that I'm a bad person," Huff says. "I love having fun with people and on my Twitter, if you look, if you really look at my Twitter, I don't once attack anybody."
As for the people who say they're offended by Huff's controversial tweets on the social media app, he says his solution for them is simple ... "I say to them, 'Get off Twitter!'"
Huff says several of his former teammates have reached out to him and told him they disagree with the team's decision ... but he says he does NOT want them to boycott the ceremony.
"I'm not going to be that guy that's going to ask them all to do that," Huff says. "I mean, it's a very special moment. But I will say this, for the reunion, I do have a trick up my sleeve."
The S.F. Giants will NOT allow Aubrey Huff to be a part of their 2010 World Series reunion later this year ... and they say it's all 'cause of their ex-star's actions on Twitter.
"Earlier this month, we reached out to Aubrey Huff to let him know that he will not be included in the upcoming 2010 World Series Championship reunion," the Giants said in a statement Monday.
"Aubrey has made multiple comments on social media that are unacceptable and run counter to the values of our organization."
Huff has used his Twitter page to send off controversial tweets almost weekly throughout the past couple years ... but it was a series of comments he made about the Giants' hiring of a female bench coach last month that really landed him in hot water.
Just hours after SF made Alyssa Nakken the first full-time female coach in MLB history ... Huff ripped the move, writing, "Couldn’t imagine taking baseball instruction from an ex-female softball player."
He later added, "I got in trouble for wearing a thong in my own clubhouse when female reporters were present ... Can’t imagine how it will play out with a full-time female coach running around. This has #metoo & #BelieveAllWomen written all over it."
Huff -- who also made headlines last year for his pro-Donald Trump tweets about teaching his kids to use guns just in case Bernie Sanders becomes the next president -- was NOT happy about the Giants' decision to bar him from the celebration.
"Quite frankly, shocked," Huff told The Athletic on Monday. "Disappointed. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be having a reunion ... But if they want to stick with their politically correct, progressive bullsh*t, that’s fine."
My response to @SFGiants
— Aubrey Huff (@aubrey_huff) February 18, 2020
@mlb @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/tDs8L8kGNi
Huff went on to blast team CEO Larry Baer -- who was caught on video last year in a fight with his wife -- for the move, writing, "I find this whole thing very hypocritical coming from a man who has had his share of real controversy for pushing his wife."
He added, "And while I'm disappointed the Giants are so opposed to President Trump, and our constitutional rights that they'd uninvite me to my team's reunion, it shows me that now more than ever we have to stand up for our first 1st amendment rights."
Huff was a superstar for the Giants in 2010, hitting .290 with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs. He finished seventh in the MVP vote that season.
The Giants, though, say there's no chance they let him be a part of their planned reunion on Aug. 16, saying, "While we appreciate the many contributions that Aubrey made to the 2010 championship season, we stand by our decision."
Originally Published -- 6:18 AM PT