Outfielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
Age: 24 (Aug. 8 )
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’7” Weight: 255
Prior to 1960:
A native of
Columbus, Ohio, Howard, who was already 6’5” in high school, played basketball
as well as baseball at Columbus South High School and moved on to Ohio State
and was an All-American in basketball as well as a good-hitting baseball player
with power potential. Drafted by the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors, he chose
baseball instead, signing with the Dodgers in 1958. Assigned to Green Bay of
the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or “Three I”) League, he batted .333 with 37
home runs and 119 RBIs. Receiving a September call-up to the Dodgers, Howard
hit his first major league home run. Moving on to Victoria of the Class AA
Texas League in 1959, he hit .371 with 27 home runs and 79 RBIs before being
called up to the Dodgers again. It was a brief stay until he was dispatched to
Spokane of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he produced a .319 average
in 76 games along with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs. He was named Minor League
Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Having gained notoriety for hitting
long home runs and impressive line drives, he started the 1960 season back with
Spokane, joining the Dodgers in May.
1960 Season Summary
Appeared in 117
games
RF – 94, LF – 22,
1B – 4, PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 487
At Bats – 448
Runs – 54
Hits – 120
Doubles – 15
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 23
[9, tied with Dick Stuart]
RBI – 77 [15,
tied with Del Crandall]
Bases on Balls
– 32
Int. BB – 1
Strikeouts – 108
[3]
Stolen Bases – 0
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .268
OBP - .320
Slugging Pct. -
.464 [11]
Total Bases – 208
GDP – 8
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 2
Sac Flies – 2
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 13, RBI – 42, AVG – .304., SLG – .539
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 5/22
Longest hitting
streak – 11 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) at Mil, Braves 6/26, (in 4 AB) vs. Mil. Braves 8/24
HR at home – 14
HR on road – 9
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 6 vs. Cincinnati 7/28
Pinch-hitting –
0 for 2 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 188
Put Outs – 177
Assists – 8
Errors – 3
DP - 1
Pct. - .984
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
NL ROY Voting:
Frank Howard,
LAD: 12 of 22 votes, 50% share
Pancho Herrera,
Phila.: 4 votes, 17% share
Art Mahaffey,
Phila.: 3 votes, 13% share
Ron Santo, ChiC.:
2 votes, 8% share
Tommy Davis,
LAD: 1 vote, 4% share
---
Dodgers went 82-72
to finish fourth in the NL, 13 games behind the pennant-winning Pittsburgh
Pirates while leading the league in stolen bases (95). The slow-starting
Dodgers turned hot during a 19-7 July run, but were a .500 club the rest of the
way that lacked punch, despite the addition of Howard.
Howard’s 1961
season was hindered by a thumb injury and he was primarily platooned in right
field while batting .296 in 92 games with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs. Howard was
prone to striking out and not drawing walks, which in 1962 produced 31 home
runs and 119 RBIs to go with a .296 batting average, 108 batter strikeouts, and
just 39 walks. He placed ninth in NL MVP voting. He began wearing glasses in
1963, which helped his defense and hit .273 with 28 home runs and 64 RBIs, but
he still found himself being platooned. The Dodgers won the NL pennant and
swept the Yankees in the World Series as Howard hit .300 with a key home run. Howard
started well in 1964 power-wise, but his average dropped significantly.
Platooning again as a result, he batted .226 with 24 home runs and 69 RBIs.
With Howard unhappy at his use by the Dodgers and the organization seeking to
concentrate on pitching, defense, and speed, the big slugger, who was not a
steady hitter, lacked speed, and was not proficient defensively, was traded to
the Washington Senators in the offseason for five players. The Senators shifted
Howard to left field and, despite nagging injuries that included a sore elbow
that required offseason surgery, his first year with his new club was productive
as he hit .289 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs in 1965. Howard’s production
dropped off in 1966 to .278 with 18 home runs and 71 RBIs. With a retooled
swing in 1967, “Hondo” clouted 36 home runs and hit .256 with 89 RBIs. The
power surge continued in 1968 as he went through a six-game stretch in May in
which he compiled 10 home runs and 17 RBIs on his way to batting .274 with a
league-leading 44 home runs, .552 slugging percentage, and 330 total bases. He
also accounted for 106 RBIs in a season that was otherwise dominated by
pitching. He was also an All-Star for the first time and placed eighth in
league MVP balloting. 1969 marked the arrival of Ted Williams as manager of the
Senators, who sought to improve Howard’s pitch selectivity and help him to draw
more walks. The result was 48 home runs, 111 RBIs, a .296 average, 102 walks, a
.402 OBP, and a drop in strikeouts to 96. In 1970 “the Washington Monument” led
the AL in home runs (44), RBIs (126), walks drawn (132), and intentional walks
drawn (29) while batting .283 with a career-high .416 on-base percentage.
Howard’s weight rose to 297 pounds at the start of the 1971 season, and his
production dropped to .279 with 26 home runs and 83 RBIs, although he still
drew 77 walks for a .367 OBP. The franchise moved to Arlington, Texas and was rechristened the
Texas Rangers in 1972 and Howard held out in the spring and was re-signed for
the same $120,000 salary he had received in ’71. He had a poor 1972 season in
the new location and was hitting .244 with 9 home runs and 31 RBIs when he was
dealt to Detroit at the end of August. Utilized almost exclusively as a
Designated Hitter (a new creation in the AL) in 1973, Howard batted .256 in
just 85 games with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs. Released in the offseason, he
played for the Taiheyo Lions of the Japanese Pacific League in 1974, suffering
a career-ending back injury in his only game with the club. For his major
league career, Howard batted .273 with 1774 hits that included 245 doubles, 35
triples, and 382 home runs. He scored 864 runs and compiled 1119 RBIs and drew
782 walks while striking out 1460 times. He had a .352 OBP and .499 slugging
percentage. With the Dodgers he batted .269 with 567 hits, 80 doubles, 14
triples, 123 home runs, 293 runs scored, 382 RBIs, and drew 179 walks while
striking out 515 times. His appearance in the 1963 World Series marked his only
postseason action. A four-time All-Star, he twice led the AL in home runs and
finished in the top 10 in league MVP voting four times. A statue of Howard has
been placed outside of Washington’s Nationals Park in recognition of his
outstanding performance for a Washington-based major league club. He returned
to major league baseball as a coach and later managed the San Diego Padres and
New York Mets, compiling a 93-133 managerial record.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
No comments:
Post a Comment