Highlighted Year: Roy Howell, 1978

Third Baseman, Toronto Blue Jays

Age:  24

2^nd season with Blue Jays (1^st complete)

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 190 

Prior to 1978:

A native of Lompoc, California, Howell grew up doing physically demanding farming and ranching work and excelled in football and baseball in high school. Chosen in the first round of the 1972 amateur draft by the Texas Rangers, the 18-year-old third baseman was initially assigned to Pittsfield of the Class AA Eastern League and batted .250 with a .336 on-base percentage in 48 games. In an offseason hunting accident, Howell was shot and seriously wounded in his left arm. Teammates nicknamed him “Target”, which lasted for the remainder of his playing career. Returning to Pittsfield in 1973, he hit .242 with 12 doubles, 15 home runs, 47 RBIs, a .376 OBP, and a .462 slugging percentage. Newly married in 1974, Howell moved up to Spokane of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he batted .281 with 23 doubles, 5 triples, 22 home runs, 80 RBIs, a .377 OBP, and .474 slugging percentage. He impressed the organization with his plate discipline and received a late-season call-up to the Rangers where manager Billy Martin immediately inserted him into the starting lineup for both games of a double-header. He appeared in a total of 13 games with Texas and hit .250 with a home run and three RBIs along with a .283 OBP. Taking over as the starting third baseman for the Rangers during 1975, Howell batted .251 with 15 doubles, 10 home runs, 51 RBIs, and a .322 OBP. Spotty at bat and in the field in 1976, he hit .253 with 28 doubles, 8 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a .295 OBP. He further committed an AL-leading 28 errors at third base. Howell lost his starting job at third base in 1977 and saw limited action until traded to the Blue Jays in May. The change of teams yielded good results right away as Howell went on a 15-game hitting streak on his way to batting .316 for the Blue Jays with 10 home runs, 44 RBIs, a .386 OBP, and a .451 slugging percentage.  

1978 Season Summary

Appeared in 140 games

3B – 131, RF – 5, PH – 3, DH – 1, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 601

At Bats – 551

Runs – 67

Hits – 149

Doubles – 28 [18]

Triples – 3

Home Runs – 8

RBI – 61

Bases on Balls – 44

Int. BB – 3

Strikeouts – 78

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 1

Average - .270

OBP - .325

Slugging Pct. - .376

Total Bases – 207

GDP – 10

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 4

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 18, HR - 4, RBI - 47, AVG - .293, OBP - .347

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 4/14, (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 6/21

Longest hitting streak – 9 games

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 6

Most home runs, game – 1 on eight occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Baltimore 6/26

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 2 (.000) with 1 BB

Fielding (3B)

Chances – 437

Put Outs – 109

Assists – 306

Errors – 22

DP – 27

Pct. - .950

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Blue Jays went 59-102 to finish seventh (last) in the AL Eastern Division, 40 games behind the division-winning New York Yankees while leading the league in fewest stolen bases (28). The Blue Jays showed improvement in their second season, particularly defensively, and surged in August with a 16-14 record (the first winning month in team history), but the club crashed during a disastrous 4-21 September that included eight straight losses to close out the season and placed in the cellar once again in the tough AL East. Howell showed significant defensive improvement but missed 41 games due to injury.

Aftermath of 1978:

Benefiting from a hard-nosed approach to baseball and good work ethic, Howell improved his home run and RBI totals in 1979 to 15 and 72 respectively, although his batting average sank to .247 and his OBP dropped to .310. His defense continued to get better but his relationship with the Toronto front office began to decline. Having taken the club to arbitration in 1980, Howell hit .269 with 28 doubles, 9 triples, 10 home runs, 57 RBIs, and a .335 OBP.A free agent in the offseason, Howell signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for five years and $1.825 million. During the strike-shortened 1981 season, Howell proved to be a disappointment, batting .238 with 13 doubles, 6 home runs, 33 RBIs, and a .306 OBP. He also regressed defensively. He saw less playing time in 1982 for the pennant-winning Brewers and was most extensively utilized as a Designated Hitter. He hit .260 with 17 extra-base hits, 38 RBIs, and a .305 OBP. He went hitless in 11 at bats in the World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Howell spent two more seasons with the Brewers, with his playing time and production diminishing in 1983 and ’84. Released by the club following the 1984 season, and with one more year remaining on his contract, he failed to make the San Francisco Giants in 1985 and played for Philadelphia’s Class AAA Portland farm team in the Pacific Coast League where he batted .262 with 9 home runs and 37 RBIs. When he failed to catch on with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, he retired. For his major league career, Howell batted .261 with 991 hits that included 183 doubles, 31 triples, and 80 home runs. He scored 422 runs and compiled 454 RBIs, a .321 OBP, and a .389 slugging percentage. With the Blue Jays he batted .272 with 532 hits, 219 runs scored, 101 doubles, 17 triples, 43 home runs, 234 RBIs, a .335 OBP, and .407 slugging percentage. Appearing in 9 postseason games he hit .105 with no extra-base hits. Following his career in organized baseball, Howell played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989 and was a minor league coach and manager.   

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.