RIP Frank Howard

[UPChip]

Announced on the World Series broadcast just now.

 

[HanSenSE]

Announced on the World Series broadcast just now.

There's been some talk about it in the baseball thread. Surprised it wasn't it's own topic.

 

[maumann]

Very underrated slugger who would have been a monster in today's game. Think Schwarber but with a way better batting average and fewer strikeouts.

Perhaps because he never really found a position in Los Angeles and then played for the sorry Senators and Rangers, not really remembered as one of the better players of the time, but Howard was a huge man (6-8, 280 pounds) and when you see him photographed with players like Boog Powell or Frank Robinson, he makes them look tiny.

According to his SABR bio, Ted Williams advised him to be more selective at the plate and that's when he had those huge seasons. Despite his lack of range and speed, he still put up over 37 career WAR.

RIP, Hondo. Although I love "the Washington Monument" as a nickname.

 

[garrow]

The Capitol Punisher. RIP.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I can think of few hitters in history who I would feel less safe pitching against.

 

[Bud_Bundy]

He played baseball at Ohio State. When I was a young pup at Ohio University, there was an ice arena out in right-centerfield. The rumor/story was that Frank Howard hit a ball either on top of or over the arena during his college days. It was never confirmed, but when I went back to campus for a reunion many years later, the rumor/story had shifted from Howard to Mike Schmidt, who was our shortstop while I was there and was in his Major League prime back then. That was never confirmed, either, to the best of my knowledge.

 

[LanceyHoward]

Very underrated slugger who would have been a monster in today's game. Think Schwarber but with a way better batting average and fewer strikeouts.

Perhaps because he never really found a position in Los Angeles and then played for the sorry Senators and Rangers, not really remembered as one of the better players of the time, but Howard was a huge man (6-8, 280 pounds) and when you see him photographed with players like Boog Powell or Frank Robinson, he makes them look tiny.

I think Howard is someone who was really hurt by the ballparks he played in. The parks constructed in the 1960's were generally huge, Fences were gradually pulled in over time but Howard had to play in early Chavez Ravine and RFK, both of which were pitcher's parks,

 

[maumann]

I think Howard is someone who was really hurt by the ballparks he played in. The parks constructed in the 1960's were generally huge, Fences were gradually pulled in over time but Howard had to play in early Chavez Ravine and RFK, both of which were pitcher's parks,

And in an era where pitching was dominant, too. I know OPS+ helps balance those things out, but the raw numbers always look mediocre for batters who played their best years in the mid-to-late '60s. Howard's .274 BA with 44 homers in 1968 is particularly outstanding when you consider the entire league hit .230 with 1,100 HRs. That means he accounted for 4 percent of all AL homers that season (and one out of every three hit by a Senator).

 

[Slacker]

Howard was a huge man (6-8, 280 pounds) and when you see him
photographed with players like Boog Powell or Frank Robinson, he makes them look tiny.

 

[hondo]

My boyhood hero. In case no one had ever guessed it by my avatar.
I got a chance to meet him when he was on the Mets staff and they were training in West Palm Beach. I introduced myself and told him I idolized him when I was a kid growing up in suburban DC. I even went to the final game the Senators played in 1971 against the Yankees. In his last at-bat he crushed one off Mike Kekich -- who admitted after the game he threw Frank a belt-high BP fastball to give him a chance to thrill the fans. He did.
When I reminded Frank of that story, he just smiled, shook my hand (I think he sprained it) and said, "Us DC boys gotta stick together."

Side note: Boswell did a feature on Howard after he stopped coaching/managing completely. Visited him in Wisconsin. Howard had two dogs named "Homer" and "Damnit."

 

[Twirling Time]

Howard has the distinction of hitting the last homer in Senators history ... and the first homer in Rangers history.

 

[hondo]

If Howard had taken steroids back then he might have killed a third baseman.