EPISODE · Apr 4, 2019 · 1 MIN
Frank Howard on What Makes Baseball Great
from Radio Baseball Cards · host Smarter Podcasts
wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Howard_(baseball)An All-American in basketball at Ohio State, Howard was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA. He instead signed with the Dodgers organization, and after a handful of appearances in 1958 and 1959 he succeeded Carl Furillo as Los Angeles' right fielder in 1960; he was named the Minor League Player of the Year in 1959 by The Sporting News after hitting 43 homers in the Pacific Coast League. He was named the NL's Rookie of the Year after batting .268 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI, and was nicknamed "Hondo" by teammates after a John Wayne film.[citation needed] He belted 98 homers in the following four seasons, most prominently in a 1962 campaign in which he batted .296 with 31 home runs and finished among the NL's top five players in RBI (119) and slugging (.560). He won the NL Player of the Month award in July with .381 average, 12 HR, and an incredible 41 RBI. As an outfielder starting 127 games (completing just 91), Howard was credited with 19 outfield assists (the league leader, Johnny Callison, starting 147 games had just five more). The season ended with the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants tied for first place, necessitating a three-game pennant playoff; Howard had only a single in 11 at-bats and struck out three times against Billy Pierce in the first game, including the final out; but he had a run and an RBI in the second contest, an 8–7 win. The Giants took the pennant in three games, but Howard would later finish ninth in the MVP voting.
What this episode covers
wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Howard_(baseball)An All-American in basketball at Ohio State, Howard was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA. He instead signed with the Dodgers organization, and after a handful of appearances in 1958 and 1959 he succeeded Carl Furillo as Los Angeles' right fielder in 1960; he was named the Minor League Player of the Year in 1959 by The Sporting News after hitting 43 homers in the Pacific Coast League. He was named the NL's Rookie of the Year after batting .268 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI, and was nicknamed "Hondo" by teammates after a John Wayne film.[citation needed] He belted 98 homers in the following four seasons, most prominently in a 1962 campaign in which he batted .296 with 31 home runs and finished among the NL's top five players in RBI (119) and slugging (.560). He won the NL Player of the Month award in July with .381 average, 12 HR, and an incredible 41 RBI. As an outfielder starting 127 games (completing just 91), Howard was credited with 19 outfield assists (the league leader, Johnny Callison, starting 147 games had just five more). The season ended with the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants tied for first place, necessitating a three-game pennant playoff; Howard had only a single in 11 at-bats and struck out three times against Billy Pierce in the first game, including the final out; but he had a run and an RBI in the second contest, an 8–7 win. The Giants took the pennant in three games, but Howard would later finish ninth in the MVP voting.
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Frank Howard on What Makes Baseball Great
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