Today and the blog we take a look at "Hondo", Frank Howard, from my recently released 1963 Fleer "Lost Second Series" set from late last year:
The
man was already on his way to a wonderful Major League career, taking
home top Rookie honors in the National League for 1960, and having a
great 1962 season when he slammed 31 homers with 119 runs batted in,
earning a ninth-place finish in the MVP race by season's end.
Later
in the decade, after finding himself playing for the Washington
Senators, he won two home run titles, and ironically hitting a career
high 48 in 1968 in between (falling one homer short, behind Harmon
Killebrew), driving in over 100 runs each year.
Those
efforts got him top-10 finishes in the league MVP voting each year,
finishing 8th, 4th and 5th respectively between 1968 and 1970.
An absolute beast at the plate, he would be the last Big League player
until Jay Buhner (1995-97) to hit 40+ homers three years in a row from
1968-1970, with a high of 48 in 1969, though leading the league in 1968
and 1970 with 44.
He was also one of the early players to join the 30-home runs in each league club, hitting 31 with the Dodgers in 1962 before reaching the plateau again in 1967 when he slammed 36 taters.
All told, he finished his career with 382 homers over 16 seasons, before moving on to a coaching and managerial career, making him somewhat of a baseball lifer.
I loved him when he was with the New York Yankees later in his coaching career! I mean, how often do you get to appreciate a guy who was so nasty as a player that he had THREE great nicknames: “The Capital Punisher”, "The Washington Monument" and “Hondo"!
He was also one of the early players to join the 30-home runs in each league club, hitting 31 with the Dodgers in 1962 before reaching the plateau again in 1967 when he slammed 36 taters.
All told, he finished his career with 382 homers over 16 seasons, before moving on to a coaching and managerial career, making him somewhat of a baseball lifer.
I loved him when he was with the New York Yankees later in his coaching career! I mean, how often do you get to appreciate a guy who was so nasty as a player that he had THREE great nicknames: “The Capital Punisher”, "The Washington Monument" and “Hondo"!
