Frank Howard, home run hitter and a friendly giant dead at 87,

[MarathonMike]

As a kid, I saw Frank Howard hit a monster home run that nearly left RFK stadium. He never got much recognition but he was fun to watch. RIP

Frank Howard, former All-Star, home run champ and World Series winner, dies at 87

Former major leaguer Frank Howard has died at the age of 87. A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals confirmed the team was informed of Howard's death Monday by his family.

apnews.com

 

[rightwinger]

I remember him on the Senators

Their best player

 

[Oddball]

 

[MarathonMike]

I remember him on the Senators

Their best player

Yeah the Senators were pretty terrible,

 

[1srelluc]

Damn....RIP

My dad took me to see him at at a local benefit he came to town for.

 

[Cougarbear]

I saw him hit a couple off the Union Oil 76 sign at Dodger Stadium. 500+ foot home runs.

I also saw Willie McCovey hit one foul 600ft. Players back in those days weren't juiced up but could hit the ball further than those players today. Even with better baseballs and bat.

 

[Lastamender]

RIP I saw him play at County Stadium in Milwaukee, when they were the Braves.

 

[francoHFW]

Yeah the Senators were pretty terrible,

My father was a big senators fan especially Walter Johnson, and they won a World Series finally I believe in 1924 with The Big Train when my father would have been 10. I think they should start calling them the Senators again- my baseball encyclopedia that they were always officially the Nationals but they were called the Senators by people anyway. I love that in the final game which was against the Yankees in Washington, the fans rushed the field and refused to let the game end yankees winning of course. r I p Frank Howard a great guy....

 

[MarathonMike]

My father was a big senators fan especially Walter Johnson, and they won a World Series finally I believe in 1924 with The Big Train when my father would have been 10. I think they should start calling them the Senators again- my baseball encyclopedia that they were always officially the Nationals but they were called the Senators by people anyway. I love that in the final game which was against the Yankees in Washington, the fans rushed the field and refused to let the game end yankees winning of course. r I p Frank Howard a great guy....

I love watching old videos of great players like Walter Johnson. His pitching motion was really unusual but he threw much faster than any pitcher of his era and he was rarely injured.

 

[francoHFW]

I love watching old videos of great players like Walter Johnson. His pitching motion was really unusual but he threw much faster than any pitcher of his era and he was rarely injured.

He was like 40 years old when he dominated the 1924 season and 1924 World Series. Unbelievable guy.

 

[francoHFW]

I love watching old videos of great players like Walter Johnson. His pitching motion was really unusual but he threw much faster than any pitcher of his era and he was rarely injured.

36 in 1924. I see he had a 2.17 era And lost a lot of games, they must have really been bad. One year he had a 1.27 ERA and was 25 and 17.....lol. now Mr Howard I'm a stat nut....

 

[Harry Dresden]

I saw him hit a couple off the Union Oil 76 sign at Dodger Stadium. 500+ foot home runs.

I also saw Willie McCovey hit one foul 600ft. Players back in those days weren't juiced up but could hit the ball further than those players today. Even with better baseballs and bat.

thats not true....players today are bigger and stronger....and hit more long balls than in the past....

 

[Cougarbear]

thats not true....players today are bigger and stronger....and hit more long balls than in the past....

Who has hit the ball 600 feet in the last 20 years? How about 500 feet?

 

[wamose]

I never met Frank Howard but I used his bat the only time I ever took BP with the big boys , Joker Marchant Stadium, spring training 1974. I think he played for the Tigers the year before and when I got to the stadium, Davy Johnson threw me one of Frank's old bats and said, you're up rookie. It had a big barrel, medium handle but it was pretty light for a big guy like Frank. Probably 33-34 ounce. I really liked the bat and hit good with it. When I was done, the pitcher, Joe Coleman, took the bat and smashed it on a steel pole. He said he didn't like bats that hit him that good. Well, that's my story and very likely my 10 minutes of fame too. RIP Frank.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Who has hit the ball 600 feet in the last 20 years? How about 500 feet?

you do realize those were estimates....they did not have anything that could trace the ball like they do now.....
they have MLB Statcast .....it was introduced in 2015 and gave fans a more accurate indicator of home run distance.
In seven-plus seasons since Statcast’s inception, three home runs have traveled more than 500 feet. Here are the 12 longest dingers in the Statcast era:
1. Nomar Mazara, TEX, 2019: 505 feet
T-2. Giancarlo Stanton, MIA, 2016: 504 feet
T-2. C.J. Cron, COL, 2022: 504 feet
4. Christian Yelich, MIL, 2022: 499 feet
T-5. Aaron Judge, NYY, 2017: 496 feet
T-5. Miguel Sanó, MIN, 2019: 496 feet
T-5. Jesús Sánchez, MIA, 2022: 496 feet
T-8. Aaron Judge, NYY, 2017: 495 feet
T-8. Joey Gallo, TEX, 2018: 495 feet
T-8. Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL, 2020: 495 feet
T-8. Miguel Sanó, MIN, 2021: 495 feet
T-8. Ryan McMahon, COL, 2022: 495 feet

 

[francoHFW]

On the other hand, is the longest one mantle at 565 or Babe Ruth at 579 LOL?


I believe they came up with a more lively ball when Babe Ruth was playing....

 

[Cougarbear]

you do realize those were estimates....they did not have anything that could trace the ball like they do now.....
they have MLB Statcast .....it was introduced in 2015 and gave fans a more accurate indicator of home run distance.
In seven-plus seasons since Statcast’s inception, three home runs have traveled more than 500 feet. Here are the 12 longest dingers in the Statcast era:
1. Nomar Mazara, TEX, 2019: 505 feet
T-2. Giancarlo Stanton, MIA, 2016: 504 feet
T-2. C.J. Cron, COL, 2022: 504 feet
4. Christian Yelich, MIL, 2022: 499 feet
T-5. Aaron Judge, NYY, 2017: 496 feet
T-5. Miguel Sanó, MIN, 2019: 496 feet
T-5. Jesús Sánchez, MIA, 2022: 496 feet
T-8. Aaron Judge, NYY, 2017: 495 feet
T-8. Joey Gallo, TEX, 2018: 495 feet
T-8. Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL, 2020: 495 feet
T-8. Miguel Sanó, MIN, 2021: 495 feet
T-8. Ryan McMahon, COL, 2022: 495 feet

Actually, they had dimensions of the ball part down to the 16th of an inch. They knew how far McCovey's ball traveled. Note that most of those players didn't get over 500 ft. Will all their training and technology, they couldn't compete with the greats of the past.

 

[Harry Dresden]

On the other hand, is the longest one mantle at 565 or Babe Ruth at 579 LOL?


I believe they came up with a more lively ball when Babe Ruth was playing....

look at the history of the ball franco.....in the dead ball era they would play with the same ball until the cover came off...at least in Ruths time they used a couple of different balls per game........

 

[Cougarbear]

look at the history of the ball franco.....in the dead ball era they would play with the same ball until the cover came off...at least in Ruths time they used a couple of different balls per game........

They only hit them 505ft now.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Actually, they had dimensions of the ball part down to the 16th of an inch. They knew how far McCovey's ball traveled. Note that most of those players didn't get over 500 ft. Will all their training and technology, they couldn't compete with the greats of the past.

only within the stadium....and yea sure they couldnt...why dont you prove that....balls were made differently over the years....sometimes they were made harder sometimes not so hard....and Ruth at 6'2 215 was considered a big guy back then.....now they have many guys bigger than that....so dont tell me they cant hit the ball as hard....