J. P. Howell

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2⁄3 innings. [17] He started eight games for the Devil Rays and was 1–3 with a 5.10 ERA. [11] He split the 2007 season between the Devil Rays and the Bulls. In the minors, he was 7–8 with a 3.38 ERA in 21 starts [12] and started game one of the International League championship series. [18] In the majors, he started ten games and was 1–6 with a 7.59 ERA. [11]

In 2008, the Rays decided to move him out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen, a change which led to an increase in velocity on his pitches and a better break on his breaking balls. [19] He went 6-1 with a 2.22 ERA in 64 games, striking out 92 batters while earning three saves. [11] He also pitched in the 2008 World Series, in which he took the loss in the deciding game five against the Philadelphia Phillies. [20]

Howell became the Rays closer in June 2009 after an injury to Troy Percival. He converted his first ten save opportunities and had a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings but after Ryan Langerhans of the Seattle Mariners hit a two-run homer off him on August 7 he blew three straight save opportunities. "Terrible feeling" he told the press. [21] He rebounded and finished the season with a 7–5 record and a 2.84 ERA in 69 games with 17 saves. [11]

In 2010, Howell suffered from what was reported as "weakness" in his left shoulder during spring training, causing him to begin the season on the disabled list. [22] He threw in a simulated game on May 17, but stopped after only twelve pitches, still experiencing discomfort in his shoulder. [23] A few days later he underwent surgery on the shoulder to repair a torn labrum, causing him to miss the entire 2010 season. [24]

Howell was expected to miss the start of the following season as well [25] and was non-tendered by the Rays on December 10, 2010, to avoid arbitration. [26] He was re-signed on December 13 to a one-year, $1.1 million, deal with the Rays. [27]

Howell rejoined the Rays roster on May 20, 2011, [28] and pitched in 46 games in 2011, with a 6.16 ERA. [11] In 2012, he signed another one-year contract with the Rays, for $1.35 million, [29] and pitched in 55 games with a 3.04 ERA. [11]

Los Angeles Dodgers

Howell during his tenure with the Dodgers 20140919 J.P. Howell (2).JPG
Howell during his tenure with the Dodgers

On January 4, 2013, Howell agreed to a one-year, $2.85 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. [30] He was a key part of the Dodgers bullpen, appearing in 67 games with a 4-1 record and 2.03 ERA. [11] After the season, he re-signed with the Dodgers on a two-year, $11.25 million, contract that contained a third-year option. [31] He had a 2.39 ERA in 68 appearances for the team in 2014. [11] In the 2015 season, he was 6–1 with a 1.43 ERA in 65 appearances. [32] After the season, Howell exercised his $6.25 million player option for 2016. [33] He was not as effective in 2016, as he had a 4.09 ERA in 64 appearances out of the bullpen. [34] He became a free agent following the season.

Toronto Blue Jays

On February 9, 2017, Howell signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. [35] [36] On August 16, Howell was designated for assignment. [37] He was released on August 20. [38]

San Rafael Pacifics

On May 29, 2018, Howell signed with the San Rafael Pacifics of the Pacific Association. He became a free agent following the season. In 3 starts 10 innings he went 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 14 strikeouts.

Pitching style

Howell is a soft tosser. He throws his sinker in the mid 80's, topping out at 90 MPH. He also throws a knuckle-curve that has been described by scouts as "heavy" because of its extremely sharp downward break, and some even classify it as a slider. [39] He throws a change-up that breaks away from right-handed hitters. Howell has solid command of all three pitches. [40]

He was an excellent fielding pitcher in his major league career. In 619.2 innings pitched covering 547 games, Howell committed only one error in 146 total chances for a .993 fielding percentage. [11]

Personal life

In 2009, he married Heather Hennessy, whom he met at USC, [41] a former USC 800 meter runner and Fox Sports reporter [41] who is a member of the Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame. [42] The couple founded Discover Your Path Foundation to reach out to kids together. [43] In 2011, Heather Hennessy-Howell published a children's book, 'The Adventures of Dangles' with an anti-bullying theme. [44] In August 2016, his wife filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, listing their date of separation as August 8. [45]

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References

  1. ↑ "J.P. Howell Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "J.P. Howell USC bio". USCTrojans.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Resolution of the City Council: Recognizing James Phillip "JP" Howell". City of Sacramento. July 24, 2001. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ "2001 Draft Picks by round – round 2". Baseball Cube. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "J.P. Howell player profile". Baseball Cube. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ Cocoles, Chris (2002). "NCAA SUPER REGIONALS: MOON SHOTS AT USC QUIRKY INFIELDER LIKED BY ALL". LA Daily News. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. ↑ "2002 Bourne Braves". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  9. ↑ "2003 Wareham Gatemen". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Texas crushes Arkansas at CWS". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Associated Press. June 19, 2004. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "J.P. Howell Statistics & History". Baseball Reference.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "J.P. Howell Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  13. ↑ "June 11, 2005 Kansas City Royals at Arizona Diamondbacks play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  14. ↑ Zieger, Dan (June 12, 2005). "Royals rookie keeps D-Backs at bay to win debut 8-5". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ McNabb, Kevin (June 4, 2006). "June 4 Notes: Royals at Round Rock". milb.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Devil Rays deal Gathright to Royals for LHP Howell". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 21, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ "August 1, 2006 Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Devil Rays play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ Byrnes, Patrick (September 11, 2007). "Bulls drop Game 1 of Governor's Cup to Braves". The Duke Chronicle. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  19. ↑ Fleming, Ted (April 19, 2008). "J.P. HOWELL: A NICE FIT IN RAYS BULLPEN". scout.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  20. ↑ "2008 World Series (4-1): Philadelphia Phillies (92-70) over Tampa Bay Rays (97-65)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. ↑ Seattle Times Staff (August 30, 2009). "One hard hit: HR sends Rays' Howell tumbling". Seattle Times. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  22. ↑ Topkin, Marc (March 19, 2010). "Key reliever J.P. Howell has shoulder weakness, will miss start of season". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Rays' Howell has discomfort in shoulder". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 17, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  24. ↑ Slowinski, Steve (May 18, 2010). "Report: J.P Howell to Have Surgery, Out Remainder of Season". SB Nation. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  25. ↑ Topkin, Marc (December 1, 2010). "Tampa Bay Rays' J.P. Howell won't be ready for spring". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  26. ↑ Miller, Doug (December 3, 2010). "Jenks, Martin, Okajima among 52 non-tenders". mlb.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  27. ↑ BHSN.com Staff Report (December 13, 2010). "Relief pitcher J.P. Howell signs one-year contract with Tampa Bay Rays". Bay News 9. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Rays activate J.P. Howell". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 20, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Lefty J.P. Howell avoids arbitration". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 16, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  30. ↑ Stephen, Eric (January 4, 2013). "J.P. Howell reportedly joins Dodgers bullpen". SB Nation. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  31. ↑ Saxon, Mark (December 17, 2013). "Dodgers, lefty J.P. Howell agree". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  32. ↑ "2015 Los Angeles Dodgers Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistic". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  33. ↑ Stephen, Eric (November 4, 2015). "J.P. Howell reportedly exercises 2016 player option worth $6.25 million". SB Nation. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  34. ↑ "2016 Los Angeles Dodgers Batting, Pitching & Fielding Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Blue Jays designate A.J. Jimenez, Chad Girodo for assignment". Sportsnet . February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  36. ↑ Chisholm, Gregor (February 9, 2017). "Blue Jays make deals with Howell, Smith official". MLB.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Blue Jays designate J.P. Howell, Mike Ohlman for assignment". Sportsnet . August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Toronto Blue Jays Transactions in August 2017". MLB.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  39. ↑ "J.P. Howell » PitchFx » Overview | FanGraphs Baseball". Fangraphs.com. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  40. ↑ "J.P. Howell Pitch Repertoire At-A-Glance". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  41. 1 2 "Heather's Path". Discoveryourpath.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  42. ↑ Sparrer, Dick (October 28, 2013). "Fees among 10 Los Gatos athletes headed into the Hall of Fame". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  43. ↑ PR Newswire (October 4, 2013). "Dodger's Pitcher, JP Howell And Wife Heather Hennessy Howell, Launched Newly Redesigned Website Discover Your Path". The Business Journals. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  44. ↑ Topkin, Marc (October 23, 2010). "J.P. Howell's wife presents children's book today at Times Festival". Tampabay.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  45. ↑ "L.A. Dodgers' J.P. Howell's Wife Calls for Divorce". TMZ.com. August 11, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
J. P. Howell
J.P. Howell in 2013 NLDS.jpg
Howell with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013
Pitcher
Born: (1983-04-25) April 25, 1983 (age 41)
Modesto, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 11, 2005, for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
August 13, 2017, for the Toronto Blue Jays
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