Howie Kendrick
| Howie Kendrick | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – No. 47 | |
| Second baseman | |
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Born: July 12, 1983 Jacksonville, Florida | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 26, 2006 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | |
| Career statistics (through 2013 season) | |
| Batting average | .292 |
| Home runs | 71 |
| Runs batted in | 426 |
| Stolen bases | 81 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
Howard "Howie" Joseph Kendrick III (born July 12, 1983) is a Major League Baseball second baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Early life
He attended West Nassau High School (Callahan, Florida) and St. John's River Community College (Palatka, Florida), where he was named Conference Player of the Year. Kendrick was not highly recruited out of high school and had difficulty finding a place to play.
Minors
"The Angels found him, if only by chance. On a whim Kotchman went to see Kendrick play in Tampa in early 2002 after hearing about him from Ernie Rossean, the coach at Brevard Community College outside Orlando. After watching a few minutes of BP, Kotchman ran to his car to get his video camera. "My goodness, the kid hit the ball," he recalls. "I couldn't believe there weren't other scouts there. And other JCs cut this guy? What were they thinking?" For the remainder of the season, Kotchman wouldn't even approach Kendrick at games, lest his secret get out. In '02 Anaheim took Kendrick in the 10th round of the draft. As for why he went undiscovered for so long, both Kendrick and Kotchman are somewhat flummoxed, though each ends up blaming geography. "His school was way out in the sticks, and he didn't play summer ball," says Kotchman, whose son, Casey, played alongside Kendrick on the Angels. "Hey, I'm just glad we were the ones that found him." [1]
Kendrick was drafted in the 10th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft, and named the #1 prospect in the Texas League in 2005 by Baseball America, and was called "the clear standout" in a league that also featured Kendrys Morales, Erick Aybar and Andre Ethier.[2] He was named the 12th top prospect by Baseball America in 2006.[3]
Major league career
Kendrick had a one-on-one collision with actor Ben Affleck during his rookie season in the stands on the first base side of Fenway Park. On a foul ball that was hit towards where Affleck was sitting, Kendrick beat Affleck to the ball, recording the out. Fans sitting nearby booed Affleck for not taking the ball away from Kendrick. The event landed Kendrick's picture in People magazine. In an edition of the syndicated Access Hollywood, Kendrick presented Affleck an autographed baseball for his birthday.
Kendrick hit his first home run against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on July 26, 2006. After Adam Kennedy signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2006-2007 offseason, Kendrick made his expected move to be the new starter at second base for 2007. He batted .322 in 88 games and again batted over .300 in 2008.
Kendrick struggled in the first half of the 2009 season, batting only .239 with 4 homers, and was optioned to the minors. After returning from the minors, Kendrick hit extremely well, batting .358 in the second half with a .558 slugging percentage.
Kendrick extended his positional versatility in the 2011 season, seeing time at first base and left field in addition to his usual place at second base. In 2011, Kendrick was selected to serve as an American League reserve in the 2011 All-Star Game.[4] He joined teammates Jered Weaver and Jordan Walden as the Angels' representatives in Phoenix, Arizona. Through the All-Star break on July 10, Kendrick was hitting .302/.360/.462 with 8 home runs, 9 stolen bases and 29 RBI in 301 at-bats.
On January 7, 2012, Kendrick agreed to a new four year contract worth $33.5 million, making him the Angels' second baseman through the 2015 season. [5]
References
- ↑ Ballard, Chris (2008-03-24). "Howie Kendrick Hits It Big". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
- ↑ Lingo, Will (2005-10-05). "2005 Top 20 Prospects: Texas League". Baseball America. Retrieved 2009-10-26..
- ↑ "2006 Top 100 Prospects: 1-50". Baseball America. 2006-02-23.
- ↑ Saxon, Mark (2011-07-03). "Howie Kendrick joins Jered Weaver on All-Star team". ESPN Los Angeles. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
- ↑ Silva, Drew (2012-01-07). "Halos lock up Howie Kendrick with 4-year, $33.5M extension". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Howard Kendrick. |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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