Educational institutions are one of the grassroots platforms where sports talents are groomed and developed. Unlike many other sports personalities whose talents were either noticed in high school or college and some even at both platforms, our focus athlete Howie Kendrick was not recognized during his time at any of these grassroots stages, not until he graduated from college. Even when he was through with his studies at St. John’s River community college, he continued playing for the college baseball team, up until he got luckily noticed by the only scout – ex-baseball player and Anaheim Angels scout, Tom Kotchman – on the ground that day.
Tom was amazed to see how effective Howie’s shots were and was even more surprised at how other scouts didn’t notice such a wonderful talent. Since making his professional debut on April 26, 2006, Kendrick has racked up over 12 years of professional experience.
Howie Kendrick Biography, Age
Born as Howard Joseph Kendrick III in Jacksonville, Florida on July 12, 1983. Howie Kendrick is a professional Major League Baseball player who plays as a second baseman and outfielder for Washington Nationals. Like most sports icons who played their choice of sports during their school days, Howie played baseball for his high school teams. He attended Hilliard middle-senior high school before switching to West Nassau High School, Callahan, Florida.
During Howie’s high school days, his performance wasn’t noticed, so he never got a scholarship to study in college. He, therefore, tried out several colleges and ended up at St. John’s River Community College in Florida. Despite being named Conference Player of the Year in college, his talent was not noticed by any of the big league scouts. However, Tom Kotchman could not believe his luck when he noticed that such a talent like Howie wasn’t captured by other scouts, and so, it was so easy to sign him.
Howie Kendrick was drafted by Anaheim Angels in the 10th round of the 2012 MLB June amateur draft. In 2005, Baseball America named Howie as the number one prospect in the Texas league. In 2006, his rank as the number one prospect by Baseball America dropped to 12.
On April 26, 2006, Howie Kendrick became only the 16,454th Major League Baseball debutant. He made his mark playing as a second baseman for Los Angeles Anaheim Angels against Detroit Tigers. His first home run was on July 26, against Shawn Camp of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and he ended the season with .285, 4 homers and 30 RBI in 72 games. Fast forward to 2011, Howie got the honor of being included in the All-star American League team.
On January 7, the following year, Kendrick signed a new four-year contract worth $33.5 million with the Angels of Anaheim, making him the team’s second baseman through the 2015 season. Kendrick, no doubt, had a strong 2012 season, batting .287 with 8 home runs and 67 RBI. He got his 1,000th career hit on July 30, 2013, against Texas Rangers.
On December 10, 2014, Howie Kendrick 8 years spell with Los Angeles Anaheim Angels came to an end when he was traded to Los Angeles Dodgers for Andrew Heaney. He would also leave the Dodgers on November 11, 2016 when he was traded to Philadelphia Phillies for Darin Rug and Darnell Sweeney. He spent less than a year at Philadelphia Phillies and was traded to his current side, Washington Nationals on July 28, 2017 for McKenzie Mills.
Howie Kendrick’s Stats
2018 Stats:
- Hits (H) — 46
- At bat (AB) — 152
- Batting Average(BA) — .303
- Run batted in (RBI) — 12
- Home run (HR) — 4
- Stolen base (SB) — 1
- On-base percentage and slugging (OPS) — .805
Career Stats:
- Hits (H) — 1,607
- At bat (AB) —5525
- Batting average (BA) — .291
- Run batted in (RBI) — 648
- Home run (HR) — 108
- Stolen base (SB) — 124
- On-base percentage and slugging (OPS) — .756
Annual Salary
Upon leaving the Philadelphia Phillies, Howie Kendrick signed a 2-year contract with the Washington Nationals worth $7 million. The contract included an annual take home salary worth $3.5 million. However, he will earn a base salary of $3 million in 2018.
Family, Wife, Kids
“attachment_24038″ aria-describedby=”caption-attachment-24038″ style=”width: 768px” class=”wp-caption alignnone”>
Howie Kendrick is married to Jody Kendrick. The pair got married on January 6, 2007. They have two kids together. Their first child, Owen was born December 25, 2008, and their second son, Tyson was born on February 10, 2011.
See Also: Matt Wieters Bio, Stats, Salary, Wife and Other Facts You Need To Know
Other Facts
- Howie Kendrick has over 12 years of professional experience since he made his MLB debut on April 26, 2006.
- Howie was 22 years when he made his MLB debut.
- He was named as Conference Player of the Year during his college days.
- Kendrick bats on his right and throws with his right.
- He wears the number 12 Jersey for Washington Nationals.
- He has featured once for the All-star, in 2011.
- He weighs 220Ib, 99kg.
- He stands at 5’11” (1.8 m) tall.