Howard Glenn Moss (October 17, 1919 – May 7, 1989) was an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...
, an
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
and
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
who was a prodigious
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
hitter in
minor league baseball[Minor league record](_blank)
from Baseball Reference
Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...
but who struggled in three
Major League trials during the 1940s. Listed at 5 feet, 11 inches (1.82 m) tall and , Moss batted and threw
right-handed. He was born in
Gastonia, North Carolina.
Moss — nicknamed "Howitzer" — built his legacy as one of the most feared sluggers of the
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
in the 1940s. In 1944, his batting prowess drove the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
to the
Governors' Cup championship title after he led the league hitters with 27
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s, 141
RBI and 178
hits
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* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
, while batting .306 with 122
runs and a .549
slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
. For his heroics, he received the IL Most Valuable Player Award.
In 1945, Moss served for one year for the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
during World War II. After being discharged from service, he regained the IL home-run crown and held it for three consecutive seasons, hitting 38 blasts in 1946, 53 in 1947, and 33 in 1948.
His single-season home run mark of 53 has not been reached since then in the International League. He also is the only player in IL history to lead the circuit in home runs four times. In 1960, Moss was inducted into the
International League Hall of Fame.
Moss endured three failed Major League tryouts. He was held
hitless in 14
at bats in his first MLB audition in for the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. Then, in , playing for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
, he extended his hitless skein to 22
at bats by going 0-for-8 before collecting three
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
in four at-bats on April 24 against ace
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
Howie Pollet
Howard Joseph Pollet (June 26, 1921 – August 8, 1974) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1940s and 1950s. A three-time All-Star in 1943, 1946 and 1949, he twice led the National League in earned run averag ...
. Returned to the minor-league Orioles in May, he played in 130
games
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
for Baltimore, then was called up by the parent
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
in September. Moss started eight games for Cleveland but could only muster two hits in 32 at-bats (.063).
1946 CLE A regular season batting log for Howie Moss
from Retrosheet
Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...
Altogether, in 22 Major League games, 75 plate appearance
In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...
s and 72 at-bats, Moss garnered only seven hits, none for extra bases, with 17 strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s, three bases on balls
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...
, and one run batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
, batting Batting may refer to:
*Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs
*Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...
.097.
Moss died in Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, at the age of 69.
References
External links
Minor League Baseball
Baseball in Wartime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Howie
1919 births
1989 deaths
Augusta Tigers players
Baltimore Orioles (IL) players
Baseball players from North Carolina
Cincinnati Reds players
Cleveland Indians players
Columbus Red Birds players
Fort Smith Giants players
Gastonia Rockets players
Greenwood Chiefs players
International League MVP award winners
Jersey City Giants players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Major League Baseball third basemen
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
New York Giants (NL) players
People from Gastonia, North Carolina
St. Petersburg Saints players
Salisbury Giants players
Springfield Cubs (Massachusetts) players
United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II