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James Phillip Howell (born April 25, 1983) is an American former
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 ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
. He played in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) for the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays,
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
, and
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
.


Career


Amateur career

Howell attended Jesuit High School in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
where he was a four-year varsity letterwinner. In his senior season, he was 10–0 with a 0.09 ERA and 137 strikeouts, earning California Player of the Year, Sacramento Player of the Year and all-city honors in 2001, as well as being named a first-team All-American by
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
. He set a sectional playoff record with 47 strikeouts in 22 innings in 2000 as a junior and played in various international tournaments, including winning silver medals at the 2001 Junior Pan American Games, the 2000 International Baseball Association Foundation Games and the 1998 and 1999 AAU National Championships. Howell was drafted by the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
in the 2nd round of the
2001 MLB draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...
but chose to accept a scholarship to the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, where coach Mike Gillespie said of him, "J.P. is a phenomenal freshman talent." He was 3–4 with a 6.32 ERA as a freshman for the Trojans. He left the program and, after briefly considering transferring to
Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
, instead chose to transfer to the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Howell was 10–2 with a 2.52 ERA as a sophomore for the Longhorns and 15–2 with a 2.13 ERA as a junior. In 2002, he played
collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
in the
Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
for the
Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the c ...
, and returned to the league in 2003 to play for the
Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fi ...
. He led the Longhorns to an appearance in the 2004 College World Series championship series. Howell had the lowest ERA in the CWS that year at 0.77. He was selected as 1st team College All-American and
Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
Pitcher of the Year.


Kansas City Royals

Howell was drafted in the 1st round of the 2004 MLB draft by the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
. He made his professional debut with the
Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleuca ...
of the Pioneer League in 2004, appearing in six games (four as a starter) with a 3–1 record and 2.77 ERA. He began 2005 with the
High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight ...
of the
California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...
and after eight starts was promoted to the
Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fro ...
of the
Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
and then the
Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...
of the
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
. Between the three levels he made 18 starts and was 8–2 with a 2.83 ERA and 100 strikeouts. Howell made his
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
debut with the Royals on June 11, 2005. He started the game against the
Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
and allowed one run in five innings, with eight strikeouts, to record the win. Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez said of Howell, "We didn't have much of anything on him going in. It was like walking down a dark alley." He made a total of 15 starts for the Royals in 2005 and was 3-5 with a 6.19 ERA. He began 2006 back with Omaha, where he was 3–2 with a 4.75 ERA in eight starts, missing the month of May as a result of shoulder stiffness.


Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays

On June 20, 2006 Howell was traded to the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...
for
infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
Fernando Cortez Fernando Cortez (born October 29, 1981 in Stockton, California) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. His last MLB team was the Kansas City Royals. Career Tampa Bay Rays Cortez was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 9th round ...
and
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 ...
Joey Gathright Joey Renard Gathright (born April 27, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Early life Gathright attended ...
. It was the first trade by new Royals
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Dayton Moore Dayton Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American baseball executive who is currently serving as Senior Advisor of Baseball Operations for the Texas Rangers Moore's baseball career began as an assistant coach at George Mason University. H ...
who said the deal was made to improve the outfield defense. Devil Rays vice-president
Andrew Friedman Andrew Friedman is an American baseball executive. He is currently the President of Baseball Operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the general manager for MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, where '' ...
said that he envisioned Howell pitching in their starting rotation at some point. Howell was assigned to the Triple-A
Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...
, where he made ten starts and was 5–3 with a 2.62 ERA. He made his Devil Rays debut on August 1, 2006 against the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
, allowing six runs in only 3 innings. He started eight games for the Devil Rays and was 1–3 with a 5.10 ERA. 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 and started game one 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 ...
championship series. In the majors, he started ten games and was 1–6 with a 7.59 ERA. In 2008, the Rays decided to move him out of the
starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...
and into the
bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
, a change which led to an increase in velocity on his pitches and a better break on his breaking balls. He went 6-1 with a 2.22 ERA in 64 games, striking out 92 batters while earning three saves. He also pitched in the
2008 World Series The 2008 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 season. The 104th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Amer ...
, in which he took the loss in the deciding game five against the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. Howell became the Rays closer in June 2009 after an injury to
Troy Percival Troy Eugene Percival (born August 9, 1969) is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He gained fame as a closer. During a 14-year baseball career spanning from 1995 to 2009, he pitched for four Major League Baseball ...
. He converted his first ten save opportunities and had a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings but after
Ryan Langerhans Ryan David Langerhans (born February 20, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Langerhans was drafted in the third round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves, and made his debut with them in 2002. H ...
of the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
hit a two-run homer off him on August 7 he blew three straight save opportunities. "Terrible feeling" he told the press. He rebounded and finished the season with a 7–5 record and a 2.84 ERA in 69 games with 17 saves. 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. He threw in a simulated game on May 17, but stopped after only twelve pitches, still experiencing discomfort in his shoulder. A few days later he underwent surgery on the shoulder to repair a torn labrum, causing him to miss the entire 2010 season. Howell was expected to miss the start of the following season as well and was non-tendered by the Rays on December 10, 2010, to avoid arbitration. He was re-signed on December 13 to a one-year, $1.1 million, deal with the Rays. Howell rejoined the Rays roster on May 20, 2011, and pitched in 46 games in 2011, with a 6.16 ERA. In 2012, he signed another one-year contract with the Rays, for $1.35 million, and pitched in 55 games with a 3.04 ERA.


Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 4, 2013, Howell agreed to a one-year, $2.85 million contract with the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
. He was a key part of the Dodgers bullpen, appearing in 67 games with a 4-1 record and 2.03 ERA. After the season, he re-signed with the Dodgers on a two-year, $11.25 million, contract that contained a third-year option. He had a 2.39 ERA in 68 appearances for the team in 2014. In the 2015 season, he was 6–1 with a 1.43 ERA in 65 appearances. After the season, Howell exercised his $6.25 million player option for 2016. He was not as effective in 2016, as he had a 4.09 ERA in 64 appearances out of the bullpen.


Toronto Blue Jays

On February 9, 2017, Howell signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. On August 16, Howell was designated for assignment. He was released on August 20.


San Rafael Pacifics

On May 29, 2018, Howell signed with the
San Rafael Pacifics The San Rafael Pacifics are a professional baseball team based in San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin Count ...
of the
Pacific Association The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was an independent baseball league based in Northern California. The league was founded in 2013 by four former North American League teams. History During the initial season, two Hawaii- ...
.


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 In Major League history, the term knuckle curve or knuckle curveball has been used to describe three entirely different pitches. All are unrelated to the similar sounding knuckleball. The first, more modern and commonly used pitch called the kn ...
that has been described by
scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
s as "heavy" because of its extremely sharp downward break, and some even classify it as a
slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...
. He throws a
change-up A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed c ...
that breaks away from right-handed hitters. Howell has solid
command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...
of all three pitches. He was an excellent fielding pitcher in his major league career. In 619.2
innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
covering 547 games, Howell committed only one error in 146
total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...
for a .993
fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
.


Personal life

In 2009, he married Heather Hennessy, whom he met at USC, a former USC 800 meter runner and
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
reporter who is a member of the
Los Gatos High School Los Gatos High School (LGHS) is a high school in Los Gatos, California. It was founded in 1908 and is part of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, which in 2021 was ranked the best high school district in Caliifornia The sch ...
Athletic Hall of Fame. The couple founded Discover Your Path Foundation to reach out to kids together. In 2011, Heather Hennessy-Howell published a children's book, 'The Adventures of Dangles' with an anti-bullying theme. In August 2016, his wife filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, listing their date of separation as August 8.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, J.P. 1983 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from California Bourne Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Dunedin Blue Jays players Durham Bulls players High Desert Mavericks players Idaho Falls Chukars players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Omaha Royals players San Rafael Pacifics players Sportspeople from Modesto, California Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tampa Bay Rays players Texas Longhorns baseball players Toronto Blue Jays players Wareham Gatemen players Wichita Wranglers players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2009 World Baseball Classic players