Kenneth Howell, Jr. (November 28, 1960 – November 9, 2018) 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 ...

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 ...

and

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

, who 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

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL)

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

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 ...

(-). During his playing days, Howell stood tall, weighing . He batted and threw right-handed. Scholastically, Howell attended

Northwestern High School (Michigan) Detroit Collegiate Preparatory Academy at Northwestern is a public high school in Detroit, part of Detroit Public Schools, the re-named successor to Northwestern High School. The most recent enrollment figures for Northwestern indicate a student p ...

, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He continued his education at the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

, graduating in 1982. In 1981, 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 ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of 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 ...

. Howell was selected by the Dodgers in the 3rd round, 73rd pick overall, of the

1982 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd rou ...

, after being scouted by Tony John. He made his MLB debut on June 25, 1984, at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

. Howell pitched a scoreless 9th inning, allowing 2

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 a 9–4 loss to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. Howell's lone appearance in baseball's postseason came in , finishing the game (GF) in a 4–2 loss to the eventual-NL champion

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. That October 12, on the road at

Busch Stadium II Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 St. Louis Cardinals season, 1966 through 2005 St. Louis Cardinals season, 2005. The stadiu ...

, pitching in (NLCS) Game 3. Howell's stat line for the day included, 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 ...

(IP), 0 runs (R}, and 2

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.(SO), in the eighth inning. Howell's final big league appearance came on August 5, 1990, at

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...

. While he left the game after 4 innings, trailing the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

5–2, the

Von Hayes Von Francis Hayes (born August 31, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned from 1981 to 1992 for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, and California Angels. Hayes was acqui ...

- and

John Kruk John Martin Kruk (born February 9, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Kruk played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox from through . Du ...

-led Phillies rallied to beat the Buccos, 8–6. Following his playing career, Howell served as both a minor- and major-league coach for the Dodgers. Howell suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, complications of which resulted in the amputation of one of his toes in 2008. He died on November 9, 2018, in

West Bloomfield, Michigan West Bloomfield Township, officially the Charter Township of West Bloomfield, is a charter township in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, within the Detroit metropolitan area. It is one of the most expensive ...

. He was 57 years old.

Playing career

Howell was drafted by the

in the 3rd round of the 1982 MLB Draft out of

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was d ...

. He made his Major League debut for the Dodgers on June 25, 1984, against the

, working a scoreless ninth inning. His first start was on July 3, 1984, against the

, allowing three earned runs in 5.2 innings to take the loss. His first career win came in an extra innings game against the

on July 6, 1984. He was 5–5 with a 3.33 ERA for the Dodgers that season, including 6 saves (the first of which occurred on August 3 against 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 remained with the Dodgers through the 1988 season, acquiring an 18–29 record and 4.04 ERA in 194 games, with 4 starts and 31 saves. Howell was involved in a pair of trades involving 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 ...

during a five-day span in early-December 1988. He was acquired along with

Brian Holton Brian John Holton (born November 29, 1959) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues primarily in relief from 1985 to 1990. He was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series winners, notching a save i ...

and

Juan Bell Juan Bell Mathey (March 29, 1968 – August 24, 2016) was a Dominican professional baseball player, who played Major League Baseball from to , primarily as an infielder. MLB career Early career Bell originally signed with the Los Angeles Dod ...

from the Dodgers for

Eddie Murray Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...

on the 4th, then sent with

Gordon Dillard Gordon Lee Dillard (born May 20, 1964) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1988) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989). His 1988 season was split between the Charlot ...

to the

for Phil Bradley on the 9th. The second transaction addressed the Phillies' need for starting pitching and the Orioles' for right-handed hitting. He pitched in 33 games with the Phillies in 1989, 32 of which were starts and was 12–12 with a 3.44 ERA and then made 18 starts in 1990 with an 8–7 record and 4.64 ERA. Injury issues caused him to miss the rest of the 1990 season and most of 1991 and 1992, appearing in only 6 games in AAA in 1991 and none at all in 1992. Howell attempted a comeback with the Texas Rangers in 1993, but after 6 appearances (4 starts) for the Gulf Coast Rangers he was released. He then played in 1994 for the unaffiliated San Bernardino Spirit before retiring.

Coaching career

He returned to the Dodgers in 2003 as the pitching coach for the

Vero Beach Dodgers Vero may refer to: Geography * Vero Beach, Florida, a city in the United States * Vero, Corse-du-Sud, a commune of France in Corsica Other * ''Véro'', a talk show on the Radio-Canada television network * Vero (app), a social media company co-found ...

in Class-A and was subsequently promoted to pitching coach for the AA

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

in 2005 and AAA Las Vegas 51s from 2006 to 2007. In 2008, Howell joined the Dodgers Major League coaching staff as the bullpen coach, a position he held through 2012 under Managers

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

and

Don Mattingly Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...

. On November 13, 2012, he became the Assistant Pitching Coach for the Dodgers and remained in that position through the 2015 season.

Personal life

Howell was rushed to the hospital on February 6, 2015, when it was found he was suffering from kidney failure. It was later discovered he was suffering from

pancreatic necrosis Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes in order of frequency include: 1) a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct beyond the point where the pancreatic duct joins it; 2) heavy alcohol use; 3) systemic disease; ...

, an anaerobic infection, as well as other health complications. Howell underwent multiple surgeries, and later texted to the media that he was "doing much better." Howell died on November 9, 2018.

References

External links

Ken Howell
at Baseball Almanac * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Ken Los Angeles Dodgers players Philadelphia Phillies players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Detroit 1960 births 2018 deaths Northwestern High School (Michigan) alumni African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Tuskegee Golden Tigers baseball players Vero Beach Dodgers players San Antonio Dodgers players Albuquerque Dukes players Bakersfield Dodgers players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Gulf Coast Rangers players San Bernardino Spirit players Cotuit Kettleers players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people