Roy Howell

Roy Lee Howell (born December 18, 1953) is an American former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1974–1984 for the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers.

Professional career

Texas Rangers (1974–1977) Howell was selected in the first round, fourth overall by the Texas Rangers in the 1972 MLB draft. He made his major-league debut with the Rangers during the first game of a doubleheader against the California Angels on September 9, 1974. Howell earned his first career hit in the game, a single against the Angels Chuck Dobson in a 3-1 loss. In the second game of the doubleheader, Howell hit his first career home run against Ed Figueroa, as the Rangers defeated California 5-3. Howell appeared in 13 games with the Rangers, hitting .250 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.

Howell became the Rangers starting third baseman in 1975, as in 125 games, he hit .251 with 10 home runs and 51 RBI.

In 1978, Howell was selected as a reserve player for the 1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In the fourth inning of the game, Howell entered as a pinch hitter against Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos, but grounded out to first base to end the inning. He played in 140 games for the Blue Jays that season, hitting .270 with 8 home runs and 61 RBI.

Howell saw his power numbers increase during the 1979 season, as in 138 games, Howell hit 15 home runs and 72 RBI, both the second highest totals on the team, along with a .247 batting average. conducted youth baseball clinics in San Luis Obispo, California, and in 2011 became the field manager for the Pennsylvania Road Warriors of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent league.

In between, Howell played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990. He then joined the Seattle Mariners as a hitting coach for the Single A High Desert Mavericks and the Double-A Jackson Generals. During spring training, he was named the manager of the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, on March 12, 2014. He succeeded Rich Donnelly, who was promoted to Seattle's third-base coach earlier in spring training before managing a game for Tacoma after the surgery-induced resignation of M's coach John Stearns.