Frank Howard
The "Washington Monument" stood 6-foot-7 and terrorized American League pitching with a swing that seemed to bend physics. Howard's 44 home runs in 1970 led the majors and marked the peak of a four-year stretch where he averaged 42 longballs per season for the woeful Senators.
What made Howard special wasn't just the raw power — it was how he maintained it despite playing half his games in cavernous RFK Stadium. His .962 OPS in 1970 came in a pitcher's era when the league averaged just .688. That OPS+ of 135 represents a 35% improvement over league average, remarkable for a dead-ball period.
Howard's 382 career homers might seem modest now, but he accomplished it in an era of expanded strike zones and lowered mounds. He gave Washington fans something to cheer about during the franchise's final years before the move to Texas.
Career · Batting
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | LAD | 8 | 29 | 1 | 2 | .241 | .646 | — |
| 1959 | LAD | 9 | 21 | 1 | 6 | .143 | .598 | — |
| 1960 | LAD | 117 | 448 | 23 | 77 | .268 | .784 | — |
| 1961 | LAD | 92 | 267 | 15 | 45 | .296 | .864 | — |
| 1962 | LAD | 141 | 493 | 31 | 119 | .296 | .906 | — |
| 1963 | LAD | 123 | 417 | 28 | 64 | .273 | .848 | — |
| 1964 | LAD | 134 | 433 | 24 | 69 | .226 | .735 | — |
| 1965 | WS2 | 149 | 516 | 21 | 84 | .289 | .835 | — |
| 1966 | WS2 | 146 | 493 | 18 | 71 | .278 | .790 | — |
| 1967 | WS2 | 149 | 519 | 36 | 89 | .256 | .849 | — |
| 1968 | WS2 | 158 | 598 | 44 | 106 | .274 | .890 | — |
| 1969 | WS2 | 161 | 592 | 48 | 111 | .296 | .976 | — |
| 1970 | WS2 | 161 | 566 | 44 | 126 | .283 | .962 | 135 |
| 1971 | WS2 | 153 | 549 | 26 | 83 | .279 | .840 | 123 |
| 1972 | TEX | 109 | 320 | 10 | 38 | .244 | .708 | 107 |
| 1973 | DET | 85 | 227 | 12 | 29 | .256 | .789 | 112 |
| Career | 1895 | 6488 | 382 | 1119 | .273 | — | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.