Howie Kendrick's line: .311/.342/.475/.817

[nate]

Leads the team in average and hits. You guys still hate Howie Kendrick?

Also a .316 BA with RISP. Only Pujols and Trout (.333) have a better average.

His OPS with RISP (.972) is second to Trout (1.032)

4th on the team in RBI (25) behind Trout (34), Trumbo (29) and Pujols (27)

[Glen]

Hopefully, this is The Year we've been waiting for from Howie.  

[Angel_In_Germany]

I think the expectations on Howie when he came up from AAA is what killed Howie on these forums.  He's always been an above average second baseman, and people still keep ragging on him.  Have I been frustrated by his propensity to hit into double plays?  Of course, but all things considered, we're lucky to have him.  I would say this even if he were hitting .250.

[xboom28x]

I agree on the high expectations. People on this forum were talking multiple batting titles, silver slugger awards, possible MVP's. It was ridiculous. There was no way he could meet the high expectations of some on here.

 

Howie has been a top 10 2nd baseman his entire career which is something the Angels have lacked for most of their existence outside of Bobby Grich and Adam Kennedy.

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

I approve this thread. 

[mulwin444]

Never hated him...ever.  Never loved him as much as others on this board either.  To me, Howie is a solid, but unspectular, 2B who has holes in every aspects of his game.  On offense, when he's on, he can be a force at the back of the line-up but his approach to hitting means that he will make a ton of outs, including "K"ing a lot on breaking balls low and outside and GIDP.  Defensively, he's cvapable of stretches where he looks like a gold glover and then he begins to have trouble with routine plays.  However, when it's all broken down, he's worth the $8 mil per season he makes...he earns it.  Expect about a .275 .320 .750 slash line and you won't be disappointed. 

[Torridd]

He holds the number to the only Angels jersey I have. Never understood the venom.

[Glen]

In the words of the Gin Blossoms, "if you don't expect too much from me you might not be let down."  I agree that the expectations heaped upon him have made it tough to look at him objectively and appreciate him.  Howie was supposed to be almost what Mike Trout was last year, minus a bit of the power.  I think those expectations might have messed him up a bit.  I've always liked him, even when I'm cursing him out for K'ing on the low/outside breaking ball or ending an inning with a GIDP.  I just hope he keeps up this pace or something close to it.  

[Adam]

I love Black guys

[The God of Runs]

I love Black guys

So, do fat white women

[Angelsjunky]

Howie has quietly been the Angels' 2nd or 3rd best player this year - behind Trout, Bourjos before he got injured, and maybe Trumbo. I expect that by the end of the year Pujols and hopefully Hamilton will also surpass him, but he's been a pleasant surprise.

 

As for the forum disappointment, let's not be too hard on ourselves about it. Its hard not to be disappointed with a career line of .293/.329/.430 from someone who hit .360/.403/.569 in the minors. Yes, those are his actual career minor league numbers - and pretty consistent across all levels (he hit .342 in AA and .355 in AAA). Howie is, in some ways, the poster boy for what is wrong with the organization's player development, in particular the lack of focus on plate discipline.

[Angel Oracle]

I love seeing this version of Howie. 

 

But it's not expectations that disapointed me about him.   It was the up and down from one season to the next, and if this is when he finally becomes consistent enough, it sure took a while.

Other than the 2nd half of 2009 and all of 2011, his OPS has generally been low 700s. 

[Angelsjunky]

He's actually been relatively consistent his whole career. To including this year, his BA has ranged from .279 to .322 but if you take those two out you get five seasons from .285 to .306. His SLG has ranged from .400 to .464, and his OBP from .313 to .347 with most in .320s-.330s. Occasionally he hits a bit lower or higher, but for the most part Howie hits around his career average: .293/.329/.430.

[Adam]

He's been solid. You can win with guys like Howie. He can do some things on both sides of the diamond. 

[Brent Maguire]

I like Howie a lot. Take a look around the rest of the league and you'll see that Howie is actually a valuable asset. The 2B crop is very week.

[WallyWorld]

Leads the team in average and hits. You guys still hate Howie Kendrick?

 

Yes, 

 

Still expect him to finish the season at about .280, with 14HRs, 75 RBIs, 1,345 bone-headed mistakes, 147 Ks on off-speed pitches down and away, and a mind numbing amount of rally killing double play balls,

[Stradling]

Ok, the ground into double plays are being exaggerated. He had one awful year, the rest are about league average.

[DropOfAnaheim]

We expected Howie to be the messiah, and he showed up a few years later from Millville. I still get the feeling Howie is one adjustment away from superstar numbers. That is the reason so many get frustrated. 

[WallyWorld]

I still get the feeling Howie is one adjustment away from superstar numbers. 

 

*sigh* if i had a nickel for every time someone said this (myself included) over the years . . .

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

He's above average at a position that through most of his career has been pretty thin in the majors.  Expectations were high because the guy raked in the minors and while it wasn't fair to him it's what fans do especially when you hear so much praise about a guy.  When he's on he can mash but when he's off he looks like Pedro Cerrano trying to hit a curve ball and he makes some really bone headed moves.  It's easier to appreciate him for the player he is rather than the one people hoped he would be. 

[Torridd]

Yes, 

 

Still expect him to finish the season at about .280, with 14HRs, 75 RBIs, 1,345 bone-headed mistakes, 147 Ks on off-speed pitches down and away, and a mind numbing amount of rally killing double play balls,

Who would you rather have?

[Torridd]

He's above average at a position that through most of his career has been pretty thin in the majors.  Expectations were high because the guy raked in the minors and while it wasn't fair to him it's what fans do especially when you hear so much praise about a guy.  When he's on he can mash but when he's off he looks like Pedro Cerrano trying to hit a curve ball and he makes some really bone headed moves.  It's easier to appreciate him for the player he is rather than the one people hoped he would be. 

The thing is, cat, most players fall under those two conditions. I'm just not sure what people expect of him.

[Jimmag]

Howie is good in my book. Keep up the great work.

[LAAMike]

So, do fat white women

Let's leave the Kardashians out of this.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

The thing is, cat, most players fall under those two conditions. I'm just not sure what people expect of him.

 

I don't think most fans expect much more from him than what he's shown at this level throughout his career.  However when these discussions come up there's always some people on the far right/left of the discussion.  The initial post is trying to egg on "the haters" when there's a lot of season left (someone will bump when he struggles), some people think he'll come back down and we've got at least one mention of him becoming a superstar.  He's turning 30 this year and while he can improve most guys don't get a whole lot better after 30.  Instead of focusing on what he should have done it's a lot easier to focus on what he does give - slightly above average play from a fairly weak position and I'll gladly take that.