He was The Face of The Franchise for The Expansion Washington Senators.
The All-Star.
As friendly and appreciative of his role in baseball as anyone that has ever played the game.
The Nicest Man.
Ole Number 33 & 9 in your scorecard lead The American League in Home Runs Twice and RBI's Once.
No question, Frank Howard was The Finest Player To Call RFK Stadium HIS CAREER HOME.
His personal statistics on East Capitol Street are INCREDIBLE for playing in a ballpark that so many others complained about after Major League Baseball returned to Washington in 2005.
And besides--as is well known here--Frank Howard is My Favorite Player Of All Time!!
The Hero Of My Youth.
And one of Fan Friendliest Players of All-Time.
Frank Howard is adored by many, many baseball fans--not just me.
And now EVERYONE has the chance to appreciate this Great Man--once again.
Upon hearing that Hondo, at 72 Years of Age, is again a Free Agent, (The New York Yankees released him from his scouting contract), there should be NOTHING holding back Our Washington Nationals from getting Big Frank on board with DC Baseball Again.
Frank Loves The Greater Washington Area.
Always Has.
Still Lives Here.
Can keep an audience entertained with stories like few others.
And The DC Arts & Humanities Commission is honoring The Big Guy in Spring 2009 with a commemorative and historical statue.
What better Ambassador of Washington Baseball than Frank Howard representing all that is GOOD IN THE GREAT GAME.
This my friends--Is The Perfect Match.
Hondo wants to be involved in Major League Baseball next year--his 50th in the game.
Our Washington Nationals now have the opportunity to directly link Our Past to Our Present.
Why not as a member of Our Washington Nationals?
Yes, now is the time for Ambassador Frank "Hondo" Howard.
We know Frank would CHERISH THE HONOR.
And Our Fans will CHERISH HIS GOODWILL.
Please, Mr. Lerner and Mr. Kasten, let's make this happen.
Frank Howard and Our Washington Nationals are "A Match Made In Heaven".
PS--Nearly two years ago, Mr. Kasten told me Our Washington Nationals had reached out to Hondo in some capacity to be involved with DC Baseball. His contract with The New York Yankees hindered full involvement. But if Washington was interested then--I can't imagine Our Washington Nationals NOT being interested again today.
13 comments:
SBF and AQ,
The Lerner's need to sign Frank Howard! Tonight is not too soon. It would mean so much to me if they brought him into the organization.
I have chills and I'm near tears just thinking about it. That's how much it means to me!
When I saw him walk on the RFK sod in 2005 and 2007, I felt such joy that baseball and Hondo were together again.
Washington needs Big Frank! The Nationals need Big Frank!
If you have any influence at all with the powers that be in the Nats' front office, please convey to them how much this means to us Washington fans!
Bring back Hondo! The Lerners would be fools not to.
On another note, SBF, you mentioned in a post a couple of months ago that WFED aired a special post-season edition of Nats Talk live, but no one knew about it since it was not publicized. George Wallace and Craig Heist will host another special edition of the program next Thursday, December 11 at 7pm, with live coverage from the Winter Meetings. It'll be on 1500AM, 820AM and federalnewsradio.com. Spread the word...I'm hoping there well be some BIG news to talk about by then!
Thanks for writing about this. Frank Howard was one of my childhood heroes.
Do you have any info on the statue?
Thanks.
He is a hero of mine, and was the face of the franchise for so many of us. Mr Lerner and Mr Kasten: let's get it done!! Bring back Hondo....This will be something to look forward to at Nats Park this Spring...The Cherry Trees in bloom and #33 back where he belongs!!
I have read and agree - Hiring Hondo to do meet & greets, especially the crowds and/or the business suites, is a no brainer. Give him a blank check!!!
SBF,
This is manna from heaven falling into our lap. Hopefully, something will be done between the Winter Meetings and year's end to bring Hondo into the fold.
Wouldn't it be great if he's part of the Winter Caravan and then goes down to Viera to make an appearance at Spring Training wearing a Nationals number 33 jersey?
Something else that might bring a smile to your face -- did you see that the Brewers signed your man Jorge Julio? Too bad he didn't go to one of the other NL East teams. Well, at least he's in our league and we might be seeing him a few times.
Can he play first?
This simply MUST happen. The Lerners shouldn't delay even for a moment. What if some other team offers him something before the Nats do? If another team asks and he hasn't been contacted by the Nats, Hondo will probably say in his booming voice, "Sure!" It would be a tragedy for this to fall through the cracks. Hondo must again officially be part of Our Team!
Howard was a coach with the Mets in the mid 80's when the team got into numerable brawls. He was always tehrein the middle pulling opponents off Mets two at a time. Gotta love having the big guy on your side.
What a great opportunity.
There is no more enthusiastic person I have ever met. The best time I have ever had at a card show is watching and listening to Frank give an impromptu 15 minute talk. Demonstrating stances, telling stories, cracking jokes...
totally captivating.
I always thought that prior ownership really missed the boat not reaching out to Frank as a bridge to tie the Nationals to the Senators. Part of that thinking is my age, and the fact that I lived close enough to attend Senators games for 8 years before they moved.
My top Senators memories will always include watching BP and seeing Frank launch those upper deck shots. It seemed other-worldly at the time. To some extent it still does.
What a great source of baseball knowledge and great personality.
There is nobody I would rather see associated with the franchise,on or off the field.
I love this site; it's just a great place to keep up on all the inside Nats info.
Thanks for all you do to keep us informed.
I can see and smell the aroma of Big Frank's Grill blowing in from beyond centerfield near the bar area. And Big Frank smoozing with fans all game long.
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=21044
SBF - FYI
I'm with you completely. Frank is a great guy and an institution with us that were around in the Senator days. I hope that the Lerners sign him and use him in a manner that suits his dignity and baseball knowledge -- not as a glorified concession stand salesman as they do in Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
But I also hope that the Lerners don't use Frank as a marketing ploy to try to cover up what we all know -- this team needs some major league quality talent to put a respectable team on the field in 2009. That should be the first priority.
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