JAWS and the 2026 Corridor of Fame Poll: Howie Kendrick

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2026 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this yr’s poll, and different candidates within the collection, use the device above; an introduction to JAWS might be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures consult with the Baseball Reference model except in any other case indicated.

Of their yard baseball fantasies and daydreams, what child hasn’t imagined hitting a late-inning dwelling run to win a playoff recreation, and even Sport 7 of the World Sequence? Howie Kendrick lived that dream not as soon as however twice in the course of the 2019 postseason, capped by a homer that despatched the Washington Nationals on their approach to their first championship in franchise historical past. What’s extra, his October run (which additionally included NLCS MVP honors) topped off a storybook rise from humble beginnings that included a sophisticated household scenario rising up and an beginner profession that occurred in virtually full obscurity.

“The extra I discovered about him, he begins telling me about how no colleges needed him, the way it was actually arduous to remain assured,” former Angels teammate Torii Hunter, who mentored Kendrick upon becoming a member of the Angels in 2008, recalled in ’19. “I simply saved considering: This man might have actually fallen by means of the cracks.”

What put Kendrick on the map was his legendary bat-to-ball potential. Although he by no means gained the key league batting title that was anticipated of him whereas hitting for a .358 common throughout his time within the minors, he carved out a powerful 14-year profession, incomes All-Star honors and serving to his groups make the playoffs eight instances.

…

Howard Joseph Kendrick III was born on July 12, 1983 in Jacksonville, Florida. He by no means knew his father, and since his mom, Belinda Kendrick, was a employees sergeant serving abroad in the US Military, he and his two sisters grew up within the care of his maternal grandmother, Ruth Woods, in Callahan, Florida, a two-stoplight city of lower than 1,000 folks close to the Georgia border. All 12 of Woods’ youngsters, and their youngsters, lived within the space as effectively.

From the time he was 5, Kendrick liked to hit. He and his sisters and cousins would play a recreation known as Strikeout utilizing a brush deal with and the spiky, gum ball-sized burrs that fell from the tree in his grandmother’s yard. “One child hit, and the others pitched the burrs or fielded. Whiff or hit a pop-up that was caught (the downward arc of the burr slowed by the looming branches above), and the following hitter was up,” wrote Sports activities Illustrated’s Chris Ballard in a 2008 profile.

“We couldn’t strike him out,” youthful sister Michelle informed Ballard. “Generally he’d be up there hitting for 20 or half-hour. Normally, I’d simply give up.”

When Woods uninterested in her grandson breaking home windows by hitting pebbles and different objects, she signed him up for T-ball. Kendrick fell in love with the sport and have become a Braves fan; his favourite gamers have been David Justice and John Smoltz, however he additionally admired footage of Henry Aaron’s clean swing.

When Kendrick was 12, his mom returned from abroad responsibility, however dwelling life proved so problematic that he moved in with mates. “As I received older, issues with my mother, we didn’t get alongside very effectively,” he informed the Riverside Press-Enterprise in 2007. “Issues occurred, and I simply moved in with (the Cokers). There’s variations now the place I look again, and it’s prefer it was adolescent issues. I used to be hard-headed and needed to assume I knew every little thing, and he or she was really proper in a number of issues she was making an attempt to inform me.”

Kendrick liked baseball a lot that he handed up alternatives to play soccer, basketball, and soccer at West Nassau Excessive College. Simply 5-foot-7 and 110 kilos, and unable to afford to play journey ball, he struggled to get observed, receiving no scholarship presents. Varsity baseball coach Richard Pearce tried to drum up curiosity from recruiters. “I traveled the nation looking for anybody who would hear,” he informed the Washington Put up’s Jesse Dougherty in 2019. “However they didn’t need the little man.”

After making an attempt out for eight junior school packages to no avail, Kendrick received a late scholarship provide from St. Johns River, a neighborhood school in northeast Florida. He performed only one season there, however he earned Convention Participant of the Yr honors, and caught the attention of Brevard Group Faculty coach Ernie Rosseau, who in flip tipped off Tom Kotchman, the legendary Angels scout, to return see him. Kotchman was captivated by Kendrick’s batting follow session. “My goodness, the child hit the ball. I couldn’t imagine there weren’t different scouts there,” he informed Ballard. “And different JCs reduce this man? What have been they considering?”

Kotchman did his greatest to downplay his curiosity on this sleeper from the sticks, lest different groups catch on. None did; the Angels drafted Kendrick within the tenth spherical in 2002, initially intending for him to be a draft-and-follow, although at Kotchman’s behest, they shortly signed him for a $100,000 bonus. He was so uncooked that he hadn’t been taught fundamental defensive fundamentals akin to learn how to cowl bunts or execute rundowns till he reached the minors. However he might hit, and he did: .318/.368/.408 with 12 steals in 42 video games for the Angels’ Arizona League affiliate in 2002, after which .368/.434/.517 with three homers and eight steals at Rookie-Degree Provo in ’03; he overcame a 4-for-40 begin that yr and hit above .400 in back-to-back months.

Although he missed two months of the 2004 season at A-level Cedar Rapids, Kendrick hit .367/.398/.578 with 10 homers and 12 steals in 75 video games. He was 41 plate appearances in need of qualifying for the Midwest League batting title however gained it anyway by way of the phantom at-bat rule (he would nonetheless have led even when he’d gone 0-for-41). He continued to rake in 2005, hitting .367/.406/.614 with 19 homers and 25 steals break up between Excessive-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Arkansas, and turned heads within the Arizona Fall League as effectively. Baseball America ranked Kendrick (then listed at 5-foot-10, 180 kilos) twelfth on its Prime 100 Prospects record within the spring of 2006 — it might be 10 years earlier than they’d place one other second baseman wherever on their record — and saddled him with the prediction that may turn out to be his calling card (emphasis added):

His swing is compact, balanced and simply repeated. He lets pitches get deep earlier than centering them and driving them to all fields. His swing doesn’t create a lot loft, however he ought to hit no less than 15-20 homers yearly due to his bat pace and penchant for making arduous contact… Kendrick’s non-hitting instruments aren’t particular. He has fringe-average pace, and his vary, arm and defensive footwork are common at greatest. He makes contact so simply that he not often walks. Kendrick might win a number of batting titles within the large leagues.

After a scorching begin at Triple-A Salt Lake Metropolis — the place he hit an absurd .369/.408/.631 in 69 video games — Kendrick was known as as much as the Angels. He went 0-for-4 in his main league debut in opposition to the Tigers on April 26, 2006, however singled off the A’s Barry Zito for his first hit in his subsequent recreation, on Could 1. The Angels optioned him again to Salt Lake Metropolis in mid-Could after a 3-for-26 begin, however he returned following the All-Star break, mashing two doubles whereas going 3-for-4 and driving within the profitable run on July 16 in opposition to the Satan Rays. Ten days later, he hit his first homer, off Satan Rays pitcher Shawn Camp. With Adam Kennedy entrenched at second base however rookie first baseman Kendrys Morales slumping his means in direction of a demotion, Kendrick took over the latter place with none earlier skilled expertise, beginning 42 of the group’s ultimate 63 video games there whereas sometimes recognizing on the keystone. He hit .285/.314/.416 (87 OPS+) with 4 homers, six steals, and above-average protection en path to 1.5 WAR, although his 3.2% stroll fee was trigger for concern.

The next spring, the Baseball Prospectus 2007 annual repeated the batting title prediction for the primary of seven instances over the following decade (by no means doubt the BP employees’s dedication to a bit): “A bumpy transition to the majors may need dulled a few of the anticipation, however make no mistake about it — there are batting titles in Kendrick’s bat.” With Kennedy having departed in free company, Kendrick claimed the second base job and hit .322/.347/.450 (108 OPS+) with 5 homers and a pair of.5 WAR, albeit in simply 88 video games. His batting common would have cracked the American League’s prime 10 had he not missed 11 weeks on account of separate fractures of two fingers on his left hand, one by way of a hit-by-pitch, the opposite whereas swinging.

Kendrick carried out equally (.306/.333/.421, 97 OPS+, 1.9 WAR) in 2008 regardless of lacking one other 10 weeks on account of a recurrent left hamstring pressure. Regardless of a gradual begin that led to a three-week stint again in Triple-A, he confirmed extra energy in 2009 (.291/.334/.444, 10 homers, 104 OPS+, 3.1 WAR), although upon returning to the majors, he wound up platooning with Maicer Izturis, beginning 29 of the group’s ultimate 31 video games in opposition to lefties however simply 11 out of 52 in opposition to righties inside that span. Beneath supervisor Mike Scioscia, the Angels gained the AL West yearly from 2007–09; they took early exits by the hands of the Purple Sox within the first two of these seasons whereas Kendrick went a mixed 4-for-27, however swept Boston within the 2009 Division Sequence whereas Kendrick made simply 5 plate appearances. He began 4 video games within the 2009 ALCS in opposition to the Yankees, arising large in Sport 3 by going 3-for-5 with a solo homer off Andy Pettitte, a triple off Joba Chamberlain, and a two-out, Eleventh-inning single off Alfredo Aceves, scoring the profitable run two pitches in a while a double by Jeff Mathis. He went hitless in his ultimate two appearances because the Yankees prevailed in six video games.

Although Kendrick was wholesome sufficient to play 158 video games in 2010, the hits didn’t fall, as his batting common on balls in play dropped from .338 to a career-low .313; he hit an underwhelming .279/.313/.407 (99 OPS+). He practically doubled his WAR from 2010 (2.4) to ’11 (4.6 WAR) whereas homering a career-high 18 instances, batting .285/.338/.464 (126 OPS+) and making his lone All-Star group. That efficiency helped him internet a four-year, $33.5 million extension in January 2012, one which included restricted no-trade safety.

Kendrick hit a mixed .292/.336/.410 (113 OPS+) over the following three seasons whereas averaging 9 homers and 11 steals. He totaled 6.5 WAR in 2012–13, then posted profession bests in DRS (13) and WAR (6.1) in ’14. Led by Mike Trout in his first MVP-winning season, the Angels gained a significant league-high 98 video games and returned to the playoffs after a four-year drought, however face-planted within the Division Sequence but once more; Kendrick went 2-for-13 in a sweep by the Royals.

In December 2014, as a part of new Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s whirlwind of interlocking trades, Kendrick was despatched 30 miles up Interstate 5 in trade for pitching prospect Andrew Heaney, whom the Dodgers had simply acquired from the Marlins in a seven-player deal that despatched All-Star second baseman Dee Unusual-Gordon to Miami. Taking on at second base, Kendrick hit about in addition to in 2014 (.295/.336/.409, 108 wRC+), however missed time on account of a left calf pressure, slipping to -8 DRS and 1.6 WAR. The Dodgers gained the NL West regardless of getting simply 2.4 WAR from their beginning center infield of Kendrick and fellow winter acquisition Jimmy Rollins, down from 7.2 the yr earlier than with Unusual-Gordon and Hanley Ramirez. Kendrick went 6-for-22 in the course of the Dodgers’ loss to the Mets in a five-game Division Sequence, however his largest hit, a three-run ninth-inning homer in Sport 3, got here when the group trailed by 9 runs.

The Dodgers handled Kendrick’s subpar season as an aberration, re-signing him to a two-year, $20 million deal when he hit free company. His return didn’t go effectively, as he had his worst-ever season on the plate (.255/.326/.366, 87 OPS+), and have become a major a drag on the offense as a result of the Dodgers used him principally in left area, with occasional infield duties sprinkled in; although he held his personal defensively on the new positions (together with third base), he produced simply 0.8 WAR. Used off the bench extra typically than as a starter in the course of the postseason, he went 5-for-22 with a pair of doubles within the Division Sequence in opposition to the Nationals and the NLCS in opposition to the Cubs.

In November, the Dodgers shipped Kendrick to Philadelphia in trade for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney, neither of whom would ever play a recreation for Los Angeles. Kendrick was at a low level. “I used to be simply down on the sport,” he informed The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli in 2019. “I used to be at a degree in my profession the place I didn’t take pleasure in taking part in.”

Splitting time between left area and second base, and lacking over two months on account of belly and hamstring strains, Kendrick performed simply 39 video games for the Phillies, however went on a heater pushed by a .418 BABIP, hitting .340/.397/.454. Even on a group headed for 96 losses, the now-33-year-old discovered that he loved mentoring youthful gamers. Extra from Ghiroli:

“I used to be by no means actually seen as that veteran man, however once I received [to Philly], my function switched,” Kendrick mentioned. “All of the younger guys would speak to me, ask me about stuff. It was humorous; I fell in love with the sport and taking part in the sport once more once I was there as a result of it was so enjoyable having the ability to speak to the fellows and watch them get higher.”

On June 18, Kendrick recorded the 1,five hundredth hit of his profession, a single off the Diamondbacks’ Robbie Ray. On July 28, the Phillies traded Kendrick and about $1.6 million to the Nationals in trade for pitching prospect McKenzie Mills and worldwide bonus slot cash. Kendrick continued to hit effectively whereas primarily masking left area within the absence of the injured Jayson Werth. Werth’s return restricted Kendrick to pinch-hitting and defensive alternative responsibility because the Nationals went three-and-out within the Division Sequence in opposition to the Cubs.

Nonetheless, the Nationals valued Kendrick sufficient to re-sign him to a two-year, $7 million deal. Over the winter, he labored with hitting coach Kevin Lengthy to emphasise driving the ball, and pulling it with higher frequency. Along with his launch angle above two levels (!) for the primary time within the Statcast period (7.9 levels), he began the 2018 season effectively, however on Could 19, taking part in his fortieth recreation of the season, he ruptured his proper Achilles tendon whereas working down a fly ball. The damage required season-ending surgical procedure, however Kendrick’s rehab helped him get into higher form. Although he missed the primary week of the 2019 season recovering from a left hamstring pressure, he posted a career-best offensive season, batting a scorching .344/.395/.572 (146 OPS+) with 17 homers in 370 plate appearances as supervisor Dave Martinez was aware of not overtaxing him. He made 35 begins at first base, 18 at second, 10 at third base, and 7 at DH; he additionally hit .361/.415/.611 with two homers in 41 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter.

After profitable 93 video games, the Nationals beat the Brewers within the Wild Card Sport, upset the reigning Nationwide League champion Dodgers in a five-game Division Sequence, swept the Cardinals within the NLCS, and overcame a three-games-to-two deficit to win the World Sequence in opposition to the Astros in Houston. Kendrick was a modest 5-for-18 from the Wild Card Sport by means of the primary 4 video games in opposition to the Dodgers. Los Angeles led Washington 3-1 heading into the highest of the eighth when Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto clubbed back-to-back dwelling runs off a flagging Clayton Kershaw, tying the sport. The tie held till the highest of the tenth, when Joe Kelly loaded the bases with no one out, then left a 97-mph fastball on the interior fringe of the zone. Kendrick hit it 410 ft to heart area for a shocking grand slam.

Kendrick went 5-for-15 within the NLCS, piling all his hits in Video games 1 and three. Within the opener, he led off the second inning with a double off Miles Mikolas, then scored the sport’s first run on a Yan Gomes double; his seventh-inning RBI single off John Brebbia prolonged the result in 2-0, which proved to be sufficient. In Sport 3, he went 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs, highlighted by a two-run double off Jack Flaherty within the third inning, serving to the Nationals open up a 4-0 lead in what ended up an 8-1 win. Although he went hitless in Sport 4, the one-out intentional stroll he was issued by Dakota Hudson contributed to a seven-run first inning, and after that, it was throughout however the shouting.

Within the World Sequence, Kendrick DHed for the 4 video games in Houston, and began at second base in two of the three in Washington, going 7-for-25 in all. Via the primary six video games, his largest contribution was in Sport 2, when he went 2-for-5 with an RBI single off Ryan Pressley in the course of the six-run rally within the seventh. In Sport 7, the Nationals entered the seventh inning trailing 2-0, however Rendon’s one-out solo homer off Zack Greinke reduce the lead in half, and when Soto drew a stroll, Will Harris changed Greinke. After getting strike one, Harris threw Kendrick a low-and-away cutter, and Kendrick sliced it down the proper area line, off the foul pole for a two-run homer and a 3-2 lead. The Nationals added a run within the eighth and two within the ninth for a 6-2 win, claiming their first championship in franchise historical past.

A free agent once more, Kendrick determined to proceed taking part in, inking a one-year, $6.25 million take care of a mutual choice for 2021. After the coronavirus pandemic delayed the beginning of the season, Kendrick hit a light-weight .275/.320/.385 in 25 video games whereas battling points together with his left hamstring. By the point he went on the injured record in early September, he estimated he might run at solely 40–50% depth, and he didn’t get well shortly sufficient to return. After contemplating his choices, on December 21, 2020 he introduced his retirement. “I really feel as if I’d been a Nationwide my entire profession and the wild, humbling and loopy journey we had in 2019 really culminated every little thing I’d discovered in my profession, and all of us grew to become World Champions,” he wrote on Instagram. Lower than a yr later, he joined the Phillies entrance workplace as a particular assistant to common supervisor Sam Fuld.

Kendrick by no means did win that batting title. A World Sequence ring and an indelible spot within the lore of a franchise that had by no means gained all of it earlier than should do.