Memphis'
Jim Hardin Tells What Frank Howard
Is Like
by Bill E.
Burk, unknown
newspaper, c. June 1968
Take it from Baltimore Oriole
hurler Jim Hardin, it is no easy
task to keep the 1968 Frank Howard
off the basepaths.
"Howard has hit me better
than the rest of the Washington
hitters combined this year,"
said Hardin, the former Memphis
South Side star. "In
eight times against me this year, he
has a double, home run and three
singles."
Hardin says the major change in
Howard's hitting this year is that
"he has moved up on the plate
six to eight inches. It used
to be that you could get him out by
throwing inside to him. He
could never see the pitch. Now
your best hope is to pitch around
him whenever you can."
COOLED
He pointed out that when Howard
was on his hot May homer spree, the
next batter in the Senators' lineup,
Ken McMullen, was also swinging a
hot bat, "but when McMullen
cooled, the pitchers began pitching
around Howard more carefully and
Howard's streak cooled too."
How about this
pitchers-over-hitters talk?
"The pitching has been very
good all through the league this
year," said Hardin, who takes a
7-2 record against Howard and
Washington in the Senators' ball
park tonight. "Batting
averages throughout the league are
down this year and they are going to
keep going down. The guys are
still swinging for the home run,
even when you get two strikes on
them. Everyone's control is
better.
"As for myself, I've pitched
77 or so innings and walked only
19. In the last few games I
haven't walked over one per game.
"Control is mainly a matter
of a little hard work and
concentration. Any time a
pitcher loses his concentration
during a game, he's in
trouble. It's not easy to
concentrate on every pitch. I
know I had shutouts going in two
games into the seventh and eighth
innings, lost my concentration and
gave up a home run each time to lose
my shutouts. I guess it's the
human element. It's harder to
concentrate when you have a lead,
particularly if it is a big
lead."
The orioles are now 4-1/2 games
behind leading Detroit but Hardin
thinks the Birds will soar now that
Frank Robinson, the 1966 triple
crown winner, is back in the
lineup. Robinson was out about
three weeks with the mumps, played
two games and pulled an arm muscle
and has been out about another three
weeks.
"Boog Powell and Davey
Johnson have been carrying the
hitting load, but with Frank out of
the lineup the other teams have been
pitching around Boog," said
Hardin. Now, with Frank
batting in front of Boog, they
certainly can't pitch around Frank
or Boog."
RECORD
How about that record of 58-2/3
scoreless innings that Don Drysdale
just rang up?
"Some say he's throwing a
spitter or grease ball," said
Hardin. "I don't know,
but when a man throws 58-2/3
scoreless innings you have to give
him credit. I know when
Cleveland's Luis Tiant was going for
his fifth shutout in a row against
us last year, the pressure was
tremendous on him. You could
see him sweating on every
pitch. Then Frank Robinson
lived on an error and Boog hit a
home run. It was such a
tremendous letdown, Tiant allowed
five or six more runs in the
game."
Hardin admits he would like to
break Drysdale's record, but for
right now he'd like to figure out
how to sneak a few pitches past
Howard.
