Bobby Dean Howry (born August 4, 1973) is an American former professional baseball

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

Early life

Howry attended, and played baseball at Deer Valley High School in Arizona, then he attended

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

and was drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in the fifth round of the

1994 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did n ...

Baseball career

During the season, Howry was one of six prospects (along with

Keith Foulke Keith Charles Foulke ( ; born October 19, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A graduate of Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas, Foulke attended Galveston College and Lewis–Clark State College. Between 1997 and 2008, he ...

Lorenzo Barceló Lorenzo Barceló (born August 10, 1977) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played for the Chicago White Sox from –. Career MLB career San Francisco Giants Barceló was originally signed by the San Francisco Gia ...

, Mike Caruso,

Ken Vining Kenneth Edward Vining (born December 5, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Vining played for the Chicago White Sox during the 2001 season. In 8 career games, he posted an 0–0 record and an earned run average (ERA) of 17.55. ...

, and Brian Manning) traded to the White Sox in exchange for Wilson Álvarez,

Danny Darwin Danny Wayne Darwin (born October 25, 1955), known as the "Bonham Bullet" and "Dr. Death", is an American professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, ...

, and Roberto Hernández in what became known as the White Flag Trade. He made his major league debut with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in and served as the team's closer, saving 28 games in until being replaced by

in early May . He was dealt to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

in , but suffered right elbow problems that forced him to be put on the 60-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

in late . Howry successfully recovered from right elbow surgery and made a comeback with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

in . In a year and a half with the Indians, Howry posted an 11–6 record with 87 strikeouts and a 2.61

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

. In late , Howry signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. Facing the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

on June 24, 2007, he gave up a three-run home run to

Troy Tulowitzki Troy Trevor Tulowitzki (born October 10, 1984), nicknamed "Tulo", is an American retired professional baseball shortstop, who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Colorado Rockies. He also played for the Toronto B ...

in the ninth that capped a six-run comeback to put the Rockies ahead 9–8. After the home run, a fan ran on the field, getting tackled as he neared the pitcher's mound. According to Howry, the fan asked him, "What are you doing?" "I'm trying to give up home runs, what do you think?" Howry responded. The Cubs won 10–9 on a two-RBI single by

Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cu ...

in the bottom of the inning. Howry filled in for an injured

Ryan Dempster Ryan Scott Dempster (born May 3, 1977), is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Dempster batted and t ...

during the playoff run, earning eight saves with a 3.32 ERA, and was one of the Cubs' primary relievers in , sometimes serving as setup man to All-Star closer

Kerry Wood Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rooki ...

. He is one of four pitchers who have pitched in at least 70 games each of the four seasons from 2004–08, the others being Scott Schoeneweis (who has done so for five seasons), Chad Qualls, and Dan Wheeler. After the Cubs declined arbitration, Howry signed a $2.75 million, one-year contract with the

on December 3, 2008. On December 28, 2009, Howry signed a one-year deal with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

with a club option for 2011. On May 17, 2010, he was released by the

to make room for recently acquired Saul Rivera. On May 21, Howry re-signed with the Cubs. On July 30, 2010, the Cubs released Howry. During his brief return to the Cubs in 2010, he was 0–3 with a 5.66 ERA in 24 relief appearances. Howry was released to make room for pitcher

Carlos Zambrano Carlos Alberto Zambrano Matos (born June 1, 1981), nicknamed "Big Z" or "El Toro", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2012 for the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins. Zambrano ...

, who was returning to the team from suspension. On February 27, 2011, Howry retired.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howry, Bob 1973 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Calgary Cannons players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Clinton LumberKings players Chicago Cubs players Everett Giants players Major League Baseball pitchers McNeese State Cowboys baseball players Pawtucket Red Sox players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Shreveport Captains players Yavapai Roughriders baseball players