Dann Paul John Howitt (born February 13, 1964) is an American former professional baseball
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
. He played high school baseball at
Hastings High School in
Hastings, Michigan
Hastings ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Barry County, as well as the county's only city. The population was 7,514 at the 2020 census. The city borders Hastings Charter Township on the north, east, and ...
.
He played college baseball at
Cal State Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...
, graduating in 1986 and was drafted by the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
in the 18th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft. He played during six seasons at the Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox. Howitt played his first professional season with their Class A (Short Season) Medford A's in 1986, and his last with the Colorado Rockies' Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1997.
It was Howitt that got the final hit off Nolan Ryan when he hit a grand slam home run on September 22, 1993, in Ryan's final appearance at the Seattle Kingdome. It was the last game of Ryan's career and Howitt was the second to last batter he ever faced (Ryan injured his arm facing the next batter and left the game before completing the at-bat).
Howitt became a contributing baseball writer for the sports section of ''The Grand Rapids Press''.
Sources
External links
, o
Retrosheet
1964 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Battle Creek, Michigan
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players
Calgary Cannons players
Chicago White Sox players
Colorado Springs Sky Sox players
Huntsville Stars players
Indianapolis Indians players
Louisville Redbirds players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Medford A's players
Modesto A's players
Nashville Sounds players
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Oakland Athletics players
Seattle Mariners players
Tacoma Tigers players
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