Around the Diamond with Jared Howton

• What years did you play with the Washington Wild Things?

• I played for the Wild Things during the inaugural season of 2002, as well as 2003. I can vividly remember the excitement for the inaugural season throughout the community from the moment I arrived there. Everywhere we went there was a tremendous amount of support and excitement leading up to Opening Day, as well as every day of that season thereafter. I’m proud to say that I was a small part of it.

• How did you feel when you were awarded “Pitcher of the Year” in 2002?

• Receiving the “Pitcher of the Year” award is something that I was, and still am, extremely proud of. There were two other pitchers on our staff deserving of consideration for that award, and a number of others throughout the league. There was a lot of great pitching in the league that season, so being selected as “Pitcher of the Year” was exciting and very humbling. It was sort of the culmination of a lot of hard work and perseverance through a lot of ups and downs during the previous year of my life. I think the most special part of it was the excitement and genuine happiness the coaches and my teammates displayed. I got a lot of big bear hugs that day from a lot of good people.

• Why did you choose to train to become a pitcher?

• Actually I was sort of lured into playing baseball by my mom. I grew up in southern Texas where football is king. I didn’t start playing organized baseball until age 14 when my mom offered me a dollar for every strikeout and base hit I got. I agreed to sign up and after the first game of the season, my mom owed me $17 – 14 strikeouts and 3 base hits. From that point on I was in love with the game. I don’t think my mom was expecting those results because shortly after that first game she decided to renegotiate those terms!

• What have you been doing since your time as a Wild Thing?

• After my time in Washington I spent three more season in the Frontier League as a pitcher, and pitching coach before moving on to coaching college baseball for a few seasons. In 2011, I got out of baseball all together to start a career in the oil and gas industry as an MWD Engineer and directional driller. Now, I’m currently working for a company called Conner Industries.

• What is your favorite memory as a Wild Thing?

• It would be extremely hard to narrow all of those experiences down to one favorite, so I’d have to say that the camaraderie with the coaches and teammates is very memorable. We had a very special club house those two seasons with Jeff Isom and Joe Charbaneau leading a great group. I developed some friendships those seasons that I still have to this day. I’ve probably said it a thousand times, but we had something very special those two seasons.

• What is your favorite memory playing baseball overall?

• I’d have to say that 2002 season was pretty special. The community excitement, the winning, the coaches, teammates, the playoffs, the championship series all made it extremely enjoyable and memorable.

• Why do you encourage people to attend Frontier League games?

• There’s something about minor league baseball that’s different than anything else in sports. It’s about going out there every single day and giving the fans, your teammates and organization everything you have, and leaving it all out on the field night in, night out; doing it because you love playing the game, because you respect the game and appreciate the opportunity. It’s special because the majority of those guys are sacrificing other things, and other aspects of there lives in order to hang on to a childhood dream. All the while they’re doing it knowing in the back of their minds, that, realistically, it’s probably not going to last much longer and they’ll soon have to move on from the game. Then at that point they’ll have to create a whole new identity because the one that they had for the majority of their life will have been taken away.

• Why do you love the Washington Wild Things?

• I love the Washington Wild Things because they helped me find my love for baseball again at a time when I wasn’t enjoying it very much anymore. I’ll always be indebted to them because of that. I love that community, the organization and all the great memories that go along with it for those reason.