Howie Haak
Encyclopedia
Howard Frederick Haak pronounced "Hake," was an American
professional baseball scout for almost 50 years, from the end of World War II
through his retirement.
scout of his era who worked in Latin America
and the Caribbean
, and signed "scores of players" during his career from Puerto Rico
, the Dominican Republic, Panama
, Cuba
, and the Virgin Islands — most of them for the Pittsburgh Pirates
, for whom Haak worked for 38 years. Haak also played a key role in the Pirates' decision to select Roberto Clemente
in the 1954 Rule 5 draft
; the right fielder
from Puerto Rico would go on to make 3,000 hits
, win two World Series
championships and the 1971 World Series
MVP award, and earn a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame upon his untimely death in an airplane crash while on a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua
.
in the extensive St. Louis Cardinals
farm system during the 1930s. According to the Bird interview, Haak's playing career was ended by a severe arm injury, but he was still in the game as traveling secretary of the Cards' Rochester Red Wings
farm club at the close of the season when he answered the telephone in a deserted Red Wings' clubhouse. The caller was Cardinals' general manager
Branch Rickey
.
"He said, 'I need an outfielder right now for the big club. Is there anyone there who can help us?'" Haak recalled in 1994. "'Yeah,' I said, 'Musial
, and take Kurowski
and Dusak
with him.'" Hall of Famer Stan Musial went on to set the National League
record for hits (since broken by all-time hits leader Pete Rose
), while Whitey Kurowski starred as a third baseman
on St. Louis' 1940s dynasty and Erv Dusak had a creditable MLB career as an outfielder
.
During the Second World War, Rickey left St. Louis to take over the Brooklyn Dodger
organization, and when he expanded his scouting staff at the war's end in , he hired Haak as a full-time Brooklyn scout. In that capacity, Haak was one of several Dodger evaluators who scouted Jackie Robinson
while he played in the Negro Leagues. Robinson ultimately broke the baseball color line
and went on to the Hall of Fame.
, he recommended the drafting of Clemente (ironically, from Brooklyn), who had been "hidden" on the Montreal Royals
roster during the season. The highly talented, 19-year-old Clemente was only given 148 at bats with Montreal because the Dodgers did not have room for him on their MLB roster and didn't want to expose him to rival scouts and the Rule 5 draft.
Clemente's success inspired Haak, and the Pirate front office, to take an aggressive role in scouting Latin America and the Caribbean. According to his obituary, Haak's signings included José DeLeón
, Cecilio Guante
, Al McBean
, Román Mejías
, Omar Moreno
, Manny Sanguillén
, and Rennie Stennett
. Many of these players were crucial members of the Pirates' 1971
and 1979
world championship teams. "We thank God for him," Sanguillén was quoted as saying in Haak's Times obituary. "He's opened the door for us."
Haak was the first recipient of the Scout of the Year award in 1984 in recognition of his lifetime of achievement. He left Pittsburgh after the 1988 season, and spent the final five years of his scouting career working for the Houston Astros
, retiring at the age of 82. He died five years later, aged 87, in Palm Springs, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional baseball scout for almost 50 years, from the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
through his retirement.
Scouted Latin America and Caribbean
Although he spoke little Spanish, he became perhaps the best-known Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
scout of his era who worked in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and signed "scores of players" during his career from Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the Dominican Republic, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and the Virgin Islands — most of them for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, for whom Haak worked for 38 years. Haak also played a key role in the Pirates' decision to select Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...
in the 1954 Rule 5 draft
Rule 5 draft
The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to...
; the right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
from Puerto Rico would go on to make 3,000 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, win two World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
championships and the 1971 World Series
1971 World Series
The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
MVP award, and earn a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame upon his untimely death in an airplane crash while on a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
Playing and early scouting career
Baseball Reference lists no playing record under Haak's entry, but according to his New York Times obituary and an interview with Tom Bird published in the February 1994 issue of Baseball Digest, Haak was a catcherCatcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
in the extensive St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
farm system during the 1930s. According to the Bird interview, Haak's playing career was ended by a severe arm injury, but he was still in the game as traveling secretary of the Cards' Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
farm club at the close of the season when he answered the telephone in a deserted Red Wings' clubhouse. The caller was Cardinals' general manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
.
"He said, 'I need an outfielder right now for the big club. Is there anyone there who can help us?'" Haak recalled in 1994. "'Yeah,' I said, 'Musial
Stan Musial
Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial is a retired professional baseball player who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals . Nicknamed "Stan the Man", Musial was a record 24-time All-Star selection , and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball...
, and take Kurowski
Whitey Kurowski
George John Kurowski was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals . Kurowski batted and threw right-handed. He debuted on September 23, 1941, and played his final game on October 1, 1949...
and Dusak
Erv Dusak
Ervin Frank "Four Sack" Dusak was an American Major League Baseball player. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1938 and got his nickname from a poem a fan wrote after he hit a home run in the minors. He was very briefly with the 1941 Houston Buffaloes of the...
with him.'" Hall of Famer Stan Musial went on to set the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
record for hits (since broken by all-time hits leader Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
), while Whitey Kurowski starred as a third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
on St. Louis' 1940s dynasty and Erv Dusak had a creditable MLB career as an outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
.
During the Second World War, Rickey left St. Louis to take over the Brooklyn Dodger
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
organization, and when he expanded his scouting staff at the war's end in , he hired Haak as a full-time Brooklyn scout. In that capacity, Haak was one of several Dodger evaluators who scouted Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
while he played in the Negro Leagues. Robinson ultimately broke the baseball color line
Baseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
and went on to the Hall of Fame.
Clemente's success opened door
Haak followed Rickey to the Pirates at the close of the 1950 season. Four years later, after scouting the Triple-A International LeagueInternational League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
, he recommended the drafting of Clemente (ironically, from Brooklyn), who had been "hidden" on the Montreal Royals
Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897–1917 and from 1928–60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...
roster during the season. The highly talented, 19-year-old Clemente was only given 148 at bats with Montreal because the Dodgers did not have room for him on their MLB roster and didn't want to expose him to rival scouts and the Rule 5 draft.
Clemente's success inspired Haak, and the Pirate front office, to take an aggressive role in scouting Latin America and the Caribbean. According to his obituary, Haak's signings included José DeLeón
Jose DeLeon
José DeLeón Chestaro is a former professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of thirteen seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos. He was the National League strikeout champion in 1989 with...
, Cecilio Guante
Cecilio Guante
Cecilio Guante Magallane is a former professional Major League Baseball player who played from 1982 to 1990. He made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ended his career after playing with the Cleveland Indians. He finished his career with a 29-34 won/loss record and a 3.48 ERA...
, Al McBean
Al McBean
Alvin O'Neal McBean is a retired professional baseball player who played 10 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball....
, Román Mejías
Román Mejías
Román Mejías Gómez is a former professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1955-1964. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, and Houston Colt .45s . He also played one season in Japan, in , for the Sankei Atoms.-External links:*...
, Omar Moreno
Omar Moreno
Omar Renan Moreno Quintero was a Major League Baseball outfielder from 1975 to 1986. He was best known for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter on their 1979 World Series-winning team.Moreno made his first appearance with the Pirates in...
, Manny Sanguillén
Manny Sanguillen
Manuel De Jesus Sanguillen Magan, better known as Manny Sanguillen or "Sangy" , is a former professional baseball player who was a catcher in the Major Leagues. He was named to the All-Star team three times, in , , and . He played primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also for the Oakland...
, and Rennie Stennett
Rennie Stennett
Renaldo Antonio Stennett Porte , is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. Stennett played with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants . He batted and threw right-handed...
. Many of these players were crucial members of the Pirates' 1971
1971 World Series
The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
and 1979
1979 World Series
The 1979 World Series matched the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates against the American League's Baltimore Orioles , with the Pirates coming back from a three games to one deficit to win the Series in seven games...
world championship teams. "We thank God for him," Sanguillén was quoted as saying in Haak's Times obituary. "He's opened the door for us."
Haak was the first recipient of the Scout of the Year award in 1984 in recognition of his lifetime of achievement. He left Pittsburgh after the 1988 season, and spent the final five years of his scouting career working for the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
, retiring at the age of 82. He died five years later, aged 87, in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
.