5 Toronto Blue Jays All-Stars that are easily forgotten

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Courtesy of Topps.

Roy Howell – 1978
Stats – .270/.325/.376, 8 HR, 61 RBI

As mentioned above, Roy Howell quite honestly deserved the nod in 1977, but had to wait until 1978 to earn the only All-Star selection of his 11-year career. Like Fairly the season before, he wasn’t necessarily the best choice for the honor either.

Howell finished the 1977 season on a tear and he carried that over into the first half of the 1978 season. Never a big power producer for a corner infielder, Howell authored a pre-break slash-line of .293/.346/.396 with 4 home runs and 47 RBI. However, that line suffered a pronounced slide during the stretch run, when he staggered to the finish line by hitting .238/.293/.345 with 4 more home runs but only 14 RBI.

Unfortunately, the game itself was played in San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium, which likely lead to Howell selection over designated hitter Rico Carty. Carty was impressive during the first half of the season and put up a slash of .282/.348/.481 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI in 104 games with the Blue Jays in 1978.  However, he was traded in August to the Oakland Athletics for Willie Horton and Phil Huffman.

Meanwhile, Howell would hold down third base for another two seasons for the Blue Jays, finishing his Blue Jays career with a .272/.335/.407 batting line and just 43 home runs in four seasons.