Spencer Howard: podcast appearances and interviews

Spencer Lee Howard, born on July 28, 1996, is an American professional baseball pitcher currently playing for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Guardians, as well as in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Howard was born in San Luis Obispo and raised in Templeton, California, where he participated in both baseball and volleyball at Templeton High School. Although he did not receive scholarship offers for college baseball, he joined the Cal Poly Mustangs after attending a tryout camp, initially pitching as a reliever before transitioning to a starting role in 2017. The Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the second round of the 2017 MLB draft, and he made his major league debut in 2020. Following a trade to the Texas Rangers the next year, Howard faced challenges related to injuries and stamina, and by 2023 he was primarily playing at the Triple-A level. In 2025, Howard left Major League Baseball to join the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on a one-year contract, continuing his professional career in Japan.