Philadelphia Phillies: A Tribute to Ryan Howard

On Monday, the Atlanta Braves parted ways with former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard. Howard’s release likely marks the end of his professional baseball career.

If you journeyed through the annals of the Philadelphia Phillies‘ history, you would be hard-pressed to find a better power hitter than Ryan Howard.

There were superior contact hitters, of course. And there were more prolific home run hitters (see Schmidt, Michael Jack). But, for those few seasons when Ryan Howard was in the prime of his career, he had no historical peer when it came to slugging a baseball.

I remember the first game I watched Ryan Howard play. It was the 2005 season. Howard was in the midst of a Rookie of the Year campaign. With Jim Thome relegated to the disabled list, Howard seized the job as the team’s everyday first baseman.

I don’t recall the team the Phillies played or the outcome of the contest. The only memory that endures is the feeling of excitement that came over me and the rest of the crowd when Howard stepped to the plate.

He was capable of hitting a home run any time he entered the batter’s box. Sure, he struck out too much. During his 2006 MVP season, Howard whiffed 181 times. Nonetheless, he found his way on base at an impressive clip for a power hitter. Howard boasted a .313 average during the ’06 season and never hit below .250 before the 2012 season.

Howard crushed 58 home runs in 2006 and collected 149 RBI; he followed up that effort with 47/136 in 2007 and 48/146 during the 2008 championship season.

At some point during his tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies, Howard was christened “the Big Piece.” It was a fitting nickname for the cleanup hitter that formed the backbone of the Phillies’ potent offensive attack. Along with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Pat Burrell, Pedro Feliz, and Carlos Ruiz, Howard powered the Phillies to a World Series victory in 2008.

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The 2011 season doubled as the close of the Phillies’ run as contenders and the effective end of Ryan Howard’s prime. Howard tore his Achilles as he ran toward first base, making the final out in what seemed like a season that was destined for another World Series appearance. It was tough to watch Howard being carried off the field while the upstart St. Louis Cardinals celebrated their triumph. It was even harder to watch the player that Howard became when he returned from that injury.

The Big Piece never regained his form. He had a difficult time catching up to fastballs. He couldn’t hit a lefty if his life depended on it. And Howard’s defensive skills, never a highlight of his game when he was healthy, deteriorated further.

That old feeling of excitement that would catch us when Howard strutted to the plate gave way to resignation. We no longer expected a clutch hit. Instead, we waited for the inevitable strikeout or lazy fly ball.

Howard’s best days were officially behind him. His on-field successes became the province of the past tense.

Ryan Howard was one of the best sluggers in the history of the Phillies franchise. Was. It’s a simple verb, but it’s also a bitter pill to swallow for a prideful player looking to recapture some semblance of his former glory before calling it a career.

On Monday, Ryan Howard was probably not ready for his baseball career to end. However, the decision was made for him. The Atlanta Braves organization issued Howard his walking papers.

Howard had been laboring for the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, Georgia. He never could find his swing. In all likelihood, he will never be given another chance.

Ultimately, Howard has nothing of which to be ashamed. So he didn’t go out in a blaze of glory. Neither did Willie Mays, or any number of athletes who refused to exit stage left when it best served the heroic narrative we like to construct.

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Instead, Ryan Howard went out swinging. We should have expected nothing less from a hitter who worked hard to reach the major leagues and never stopped trying to hone his craft.