Athlete Of The Decade – #1 Ryan Howard

by BigGreek24

Thursday December 31, 2009 

Athlete Of The Decade – #1 Ryan Howard thumbnail

Harry Kalas called him “The Big Man” because of his big frame or perhaps because of his penchant for hitting home runs when they mattered.  Bill Conlin of the Daily News dubbed him “Ryno-Mite” because you never know when that swing will produce a thunderous shot that will either explode off the outfield wall or somewhere in the upper deck.  No matter what you may call him, Ryan Howard is #1 in this poll of the best Philadelphia athletes of the past decade.

The competition was indeed tough.  Guys like McNabb, Rollins, Utley, Iverson, Rolen, Abreu, Trotter, Gagne all toiled during the past decade, however none made as immediate an impact on both his team and the sports landscape of Philadelphia more than Ryan Howard.  Sure, McNabb carried the Eagles offense for those first couple years and got the Eagles to the NFC Title game in just his third year, but they came up short year after year until 2004.   Also, McNabb has never put up lofty numbers in his sport like Ryan Howard has done in his 4 full seasons for the Phillies including being a key part on two NL Pennant Winners and one World Champion, ending the 25 year Championship drought in Philadelphia.   No Phillies player has had the impact that Howard had since Richie Allen joined the club in 1964 and won the Rookie Of The Year award in the NL.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Howard was drafted by the Phillies and moved through the system before having a monster year in the Minors in 2004 which earned him a late season callup to the big club.   Former GM Ed Wade tried unsuccessfully to deal Howard to the Pirates that year for starting pitcher Kris Benson (Benson went to the Mets instead for Ty Wigginton), and after new manager Charlie Manuel tried Howard in left field in Spring Training in 2005 it was decided that Howard would be sent down to start the season, a decision which did not sit well with the big man.   So much in fact, that his agent asked the Phillies to trade Howard.  One rumor had Ryan going to the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Phillies wanted Howard to play everyday rather than sit on the bench behind Jim Thome even though Howard had nothing left to prove at the Minor League level.  As fate would have it, Thome got hurt and Howard received his shot – and he failed miserably and was sent back down once Thome was healthy.   Thome wouldn’t stay healthy for long, and Howard got another shot and this time he produced.   Wearing a new number, #6 instead of the #12 he had previously, Howard also had a new attitude at the plate.  Anyone remember the shot he hit at Dodger Stadium off Yhency Brazobon that year? Howard finished the year with 22 homers in just 88 games while hitting .288 – good enough to win the 2005 National League Rookie Of The Year.   The Phillies finished just a game out of the Wild Card and fired GM Ed Wade and replaced him with Pat Gillick.

Gillick’s first real move was to trade Jim Thome to the White Sox so that Howard could play everyday, and Howard rewarded the Phillies and the fans with a  year for the ages – .313 average, 58 homers, 149 runs batted in and the NL MVP award to make him the first player since Cal Ripken in 1982-83 to win Rookie Of The Year and MVP honors in back-to-back seasons.   Howard also broke Mike Schmidt’s season record for homers (48) which has stood since 1980.  Howard was so impressive that teams would walk him intentionally even to lead off an inning of tie games.   I was at a game against the Giants on my 40th birthday that season where he hit two homers.    He also won the homerun hitting contest at the All-Star Game, his final blast hitting the MasterCard sign on the way out of the ballpark in Pittsburgh.

Despite missing 18 games to injury in 2007, Howard still blasted 47 homers and finished the season one rbi behind Matt Holliday for the NL lead.  Holliday passed Howard during the one-game playoff against San Diego.  Howard led the NL in homers in 2008 with 48 and in rbi with 146 and in 2009 led the NL in rbi with 141.  He is the only player since Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr to average over 50 homers and 140 rbi in a three year period.   Some say he strikes out too much, but how can you argue with that kind of production?

To put Howard in perspective, Mike Schmidt didn’t win an MVP award until his 8th season – the same year he won his only World Championship.  Howard was an MVP his first full season and a World Champion by the end of his third full season.  

 Even after winning the World Series, Howard worked hard on his defense (he committed a league high 20 errors in 2008) and came to camp lighter and showed far more range at the position than he had previously.   His performance during the 2009 NLCS earned him the NLCS MVP as he helped carry the Phillies back to the World Series.   Say all you want about Jimmy Rollins, but any opposing manager knows that to beat the Phillies means you keep Ryan Howard in the ballpark, plain and simple.  He’s like a snake in the grass waiting to strike.  Make a mistake, and to quote Harry Kalas – “That Ball’s Outta Here!”.

Here is what Howard has accomplished in just 4 full seasons and 88 games of another:

2005 National League Rookie Of The Year

2006 National League MVP, Hank Aaron Award and Silver Slugger

2009 NLCS MVP

Congratulations to the Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard on being the number one Philadelphia athlete of the decade.  He certainly earned it.

Filed Under Phillies

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