Ryan Howard was a Phillies cornerstone for more than a decade at first base, leading them to a championship in 2008 alongside other stars such as Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels. His extreme power and patience were revered in Philadelphia as he dominated the National League in the late 2000s. But a lot of times players like Howard tend to peak early and not peak for long. Howard was listed as 6’4 240 but in reality he was definitely over 260. Playing baseball at a high level for long periods of time in bad or mediocre shape can lead to injuries and this is exactly what happened, but before we delve in to the bad and the terrible lets talk about the good.

In 2005 and 2006 Howard hit .305/.402/.627 averaging 45 homers and 120 RBI’s, he won rookie of the year in 2005 and in 2006 he won MVP, started in the All Star game and was named Silver Slugger at first base. Howard was never a high average hitter again but from 2007-2011 he hit .266/.358/.539 averaging 30 doubles, 41 homers, and 130 RBI’s he also struck out an average of 190 times a year and this was foreshadowing what was to come. After tearing his achilles in the 2011 playoffs Howard was never the same player. He hit .226/.292/.427 until his retirement in 2016, averaging 25 doubles and 29 homers per 162, he rarely played full seasons after the first injury, and he also struck out at nearly the same rate as his power hitting days.

Even after his peak Howard could still crush the ball it was just a matter of him making contact that was the issue. Some say the Phillies wasted some of his peak as he didn’t get a real start till he was 25. He had been blocked by Jim Thome in his age 22-24 seasons so he sat in the minors till Thome was traded. Never the less Howard was an exciting hitter in his prime and a sad story at the twilight of his career, I only wish that injuries didn’t exist because maybe we could have seen even more of Howard dominating.