On Thursday afternoon, Ryan Howard signed a minor-league contract with the maligned Atlanta Braves in an attempt to have at least one more season in the major leagues. Howard will report for extended Spring Training next week, before he joins the Braves Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett Braves.
Something about Ryan Howard and the Atlanta Braves placed in the same sentence just does not sound right.
It is a sad state of affairs when the freight train of time comes around to remind us that 2008 was almost a decade ago, and even a sadder state of affairs when one of that team’s brightest stars’ better days are behind him. We are a long way away from Howard’s MVP campaign and dominance as one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. The “get me to
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In 2005, Howard played 88 games and was awarded National League Rookie of the Year. His first full MLB season was in 2006, where he hit 58 home runs and 149 RBIs earning him the National League MVP and the torch was officially …show more content…
Howard’s 382 home runs put him second all-time in Phillies' franchise history behind Mike Schmidt, his 1,149 RBIs ranks third all-time, and slugging percentage is fourth all-time.
Howard, who was once a shining beacon of hope for a downtrodden team, began his steady decline after his ruptured his Achilles tendon in the final out of the 2011 NLDS, where the Phillies lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a pitcher’s duel at 1-0. A game I still to this day refer to as one-bloody-nil. Howard was never the same again, after he came back. Talk about an expensive loss, perhaps the most expensive loss in Philadelphia sports recent history.
After returning from the injury, Howard appeared to lose power on his back foot and his numbers began to slide. He slowly went from superstar to liability, and the Phillies invoked the $10 million buyout option on the final year of his contract.
In his final game as a Phillie, he was given a hero’s sendoff by the crowd and the boos that were thrown his way throughout the 2016 season fell silent. And to those that did boo Howard, the Phillies do not even sniff that World Series without him, so how dare you. Stay off the bandwagon, we are all better off without