Howard Makes Baseball History One Swing At A Time

The names of the all-time greats just roll off the tongue, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth.  All of them legends, all of them immediately recognizable as among the greatest run producers in major league history. 

In fact, Gehrig, Greenberg, DiMaggio and Ruth hold the distinction of knocking in the most runs per game in the illustrious history of the game. However, many would be surprised to learn which player ranks fifth all-time, just behind the aforementioned Hall of Famers. Oh, but he’s very familiar to Phillies manager, Charlie Manuel, who calls his huge slugger, “The Big Piece.” 

That’s correct, Ryan James Howard ranks fifth all-time in RBIs per game, putting him in the company of some of the legendary batsmen in the annals of hardball history.

Oh, we’ve all heard Howard’s critics. He strikes out too much, he has problems throwing to second-base and he’s an imperfect superstar.

However, those of us who have watched him closely have seen a vast improvement in his fielding and he more than makes up for his frequent strikeouts by literally knocking in more runs and hitting more home runs than anyone in baseball over the past several seasons. In fact, many of his accomplishments have already placed him at the very top of the list in the record books. 

However, things did not begin easily in Ryan’s career. Despite being a fairly prolific slugger at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, St. Louis County, Missouri, scouts didn’t exactly break down his door. Born November 19, 1979, to Ron and Cheryl Howard, Ryan has a fraternal twin, Corey, and an older brother, Chris. Howard also has an older sister, Roni Karen. Incredibly, despite Ryan’s 6’4” 240 pound frame, he is the smallest of the sons.

Ron and Cheryl, Ryan’s mom and dad, are actually from Birmingham, Alabama. They are both educators, and moved to St Louis in order to raise their children where they would be afforded better educational opportunities. Ron was raised in Birmingham amid poverty and racism and both he and Cheryl were at the forefront of the civil rights movement. Both Mr. and Mrs. Howard marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in Birmingham.

Since Ron and Cheryl had to overcome many obstacles in their lives, they fully expected that their offspring attend college and attain degrees.  Chris, Ryan’s older brother, earned a bachelor’s degree in education, a master’s in sports administration and a law degree from the University of Kansas. Ryan’s older sister, Roni, works with juvenile delinquents in St. Louis, and Ryan’s twin brother, Corey, works for AT&T. 

When Ryan was not drafted out of high school, he decided to attend Southern Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) and was, believe it or not, a “walk-on” in baseball.  He attended the university from 1998-2001 and was a communications major, which served the amiable giant well. Ryan really didn’t excel until his junior season and soon earned a full scholarship.  Howard, always a bright student, then became a member of Phi Beta Sigma. 

The big guy, “cashing in” on his successful junior campaign, was drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round of the June, 2001 draft, receiving a modest $235,000 signing bonus. The Phillies immediately sent the youngster to the New York Pennsylvania League, class A, Batavia Muckdogs, where Ryan began his professional career. While he produced a .272 mark, with 6 home runs and 35 RBIs in 48 games, it certainly didn’t herald the start of a superstar’s career. 

In 2002, the Phillies moved Ryan to the slightly tougher class A South Atlantic League Lakewood BlueClaws, where he batted .280, with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs. In 2003, however, Ryan began his assault on minor league pitching.

Promoted to the Clearwater Threshers in the Florida State League, Howard pounded out a .304, 23 home run, 82 RBI campaign, earning the league’s MVP award and the prestigious Paul Owen award, as the Phillies top organizational minor leaguer. 

Despite Ryan’s success in the farm system, his path to the majors was blocked by slugger, Jim Thome. Realizing this, in 2004, Ryan’s agent, Larry Reynolds, brother of Harold, requested that his client be traded since both Howard and Thome played first base exclusively. However, the Phillies fully aware that Howard possessed enormous potential, wisely held on to their young phenom.

Howard, now promoted to double A Reading, really commenced his attack against minor league pitching. By the end of June, Ryan had pounded out 37 home runs and 102 RBIs!  So, the Phillies moved him up to triple A Scranton where Howard slammed 9 more home runs in a mere 20 games!  When the roster expanded on September 1, the big man made his major league debut.

When Howard started the 2005 season back at Scranton, he showed that he no longer belonged in the minors by batting .441 in the first 11 games. Still, until Thome injured his elbow later in the season, Howard languished in the minors. 

On July 1, with Thome placed on the disabled list, Ryan finally got a full opportunity to show what he could accomplish against major league pitching. In a mere 88 games, Ryan batted .288 with 22 home runs and 63 RBIs in only 312 at bats. Howard became the fourth Philadelphia Phillie in history to win the Rookie of the Year Award. 

The Phillies now knew that big Ryan was here to stay, so before the 2006 season commenced, Jim Thome was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with $22 million in cash for Aaron Rowand, Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood.

In 2006, Ryan Howard had an incredible year, earning the NL MVP Award. On April 23, the “Big Piece” became the first player to hit a home run onto “Ashburn Alley”, an astounding 496 foot blast.  On June 20, Ryan became the first player to smash a ball into the third deck at Citizens Bank Park. The home run was hit off of Mike Mussina, and the Phillies commemorated the shot by painting the seat it struck. 

Howard was named to his first All-Star Game in ’06, as a reserve on the player ballot, and played the game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Ryan also participated in the Century 21 Home Run Derby and won the home-run hitting contest with a total of 23, defeating David Wright of the New York Mets in the final round.

On Aug. 29, Howard hit his 48th home run, to tie Mike Schmidt for the Phillies season record. On Aug. 31, Ryan blasted his 49th home run into the upper deck at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. to set the new club record. On Sept. 3, Howard went 4-4 with three home runs, becoming the first Phillie ever to hit 50 home runs and only the 24th player in history to do so. 

Ryan wound up with 58 home runs in 2006, only the eighth player in history to reach that total.  The feat also erased Hall of fame great Ralph Kiner’s sophomore record for home runs in a season. On Nov. 20, Ryan was announced as the NL’s MVP. This marked only the second time in baseball history that a player had achieved the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in successive seasons, the other being Cal Ripken Jr. 

On June 27, 2007, Ryan blasted an incredible 505 foot home run and became the fastest player in major league history to reach 100 home runs, achieving the feat in 325 games, an incredible 60 games fewer than the previous record holder, Kiner, in 1946-1948. Ryan was also the fastest to 200 home runs, accomplishing the feat on July 16, 2009, in only 658 games. The prior mark was also set by Kiner, who did it in 706 games. On Sept. 18, 2010, Ryan blasted his 30th home run of the season, becoming the first Phillies player to ever hit 30 home runs and knock in 100 runs in five consecutive seasons.   

Currently signed through 2016, Phillies fans can look forward to many more record-setting feats in the future. Just like the one he tied during 2009 post-season, when Ryan produced RBIs in eight consecutive games, tying a mark set by Gehrig. That year, Ryan also was named the MVP of the NLCS.  Here’s hoping for good health for our affable slugger.  After all, that is all he’ll need to continue to produce for the fans of Citizens Bank Park.

(Editor’s Note: Phils’ reliever Jose Contreras made his first post-injury rehab appearance for AA-affiliate Reading on Saturday night, getting out of a bases-loaded jam to pitch a scoreless 7th inning against the Richmond Flying Squirrels at FirstEnergy Stadium. Contreras walked the first batter, then allowed two singles, the second being an attempted sacrifice bunt botched by Contreras and catcher Tuffy Gosewich. Contreras then struck out the next better, got the next to ground softly to first for a force at the plate and got the third out on a broken-bat pop out to center field.)