Phillies Finally Sign Slugger Ryan Howard
In what has been a bit of a puzzle to Phillies fans this offseason, the Philadelphia brass sure took their time in signing Ryan Howard to a longterm contract. Finally, they have hemmed up baseball’s premiere slugger and made sure to keep him in a Philly uniform for another three years. Howard was heading towards an arbitration hearing with the Phillies, and neither side wanted to go that route. Arbitration is often a bit nasty, and can lead to hard feelings after the fact.
The 2006 NL MVP agreed to a deal of 3 years for 54 million bucks plus incentives. Not a bad day at the ballpark for the slugger that many think is the best power hitter in baseball. The slugger has always contended that he wanted to remain a Phillie, and the leadership did not seem to be listening. The fact was, they disagreed over the amount of money that Howard was worth. They may have had a point.
Take last year for example. Howard led the majors in both home runs and RBIs with 48 and 146 and was a key part of the Phillies run to the world championship. Fantastic right? Not so fast. He also struck out just short of 200 times and batted a pitiful .251. He also was not very good on defense with 19 errors at first. Those are not the kinds of numbers that call for the elite contracts if I was a GM either. The home runs and RBIs are impressive to be sure, but the RBIs can be traced back to the excellent job his teammates did getting into scoring position. The defensive and batting average statistics are a concern with a man I am paying 54 million to.
Still, the uproar to sign Howard in Philly was huge, and rightfully so. He has been a huge source of power for the Phills, and will continue to do so for at least three more years. Regardless, the Phillies will have a good home run source in Howard, and the fan base should be happy with the signing. That is always an important part of signing your superstars. If you do not keep the players people will pay to see, then you are risking your team becoming stale and boring. The Phillies are far from that and Howard is a big reason why.
Howard was the last real problem signing that the Phillies had left. They are now ready to defend their crown when the season begins anew.
