After the Big Piece hit his 300th career homerun on Saturday against the Braves, I felt the need to finally defend Ryan Howard. I, along with every over Phils phan, have openly criticized Howard throughout his career. We are Philly phans, we do it to every player. (Even Roy Halladay is getting crap lately...which I thought I would never see.) Whether it's striking out too much or throwing the ball into left field, Howard never receives any sympathy from us. Even after recovering from a torn Achilles, he is the subject of obnoxious criticism every single day. Howard is hitting a mere .225 this year. In 63 games, he has already struck out 93 times. Those stats are terrible. They really are. But, check out these numbers: In 249 AB's, Howard has 14 HR's and 55 RBI's. In a full length season, (usually 150 games for Ryan), those numbers would be 30+ HR's and 120+ RBI. Those stats are good. They really are. Who ever said that Howard would hit .300 every single year and only strike out 100 times? No one. That's not Howard's hitting style. I think everyone, including myself, needs to accept that Howard was never supposed to hit .300 consistently. Instead, realize all the runs in the past 6 years that have been produced by the Big Piece. It's huge. Look at these stats, and then tell me how bad Howard is:
Not to mention, Ryan Howard is active in the community. He has never said anything wrong about the phans. Other teams seem to respect him. The Big Piece is an overall good guy. It's okay to be frustrated with him when he strikes out, but never conclude that "Ryan Howard sucks." Because that is false.
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