I love Ryan Howard. He’s the modern day big-bopper, but I am a concerned.
I was watching the Phillies games last night and witnessed Howard’s mammoth 505-foot, record-breaking homerun [Howard became the fasted player in Major League history to hit 100 homeruns] in the fifth inning, I was psyched. I was really pumped up. But after a pathetic loss to the Cincinnati Reds, I started to wonder what kind of player Howard’s becoming?
I remember watching the Phillies last year and I witnessed the dominance of their new slugging first baseman. Howard hit the ball to all fields; left, center, right, and 58 times the field couldn’t handle Howard’s brute force. He also hit for average last season; batting a very respectable .313.
This season, it’s a different story.
I know Howard has been dealing with injuries all season long, but after watching the Reds the past couple of nights, I started to wonder if Howard is the Phillies version of Adam Dunn? Dunn is notorious for being an all-or-nothing hitter. Dunn doesn’t spread the ball around the field and is always looking for the knockout punch. Howard is becoming the same kind of player.
Both Howard and Dunn have tremendous power, big physiques, and can unload a massive shot out of the park at any moment. But is that it? Is that all Howard has become?
Howard is currently batting .256, with 18 homeruns, 56 RBI’s and 79 strikeouts. The 79 strikeouts are worrisome to me and at this pace he may eclipse 200 for the season.
Dunn is currently batting .271, with 22 homeruns and 52 RBI’s and 98 strikeouts. Dunn has played in 17 more games than Howard this season.
I’ve been looking at the box scores the last two nights and hitting a homerun is great, but I’d like my superstar player to do more than that. In this current series against the Reds, Howard is 2-for-9, with two homeruns, five RBI’s, and seven strikeouts. Is a seeing-eye-single too much to ask for?
Howard has played in 59 of the 77 games this season and in 24 of those games, he’s posted two strikeouts or more.
I am concerned… very concerned.
