IT IS OUDAAA HEREE!

"IT IS OUDDAAA HEREEE, RYAN HOWARD!" Harry K.

It is a call that we have heard over a hundred of times but on the night that we need to hear it most, it wasn’t there. Last night Ryan Howard made MLB history by slamming his 200th homerun in record time. As many of us tried our best Harry K impersonation as the ball sailed out of Landshark Stadium in Miami it wasn’t the same. It is the first big moment for the Phillies with a different voice.

No matter who made the call the undisputable fact is that Ryan Howard now stands alone as the fastest player to ever hit 200 homeruns. He cruised past Ralph Kiner’s 70 year old record by 48 games. Ryan Howard is known for his power as he is on track for 48 homeruns and 150 rbi’s.
Since he came into the league he has been amongst the league’s elite. He has won a silver slugger award, NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, 2 NL East titles, an NL Pennant and not to mention a World Championship. He has the potential of being one of the best Phillies in franchise history. It is true a strong start doesn’t translate into a hall of fame career but it can’t hurt. Howard belittled ARod’s start and they think he’ll be the homerun champ, so where’s the love for Howard?

He is about to turn 30 and unfortunately came up to the majors late by the Phillies who wanted to make sure he was ready to go. One of the biggest knocks against Howard is his fielding and strikeout numbers. Both of these problems are what Howard had dedicated his offseason to fixing. He isn’t going to break any more strikeout records and he is nimble as a big cat at the cool corner now that he dropped a lot of weight in the offseason.

Howard may or may not find himself immortalized in Cooperstown but he does get the satisfaction of being faster than any homerun hitter already there. He probably will end up with 500+ homeruns and hopefully a few more championships. It was a night that the Phillies got to honor one of their even though another great wasn’t there to see it.