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In three summer months, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went from a guy whose level of fame was relegated to those dedicated to following minor-league baseball, to Major League Baseball’s Next Big Bopper.
His performance in the months of July, August and September was earth-shaking -- 21 home runs, 62 RBIs, a .296 average and a .585 slugging percentage. It was enough to earn him the National League Rookie of the Year award and make him the star of an offseason banquet tour that started in his hometown of St. Louis last week and will have him on the dais for three other events prior to the start of spring training next month.
This week, Howard will travel around the area as part of the organization’s Winter Tour, the biggest stop coming at the Granite Run Mall for the "Meet The Phillies" telecast, where Howard undoubtedly will top the list of Phillies that fans will want to meet.
"It’s been a busy offseason," said Howard, who was at Citizens Bank Park for a media event yesterday afternoon. "It’s been crazy and hectic, but that’s OK."
In three months Howard went from a prospect who got very light regard on the trade market, to a player who proved himself so emphatically at the big-league level that the Phillies didn’t hesitate to deal a potential Hall-of-Famer in Jim Thome to the White Sox and pay more than half of his remaining freight.
To some it might seem that the Phillies have put too much stock in those three months of Howardmania. What the Phillies see is a player who repeatedly has been underestimated and made those who expressed skepticism reverse their field.
Once upon a time hype was a precious element, something that rarely was handed out and done so in measured doses. Those days are over. Hype has become the cubic zircona of sports. ESPN nationally broadcasts high-school basketball games and fawns over the players as stars. Eleven-year-old AAU players are ranked and measured against the greats. You can buy hype in bulk these days.
Then you have Howard, who can be considered the anti-hype hero. He was a brawny, baseball-basher in high school, yet he landed at Southwest Missouri State as a non-scholarship athlete. As a true freshman in 1999 he racked up enough homers and RBIs to place him on the SMS’ single-season top 10 list in both categories, but after less impressive performances as a sophomore and junior he slid into the fifth round of the 2001 draft, where the Phillies quietly selected him.
Immediately, Howard showed impressive power in the minors, but his successes were often attributed to his being one of the older players in the Class A leagues in which he played in 2002 and 2003. A year ago Howard was coming off a monstrous performance in the minors, where he hit 46 homers between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. Yet the questions that flooded him seemed to focus elsewhere: Can you and Thome co-exist in the same organization? Do you want to be traded? Can you play the outfield? What about your gaudy strikeout totals?
Heading into 2006, there are more questions. Will he avoid the sophomore slump that has caused many power hitters to sag, one of those examples being Pat Burrell? Can he improve his numbers against left-handed pitchers (9-for-61 with one HR in 2005), who will be trotted out to challenge him at every opportunity?
Charlie Manuel chuckles when asked if he has any of those concerns.
"I think if Ryan Howard keeps the same demeanor and the same work habits, he’ll be fine," Manuel said. "He’ll have his 0-for-10 slumps, but he just needs to be Ryan Howard and stay that way. He’s improved every year I’ve seen him, and he wants it. He wants to be in there when the game is on the line."
"You play so many games, (slumps) are going to happen," Howard said. "That’s why they call them slumps. Hopefully I won’t go into them for 162 games.
"As for (left-handed pitchers), it’s just a matter of seeing them. I have adjustments to make.
"I try to make (pressure situations) fun. I like to make it a challenge instead of worrying about it."
However, he does admit that it is nice to have one question die out.
"I’m glad I don’t have to answer any more question about trades," Howard said. "That’s something I won’t miss."
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The Phillies are in a holding pattern in their talks with the Indians. The Phillies are expected to deal outfielder Jason Michaels to the Indians for aging reliever Arthur Rhodes after attempts to pry younger and more talented right-hander Rafael Betancourt failed. The delay in the trade is due to some last-minute haggling between the Indians and Red Sox, who are trying to finalize a deal that would send outfielder Coco Crisp to Boston and reliever Guillermo Mota to Cleveland.
If the Phillies acquire Rhodes, he will become their top option for a set-up reliever to closer Tom Gordon. Rhodes, 36, went 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 47 games last season, but he also missed two months due to a combination of a strained back and personal matters. Rhodes was one of the best set-up relievers in baseball from 2000-02 while with the Mariners, but his performance declined sharply in 2003 and 2004 before improving during his limited action last season.
