“A lot of it was kind of mental. I told myself this winter, I'm not even going to stress it or worry about it. I know it's in there. I just have to let the inner me come out at the plate and be relaxed. I have to trust myself, trust my ability, and let it fly. It's a combination of listening to the noise and trying to please people. People say, 'Oh, he can't hit lefties.' I have to show them I can hit lefties. Obviously, to get to the big leagues you have to hit lefties and righties. It's putting all that stuff aside and just trusting my abilities. I know I can hit lefties. It's just a matter of being relaxed.”
Um, sorry to burst your $125M bubble, but no you can't.
Evidence:
Year - AVG/OPS
2004 - .111/.222 (9 plate appearances)
2005 - .148/.421 (63 plate appearances)
2006 - .279/.923
2007 - .225/.826
2008 - .224/.746
2009 - .207/.653
2010 - .264/.826
2011 - .224/.634
2012 - .173/.604
Career - .227/.739
Aside from 2006, when pitchers still didn't know how to approach him, and 2010, he's been a poor hitter against lefties. At age 33, with deteriorating skills, I do not foresee much of a boost coming to his performance against them in 2013. But it's his lie, he can tell it how he wants.
21 comments:
The Ryan Howard contract is the worst contract in the history of baseball that was for 5 years or less.
That's a ridiculous statement.
Saying Howard's contract is the worst is a hyperbole, but it pretty fricken bad.
Something cute I ran across messing around on BP. Swing Rate, as in swings divided by total pitches seen, has Delmon Young as the example for the "Very Many" marker for the statistic.
Without Ryan no golden age of Phillies.
"Ryan Howard became the second-fastest player in Major League history to reach 300 home runs on Saturday, accomplishing the feat in just six more games than Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner."
You are just jealous he married a Eagles Cheerleader. I am too.
He has earned every penny so far.
Without him no NL East Titles.
Howard's 276 homers and 850 RBIs since the start of the 2006 season are the most in the Major Leagues.
Read that. Say it outloud 4 times.
You are barking up the wrong tree of unhappyness.
Howard earned his pay check for most of his career, not not even remotely close last year. His contract sucks. I am not complaining about his earlier years when he was fairly compensated like all other young star players. I am bitching about the retarded money he is making now but not putting up the performance that warrants UT.
Howard was arguably the second best position player on the team for a few years, but he was never worth $25 million for any one season outside of 2006.
Count how much he has earned so far vs. what he should have earned.
He still has a slight balance.
In the future he may not earn the contract.
Howard's 276 homers and 850 RBIs since the start of the 2006 season are the most in the Major Leagues.
So far he as a balance. Go look it up.
No posts about lost Utley or Burrell millions as of yet.
Howards contract was identified as one of the worst recently, but not the worst. ARod's was the worst.
I don't think there is anyone who should be paid $25 mil a year, it just means higher ticket prices. My job is more important than his but he gets paid 384 times more than I do.
2005 - 1 year/$0.355M
I think to the team he was worth -
5 million.
Rookie of the Year! #1 in Voting
22 HRs - 63 RBIs in 312 ABs - OPS 133
2006 - 1 year/$0.355M
I think to the team he was worth -
15 Million.
MVP #1 in Voting
58 HRs - 149 RBIs - 383 TBs - OPS 167
All 4 above Top In the League
2007 - 1 year/$0.9M -
I think to the team he was worth -
15 Million.
MVP #5 in Voting
47 HRs - 136 RBIs - OPS 144
2008 - 1 year/$10M -
I think to the team he was worth -
20 Million.
MVP #2 in Voting - World Series
48 HRs #1 - 146 RBIs #1 - OPS 125
Paid 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 - $11.61M
Worth 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 - $55M
Underpaid $43.4 Million
You can have another figure, but during this period only Chuck Klein
was anywhere close.
Oh! how soon you forget the glory days of these summers.
SirAlden- it doesn't matter how much he was "worth" in his first couple seasons, because all young players get paid peanuts at that stage, no matter their skill level.
He made record setting money during his seasons of arbitration. That is easily fair compensation.
I love those 276 homeruns and 850 RBI that you keep harping about, but it does not mean shit during his current contract. That was what he did, meaning past paychecks. What he does now is what matter, his current salary.
The Howard arguement is valid on both sides. You can love him or hate him. It is my opinion that he hasn't lived up to his full potentional. His work ethic is suspect and he has not adjusted to how pitchers pitch him. He doesn't lay off the junk and most of his homers come off of weak pitchers. He capitalizes on bad pitchers making bad pitches. I just wish from day one this year he would establish a strike zone and force the good pitchers to challenge him. A smart pitcher will never give him anything to hit. Why would they when they know he will chase. He could have been one of the best ever.
Whatever he is paid, I am rooting for him.
There is no reason that his upside is hitting 280+ 40+ Hrs 100+ RBIs and being in the MVP talk again.
Just because he is in his low 30's doesn't mean he cant do it
I predict 100+ rbi but nowhere near that batting average and likely not that many homeruns either.
We all know how Howard-skeptic I am, but frankly I will be impressed if he bats .240 this season. I do think he will hit lots of home runs and RBIs. Essentially, I think best case scenario for Howard is the equivalent of a good season from Adam Dunn, and worst case is... well, a bad season from Adam Dunn.
Try as you might, but you won't burst his $125M bubble.
Where is all the Utley hate? I am pretty sure he hasn't earned his paycheck in at least two years ad well. It is just a shame that Ryan didn't turn down that contract when it was offered two years before the Phils had to do anything like I am sure all the detractors would have.
When Utley plays, he still is immensely talented. His production has gone down as well, but his defense, base running, and offense are all above average. He's a complete player.
Howard is 1 dimensional- power.
There's more to the game that just homeruns. They are great and Howard is great at hitting them. His contract is fucking atrocious though.
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