Comments on: 100 Greatest Phillies: 25 – Ryan Howard

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:57:05 +0000

Uhh Jim, the “Baby Ruth” was not named after Babe Ruth…. it was named after “Ruth” which was some president’s daughter.

By: CJ

CJ — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:40:11 +0000

Howard is easily the top 10 greatest. I strongly believe hes still hasnt hit his greatest season yet so keep watch of him i see him cutting down on Strikeouts and Hitting atleast 60+ Homers

By: Phan in TN

Phan in TN — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:54:32 +0000

I would never Dairy Queen Von Hayes from the list because he decided to come back.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:41:37 +0000

I still don’t know why you’re against giving players with so-called “incomplete” records time on the list, Bruce.

Think about these scenarios:
- God forbid, a current player is injured or dies, or just simply retires before 2009.

So then the player’s record is suddenly “complete”?

- Von Hayes decides to make a comeback for the Phillies in 2009.

Are we going to automatically DQ him from the list because he decided to come back?

The list chronicles players from 1883-2008. I wouldn’t have done this list during the season, but by doing it in the offseason, it allows for a closed date. As of right now, I’m saying Howard is the 25th greatest Phillie. I do not in any way consider potential in my rankings. Why should I? Like I wrote before, what if he decides to retire right now? He is then entrenched solidly between Maddox and whomever comes after him.

I don’t think adding current players complicates anything. Nor does it make my job any more subjective. I’m basing Howard’s ranking on his performance from 2004-2008. Just as I’m rating Mike Schmidt on his performance from 1972-1989. And so on.

By: Roose13

Roose13 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:37:49 +0000

I would have put him higher but to each his own I suppose.

By: ryan

ryan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:08:52 +0000

this is an appropriate spot for R-HO. whew. god i love that big guy.

By: Bottom of the first 3.3.2009 | Red Phever

Bottom of the first 3.3.2009 | Red Phever — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:33:12 +0000

[...] Phillies blog names Howard one of the greatest Phils players. [PhilliesNation.com] [...]

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:37:24 +0000

I have questioned in the past when Tim started to do his countdown of his “greatest–” list about the inclusion of current players from the 2008-9 team. The repeated complaints from more than one posters such as ” ..have not played with the phils long enough ” to get a true picture of a current player’s potential greatness will continue to persist. Ranking current players with short “sevice time” requires even greater SUBJECTIVE thinking on Tim’s part. Consequently, his rankings will and have invited “debates” and at times compelled Tim to defend his choices. I have already expressed my appreciation for Tim’s time and effort with research and enlightened us with information on selected players of generations past. However, as stated, to include and select current players with INCOMPLETE record complicates the listing and as a few commented, penalized those players having potential greatness with a LOWER ranking.

However, as Tim said, the list is a “fun” feature for the purpose of entertainment and enlightenment and that matters more than rankings for his blog. Keep up the good work.

By: Chris.I

Chris.I — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:29:14 +0000

Dude how the fuk is Howard 25 on a 100 list? He would definitly be top 12-If not top 10. Your doing this based on what? Stats? LoL. No seriously, all due respect your information is highly incorrect. I’m not even a Howard fan, and anyone can agrue this until there blue in the face, and I’ll still tell you your wrong.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:58:21 +0000

Just a note: I had Demeter on my short list outside the top 100. In retrospect he was a heck of a power hitter, and I wouldn’t have been against making room for him in the rankings.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:26:23 +0000

i beg to differ christopher.

i think a lot of the guys, especially on the 2008 team, have not played with the phils long enough. are you saying that shane victorino is better than chuck klein or richie ashburn? are you saying that brett myers is better than jim bunning?

this is not the top 100 phillies teams, its the top 100 players.

ALSO, history is often more kind of a to a player than present day. we remember the mishaps with rollins, we remember the arbitration issues with howard. its really hard to judge a player who has not completed his career really high up.

consider this: for howard to only play 3 full seasons, ,and already be named the 25th best player for a franchise that has been around for over 100 years with over 10,000 players ( and yes, 10000 losses) is a huge honor.

By: christopher

christopher — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:21:30 +0000

so we’re going to end up with what- two players, MAYBE, from the 08 team in the top 10? tim i’m not trying to attack you but that’s just silly. the top 10 should be predominantly players from the 80 and 08 teams. the value of winning a world series simply can not be overstated.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:18:06 +0000

ryan howard will never hit .300 again, his swing is way to slow for that and pitchers have figured out how to hit him. something higher than .250 is reasonable of course. he should be able to hit 270-275

By: James Kay

James Kay — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:31:00 +0000

BurrGundy, I obviously misinterpreted your Stocker thread comment. Thanks for the positive clarifications on these guys. Big Cool Wes.

By: BurrGundy

BurrGundy — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:18:26 +0000

Memo to James Kay — I have a bat, photo and ball autographed by Wes “The Kingfish” Covington. He is one of my all-time favorites and I loved his batting stance — yet to be emulated. Don Demeter was traded for Jim Bunning as was a minister. Pete Incavilia(sp) lived in my apartment house and is a great guy, and would have been an outstanding middle linebacker. I am glad someone besides me remembers them.

By: James Kay

James Kay — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:59:24 +0000

More .300 averages along with the homers and RBI’s and he will transcend all criticism. He even occasionally flashes some impressive leather in the field when he is focused. This guy has eventual top ten potential. With some refined arrogance added to his demeanor, maybe even number 1.
Also, Don Demeter, who was disparagingly referenced in the Stocker thread, was once described by Gene Mauch as a reliable power hitter who had steel springs in his wrists. Don was a very solid player who was very popular with the fans. I believe he was also involved in the trade with the Tigers that brought Jim Bunning to the Phillies.

By: BurrGundy

BurrGundy — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:55:06 +0000

Just one fan’s prediction — We have not seen the best of Ryan Howard. I predict he will have a Hall-of-Fame career and will someday hit over 60 home runs. Yes, I am optimistic, but this guy is special and all he has to do is cut down his strikeouts by 20 % and stay healthy.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:02:21 +0000

Tim, I wasn’t complaining about his placement, I just pointed out that his stats were actually over 3 1/2 years instead of 5. That would, of course, yield much higher averages. You are correct that he has become on-dimensional lately, but let’s hope that changes again this year. If not, and if he only his .250 and has 200 K’s, I can live with it if his other numbers are there. As Ryan said on Baseball Tonight yesterday, I’ll take 50 HR’s with 150 RBI’s any day even if the strikeouts are high…

By: Adam Eaton (24th greatest Phillie)

Adam Eaton (24th greatest Phillie) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:10:09 +0000

I was so lucky to get in a picture with Howard while I was still on the Phillies.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6484/photos;_ylt=AoeMQ2SpQQKIFsUQFq56CQCFCLcF?slug=54da3af668b34dcbb89bfcb7b647eba4.phillies_mr_perfect_baseball_flgp107

By: Manny

Manny — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:07:18 +0000

I thought his mammoth numbers would have him in the top 15 at least, but oh well… and I agree with Jim in that you can’t do averages when the guy didn’t play a full season until his 3rd year… His numbers ARE much more impressive than that 35/100 “stat.”