Ryan Howard may be forced into retirement, even if it’s the last thing he wanted. His minor-league contract with the Atlanta Braves that he signed onto after a long career with the Philadelphia Phillies in an attempt to prove “there’s more in the tank” was terminated on Monday.
He only made it through 11 games at Triple-A Gwinnett before the Braves pulled the plug for the 37-year-old, hitting .184 with one home run and five RBIs. The Braves originally agreed to the terms in hope that Howard could be their designated hitter for interleague games, but seeing that he could only play first base and they already have Freddie Freeman for that, there was little reason for the team to keep the struggling slugger on the hook.
Following this decision, Atlanta made a deal with the Minnesota Twins for utility player Danny Santana; giving up Kevin Chapman and cash in return.
Howard was at one point considered a huge threat, being one of the best players in the league during his time with the Phillies. He put out one of the greatest stat lines in baseball history during his first season in 2006 with 58 home runs, 149 RBIs, a .313 average, and an MVP award. He would go on to help the Phillies win five straight NL East titles, which led to two World Series trips and one championship in 2008. During that time, Howard finished in the top ten candidates for MVP each season.
It was in 2011 that things started to take a bad turn for the star hitter. On the last play of the 2011 division series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Howard tore his Achilles tendon while trying to run out the play at first that would finalize the 1-0 loss for the Phillies and the end of their playoff run that year.
Howard hasn’t been the same since with injury after injury following the one in 2011 causing his performance to steadily decline over the last five years. In 2016, he hit 25 homers but batted a career-worst .196, which was what caused the Phillies to opt out of the $25 million extension for the 2017 season.
This did not mean the end of an exceptional career; at least not to Ryan Howard. He was honored during his last game with the Phillies but insisted that it was not the end for him as a player, even if that meant signing a minor-league deal.
“If you walk away, don’t walk away with something still left in the tank,” Howard said. “Then you’re wondering like, `Man, what could I have done?’ When I’m done playing, I want to leave it all out on the field.”
But after missing all of Spring Training before the Braves even called, which isn’t much of a surprise since most teams aren’t looking for a first baseman up there in age and batting a cumulative .226 batting average over the past five seasons, it may have been the best bet for Howard to just walk away because regardless of what he says, he doesn’t seem to have much left in his tank.
Featured Image via Flickr/KeithAllison
