Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard
Ryan Howard
	Howard with the Phillies
	First baseman
	Born: November 19, 1979 (age 45); St. Louis, Missouri
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
	September 1, 2004, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
	October 2, 2016, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average	.258
Home runs	382
Runs batted in	1,194
Teams
	Philadelphia Phillies (2004–2016);
Career highlights and awards
	3× All-Star (2006, 2009, 2010); World Series champion (2008); NL MVP (2006); NL Rookie of the Year (2005); NLCS MVP (Template:Nlcsy); Silver Slugger Award (2006); NL Hank Aaron Award (2006); 2× MLB home run leader (2006, 2008); 3× MLB RBI leader (2006, 2008, 2009);

Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "The Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from 2004 to 2016. He is known for being the fastest player in baseball history to reach 1,000 RBIs, 100 home runs, and 200 home runs. Howard also holds numerous Phillies franchise records.

Ryan Howard with the Philadelphia Phillies

Howard made his MLB debut in 2004. He won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 and the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 2006. Howard was a three-time NL All-Star (2006, 2009, 2010), and won the Silver Slugger Award, Hank Aaron Award, and the NL Championship Series MVP Award in 2009. Known for his power, Howard is a member of the 50 home run club. He was a two-time NL home run champion (2006, 2008), and became the fastest player to reach both the 100 and 200 home run milestones in MLB history, passing the marks in 2007 and 2009, respectively. He is also tied with Sammy Sosa for the most National League 140 RBI seasons at 3 and the most National League 130 RBI seasons at 4.

Ryan Howard Media

An example of Howard's signature stance before taking a pitch.
Howard swinging at a pitch
Barack Obama talks with Howard and Prince Fielder (left), before the start of the MLB All-Star Game.
Howard injured his ankle on August 1, 2010.
Howard at bat during a Phillies game
Howard holding Cardinals outfielder Stephen Piscotty in 2016