That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

Phillies: Top five moments of Ryan Howard’s career

By Kerry Kauffman

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 02: Ryan Howard
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 02: Ryan Howard /
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WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 3: Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies fields a ground ball during a game against the Washington Nationals on September 3, 2005, at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. The Nationals defeated the Phillies 5-4. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

No. 4: Rookie of the Year

Howard hit two home runs in a late-season cup of coffee with the Phillies in 2004. With Jim Thome coming off back-to-back 40-plus home run seasons, Howard did not appear in a game for the Phillies in April of 2005 and hit only .217 with one home run in 30 at-bats in games from May 3rd through the 17th.

After Thome went down with an elbow injury, Ryan Howard took over at first base on July 2nd. He only went deep once in his first eight games as the starter but hit four homers over his next eight games. Howard produced a nine-game hitting streak the end of July to the beginning of August, raising his average to .280.

Howard was inconsistent with his power in August, failing to reach the seats for nearly two weeks; however, he continued to get hits. All told, Howard went deep five times in August and raised his average to .286.

After hitting 11 home runs through August, Howard went on a tear in September, launching himself as Rookie of the Year favorite. He hit 11 home runs in September and finished the season with 22 home runs and 63 RBI in only 88 games.

Howard earned 19 first-place votes to win the Rookie of the Year over Willy Taveras and Jeff Francoeur. Howard joined Jack Sanford (1957), Dick Allen (1964) and Scott Rolen (1997) as the only players in Phillies history to win the honor.

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