He hit 58 HR's, hit for a .313 Avg, 150 RBI, .425 OBP, and pretty much carried the Phillies offense which was one of the best in baseball as a result. All this in only his second season...

He hit 100 and 200 HR's faster than any player in MLB history.

He was only the third player in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year one season, and then league MVP in his following Sophomore season (consecutive seasons). Joining Cal Ripken Jr.



At the end of the day we know his contract extension was one he never fulfilled performance wise after his achilles tear back in 2009, but this dude was an anchor when it came to the World Series in 2008. He was the anchor during the Phillies 5 year stretch of dominance, where they had the best record in baseball for consecutive seasons, made the World Series in back-to-back seasons. And most importantly, he was someone that had a great reputation in the locker room and despite all the pressure on him because of his salary he never lashed out to the media or threw people under the bus.


Him being pulled in the middle of an inning to get him one last hoorah was pretty awesome, it's hard to believe but this guy has been manning first base for the Phillies for the last 12 or 13 years. I was 15/16 years old in high school.

This post was edited by Sixers on Oct 2 2016 10:55pm

one of my favorite pictures of all time

Fuck off Benny, dick lol

on the real tho sad to see him go. those late aughts phillies teams were the real deal

Yeah he is ballz now, but it's good to see everyone show him the respect he deserves. Holding down the position for over a decade and doing everything he did in his career was pretty special, even if he hasn't lived up to his contract in recent years.

He's the last piece to that team, Utley, Ruiz, Rollins, Hamels etc, all gone. Howard was the last one, so it's saying goodbye to one of the greatest eras in team history. Time to start fresh and build another.


So hard to believe he has been around so long, I mean I was in high school reading the news paper (yes before cell phones were that big with the internet) reading about the Phillies every day in the library before they made that World Series run. So hard to believe it has been like 12 years...

This post was edited by Sixers on Oct 2 2016 11:13pm

Thanks ryan for the memories too bad these last few years have been a little rough
Achillies really derailed his career imo never completely bounced back

Will still be weird not seeing him at first or on the bech for that matter, hope someone gives him a shot to continue playing

I think he'll definitely play elsewhere, but it'll be for pennies compared to before lol. I'd really like to just see him retire as it is now, but I'm pretty sure he wants to keep playing. Hate seeing guys that were once great tarnish their career legacy by stretching it out way beyond when they should...

If he goes elsewhere he'll be used off the bench for sure, DH, PH, whatever. Against righties only since he literally can't hit lefties for shit (well he can't hit righties very well these days either).

Who knows, maybe a change of scenery will get him hitting .250+ against righties like he was last year.