Howard, Phillies agree to 3-year, $54M deal

2009-02-10T08:23:07-05:00

2009-02-08T12:55:43-05:00

2009-02-10T08:23:07-05:00

amazinz5

Marlton 699788

28 petediddy how can you expect him to improve when he's already in decline....each of the last 2 years he saw a 20 point drop in ops+. if he keeps up this pace he'll be average next year. 4281932

2009-02-09T16:54:38-05:00

gotwestbrook?

Newark 430215

27 Yes, Chase > Ryan in terms of being an all-around player. So what? In every sport, on every team, there are players that are better, more complete than others, and yet are paid less than some of their counterparts. No one put a gun to Utley's head when he signed his extension and its likely the Phillies ultimately would have paid more than 54 million to Howard had they continued to go to arbitration for the next three years. 4275127

2009-02-09T16:35:48-05:00

Braves Fan 79

Knoxville 8763

26 Howard will have made $65.25 million by the time he becomes a free agent. He already has 177 homers and hit 153 in the last three seasons. If he hits that many in the next three seasons he will have 330 homers. The only negative about Howard are his drops in percentage numbers in the last three seasons hitting .313, .268 and .251. His OBP has dropped from .425 to .392 to .339 and his slugging percentage has tumbled from .659 to .584 to .543. Despite a slow start last season he still hit 48 homers and drove in 146 runs. If he hits from start to finish their is no limit to what he can do. 4274777

2009-02-09T15:42:20-05:00

Parx

Ithaca 698534

25 You can say all you want about how many HRs and RBI he has but the bottom line is that there are a lot of players making less that contribute a lot more toward Ws. An example on the Phillies is Chase Utley. He gets on base consistently, can run, field, hit with power, doesn't strike out 200 times a season and doesn't have to rely on good hitters in front of him just to amass the single stat that his fans continually point to in order to justify the money he gets while simultaneously ignoring all the negatives. Giving him that kind of money while a guy like Utley barely makes over 12M a year is completely asinine. Then again, what would you expect from Philadelphia? Please, by all means, continue to make personnel decisions like this. 4273787

2009-02-09T15:40:53-05:00

gotwestbrook?

Newark 430215

24 "sure he hits ton of homers in the little league park the phillies call home" Too bad he hits roughly half his homers, give or take a handful either way, on the road. And the majority of Howard's HRs at home aren't cheap. 4273710

2009-02-09T12:50:10-05:00

diddy21

Leawood 436066

23 i played baseball at the same high school as howard, and he was a bada$$ then as he his now; im still a cardinal fan, but i do cheer for him, so watching the phils win this year was pretty sweet. manny may be a better pure hitter, but i can say this, i would take a howard over a manny any day of the week, because of the lack of drama he would bring to a team. and bsr138, past his prime? he's a constant runner up in MVP inlcuding winning it in 06(although I don't think he deserved as much support as he should), but i will take his numbers, a push into the playoffs, and a world series any day of the week; he only gets better year in and year out. 4270524

2009-02-09T12:47:27-05:00

petediddy

hatboro 113693

22 Why wouldn't we resign Howard? He produces more than Manny without the distractions and even with the strikeouts. Image when this guy cuts down his K's and bats .280, we're talking 55 homers and 160 rbi's. He was close to those numbers this year, was a runner up for MVP and this was an OFF YEAR, all you outsiders talking when your best player has put together a career like Howards then talk about who deserves 18 million. 4270492

2009-02-09T12:16:25-05:00

Hafe

Havertown 151727

21 AROD is a cheater. AROD is a cheater. Avg 18 million a year for three years is fine. He would have gotten 18 this year in arbitration and more the next 2 years. That's why "locking him up" makes sense. B/c the Phils are saving money in the next three. Your a dope bsr138. But that's to be expected. Root for the Latin Kings or AROID. Enjoy! 4269876

2009-02-09T11:54:02-05:00

dochodge1

Baltimore 39573

20 I think it's really funny how you say Howard who is 29 is past him prime I guess that's why you root for the choke artists Mets or let's buy a championship Yankees!!! By the way how's that working out for ya 4269355

2009-02-09T11:50:11-05:00

sunnysd

No City 698085

19 Past his prime years? He was runner-up for MVP last year and carried the Phils in September. He led the majors in home runs and RBIs. Sure, he strikes out a lot and is not a good fielder, but he is one of the rare few who can carry a club to the playoffs. What is that in the rearview mirror? Oh, it's the mets. 4269252

Star first baseman Ryan Howard has agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract extension with the Phillies, avoiding salary arbitration for the next three seasons, the team announced Sunday. Howard had submitted a figure of $18 million while the Phillies submitted $14 million. The deal is a boon to the team that needed to avoid conflict with its premier player. Howard will receive $15 million in 2009, $19 Million in 2010 and $20 million in 2011 as stipulated in the contract, obtained by SI.com. His salary will increase by $1 million in 2010 and 2011 for each MVP award (and $500,000 for second-place finishes). He is to receive $1 million each time he is traded after Nov. 1, 2010. Last spring, Howard won $10 million at the arbitration table, a record award for an arbitration-eligible player. "I'm happy to have this done and to know that I'll be in Philadelphia for at least another three years," Howard said in a statement. Howard, the 2006 National League Most Valuable Player, led the majors with 48 homers and 146 RBIs last season while helping the Phillies win their first World Series title since 1980. He batted just .251, struck out 199 times and made 19 errors at first base, but also was runner-up to Albert Pujols for MVP. "We're pleased to have gotten this behind us," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said during a news conference at Citizens Bank Park. "I think it's important for the players to worry about playing baseball. To get them ready to defend our title." Howard, who was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2005, has hit 153 home runs with 431 RBIs over the past three seasons, both tops in the majors. The Phillies slugger, 29, will be eligible for free agency after the 2011 season. http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/100/64/thumb/Heyman_Jon.png 0 NY

Jon Heyman

New York 10084 48361 Star first baseman Ryan Howard has agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract extension with the Phillies, avoiding salary arbitration for the next three seasons, the team announced Sunday. Howard had submitted a figure of $18 million while the Phillies submitted $14 million. The deal is a boon to the team that needed to avoid conflict with its premier player. Howard will receive $15 million in 2009, $19 Million in 2010 and $20 million in 2011 as stipulated in the contract, obtained by SI.com. His salary will increase by $1 million in 2010 and 2011 for each MVP award (and $500,000 for second-place finishes). He is to receive $1 million each time he is traded after Nov. 1, 2010.