Ryan Howard

52
Ryan Howard bigraphy, stories - American professional baseball player, first baseman

Ryan Howard : biography

November 19, 1979 –

Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979) is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed The Big Piece, Howard stands and weighs . He bats and throws left-handed.

Howard was the National League MVP. Howard is the fastest player to reach both the 100 and 200 home run milestones in Major League Baseball history, passing the marks in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

Due to Howard’s reputation as an extreme pull hitter, opposing managers often utilize an unusual infield shift with him at the plate, with the third baseman playing shortstop, the shortstop playing second base, and the second baseman playing in shallow right field.

Major league and franchise records

Record Total Season(s) Surpassing Date
Walks in a nine-inning game (NL) 5 2006}} tied, numerous others url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_07_30_flomlb_phimlb_1 |title=Florida v. Philadelphia, 2006-07-30 |publisher=Mlb.mlb.com |date=July 30, 2006 |accessdate=September 24, 2011}}
Home runs by a Phillies batter, single season 58 2006}} Mike Schmidt, 48 () 49th on August 31, 2006
Home runs in a sophomore season 58 2006}} Ralph Kiner, 51 () 52nd on September 3, 2006
Intentional walks to a Phillies batter 37 2006}} Jim Thome, 26 () 27th on September 13, 2006
Fewest games for 100 home runs 325 2004}}– 1946}}–) 100th on June 27, 2007
Home runs in first 1,000 career at-bats 85 2004}}– Cecil Fielder, 76 (–) 77th on September 24, 2007
Fewest games for 150 home runs 495 2004}}– 1952}}–) 150th on July 2, 2008
Strikeouts by a Phillies batter 199 2008}} 2007}}) 199th on September 27, 2008
Career grand slams by a Phillies batter 9 2004}}– 1972}}–) 8th on May 30, 2009
Fewest games for 200 home runs 658 2004}}– 1946}}–) 200th on July 16, 2009
At least one RBI in consecutive postseason games in the same year 7 2009}} Iván Rodríguez ()Bernie Williams () (6 all)Carlton Fisk () url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091018&content_id=7487412&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb | title=Howard’s RBI streak sets playoff mark | publisher=MLB.com | work=MLB.com | last=Bowman | first=Mark | date=October 19, 2009 | accessdate=October 20, 2009}}
At least one RBI in consecutive postseason games 8 2009}} tied, Lou Gehrig ( and ) url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4578588 | title=Howard ties Gehrig’s RBI streak | publisher=ESPN.com | agency=Associated Press | date=October 19, 2009 | accessdate=October 20, 2009}}
Most strikeouts in a World Series 13 2009}} Willie Wilson, 12 () November 4, 2009
Fewest games for 250 home runs 855 2004}}– 1946}}–) author=11:43 |url=http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/6300/ryan-howard-fastest-to-250-hr-all-time |title=Ryan Howard fastest to 250 HR all-time – Stats & Info Blog – ESPN |publisher=Espn.go.com |date= |accessdate=September 24, 2011}}

Personal life

Howard has a fraternal twin brother named Corey, as well as an older brother and a sister. He says he is the smallest of the Howard sons. His favorite baseball team growing up was the St. Louis Cardinals. Howard has a son named Darian Alexander, who born January 26, 2001. Howard graduated from Lafayette High School (Wildwood, St. Louis County, Mo.) in 1998, where he played trombone. While attending Missouri State University he became a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and his line name was "Blue Hurt". Howard is a representative for a number of products including Under Armour and the Subway restaurant chain. He also appeared on the cover of MLB 08: The Show.