Ryan Howard breaks toe; season over
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Ryan Howard breaks toe; season over
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
MIAMI — No one moment can better characterize this cursed Phillies season than Ryan Howard breaking his right big toe while standing in the on-deck circle. He did it Thursday by dropping a lead pipe he uses for practice swings.
The $125 million slugger's season, the most trying of his career, is over. "It was a learning process," Howard said.
What was the No. 1 lesson?
"Don't get hurt."
The broken toe, believed to be a hairline fracture after Friday X-rays, will not affect his winter training program. He can walk down the aisle at his December wedding without a boot.
It will rob him five final games in 2012, a year made difficult on the final swing of 2011. His ruptured Achilles cost him the first 84 games and sapped him of strength at the plate.
Howard finished with career lows in batting average (.219), on-base percentage (.295) and slugging percentage (.423).
"I know I'm a better hitter than that," Howard said.
"His best years are ahead of him," Charlie Manuel said.
The Phillies sure hope so. They will pay Howard $105 million in the next four seasons.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
- Check that. Just 2012. He finished Top 10 in MVP voting in 2010 and '11.
— mwcnabb - mwcabb - top 10 MVP is meaningless. — PhillyDanny
- a difference of calling him a waste vs. being let down...
how about
2 WS with 44 AB's and 22 K's - not front running, just actual facts...
we blame rube moreso for giving him a contract extension with 1 full season + 150 games or so left to play out after choking vs. the yankees in 2009— LivePhilly_DiePhilly - Great way to take yourself out of the lineup to save embarassment. Problem is, fans do not forget.— dogman5
- Someone call a tow truck. HAAAAAAAAAAAAA— Reggie92
- Stupid idiot— zippy1346
- The fact that Manuel is saying his best days are ahead of him shows just how utterly out of touch this fool is about the sport. No, he's not going to say the opposite, but to make a pronouncement that this washed up star is going to perform better than ever is complete nonsense.— Repubrebirth
- Be careful what you wish for with Ruf. Unfortunately, he looks like another Rizzotti to me and we've seen him a lot. Maybe a DH.— PhillySubsMac
- Good, now there is no chance of him tearing up his knee or ankle running to first base in the last game of the year again.— Drew777
- Too bad it's not career ending.— coloradoeagle
- I'm more concerned with his poor eye sight and expanding waistline.— lazyboy
- Greatest nothing player of this era #albatross— shawnmac
- Perfect timing to he can assure to come into Spring Training out of shape and slower than he already is.— Mo Biggsley
- phils have toe problems..madson with that chair n now howard,,they should toe the line with howard and kick him to the al— hardball
- REALLY?— drhoffman
