Howard: 'It's a great feeling to have that security'
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Howard: 'It’s a great feeling to have that security'
Matt Gelb
SAN FRANCISCO -- About to jump on a conference call with Ryan Howard's agent, Casey Close, but for now, here are some of the most interesting answers from the press conference that just ended with Howard and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.
Why now?
AMARO: We just felt it was good timing for us. We felt like No. 1, he's one of the elite offensive players in the game. We could have waited another year-and-a-half or so and dealt with it later on, but the fact of the matter is we decided that he's that important to our organization and our future. We decided to go ahead and work something out with Casey and it worked quite well.
Did the market of other first basemen (Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez) play a factor in doing it now?
HOWARD: I know that all of us were going to be free agents around the same time. I think the decision was based more for myself. It wasn't trying to live off what Albert might get or what Prince might get. It was look after myself in this situation. I wanted to stay in Philadelphia. I've had fun here. The fans have been great. The organization has been great. I'm glad we were able to reach the agreement and now I can focus on going out there and just playing ball.
You could be 37 when it ends. What's the risk involved?
AMARO: I think that we're blessed as an organization with guys who take a lot of pride in their craft and what they do. Ryan is one of those guys. Ryan has clearly dedicated himself to being a very complete player. He's worked on his defense. He's worked on a variety of ways to make himself a more complete player. He has a special attribute with his power and run-production that not many in the history of the game have been able to accomplish. Yet he continues to try and work to be a better player. When we commit these kind of dollars and these kind of years to a player, it's not just because of what he does on the field as an athlete but it's also as a person. To me and to our organization and to our fans, he's not just a special athlete, he's a special person. And that makes a difference.
HOWARD: For me, the production and whatnot, it's just a matter of going out there and continuing to do what I've been doing over the last couple of years, which is trying to stay ahead in my training. Just making sure my body is staying good and staying healthy is the most important thing. I feel that what I've been doing over the last couple of years, I feel pretty confident that down the road, I'll be right where I want to be and doing the same thing.
Do you still have payroll flexibility with this deal?
AMARO: We tried to design the contract in a way that we can. Our goal remains the same: put a championship team on the field year in and year out. We feel the way the we structured the contract gives us a little bit of flexibility to be able to do that as far as Jayson [Werth] and Jimmy [Rollins] and other that will be become free agents in the not so distant future. Natually we’d like to keep all those guys. We’ll go on a case by case basis … Hopefully we can keep this group together, but we’ll see how the pieces of the puzzle are fitting for us.
Do you see this as a market-setting deal?
AMARO: Ryan earned this contract with what he’s done. Very few can say they’ve done what he’s done and in some categories there’s none. ... He kind of set the market for himself. … We don’t view it as a market setting deal. We think it’s an equitable deal for both sides and it’s something he deserves. There’s always risk when you’re doing guaranteed deals but with what Ryan has done and what we think he’ll do in the future I think it’s a good risk.
Read Tuesday's Inquirer for full coverage.
come on guys, those negative remarks were just jokes, because nobody could possibly be that dumb or shortsighted to think this is not a tremendous move for the phillies. ryan howard has his warts, like all players, but he has shown a strong commitment to improve where necesarry and the results have been there - improved defense, better contact on off-speed pitches, fewer strikeouts, etc. he's not perfect, but he's perfect for this team.— CosmoK
2 syllables and 1 name will fix this situation....Cliff Lee— Nothing but the truth- Great signing for the Club and for Howard. He is a great player and a better person. You can't argue with his production over the last five years. Go Phillies!!— Murrayag11
- mikemimbs he leads all of baseball in percentage of baserunners driven in. Whether you like it or not, the guy produces, and usually in September and October
- It is obvious now that team psychology factors significantly into Amaro's moves. I'm beginning to have more faith in him, he is a deeper and bolder thinker than most of us imagined. The $ gamble here is not so huge, with what we could anticipate from Howard over the next 2 years, extending him later would be more expensive, and by doing it now we send a powerful message to him and the team. If her gets hurt, we have the Dykstra/Daulton scenario again, but Howard is not a 'roid creation ready to break down as too many here think.— Boethius
- Whether you like the deal or not, can we please all agree to stop using RBI as a barometer of a player's success? RBIs are entirely dependent on the number of hitters getting on base in front of you. If Howard didn't have Utley, Victorino, etc. hitting in front of him he would not have nearly as many RBIs and all of a sudden he wouldn't look so great. Yes there is such a thing as clutch hitting but its impact can be overstated.— mikemimbs
- Should have waited for the start of eagles training camp. Oh wait the phillies are already champion. They are the spot light in Philadelphia. Then the Flyers. Then that other team we all know who the no super bowl winners E A G L E S Go Phillies great move— I M Jim
- rbecker1963 if the Phillies were the "gold standard" then they would have kept Cliff Lee and not traded him for 2 club sandwiches and a Pepsi.— Nothing but the truth
Looks to me like the Phillies are the Gold Standard. There is absolutely no downside to this extension. Howard has earned it and I'm pleased that he loves Philly. I think this extension has a large bearing on Werth. Now Rube can possibly lock up Werth long-term. Yeah, I know there's a few kids waiting in the wings, but Jayson Werth is an All-Star outfielder. To me, the opening in the outfield is probably in left, by Sept. Raul is approaching 40. Gotta keep Werth, somehow. If not, I'm still very happy with Rube. Damn Rube...Great job!- How any Phillie fan can not like this deal must truly hate their lives. He produces in every major category in the majors! Give the negative attitude a rest and enjoy the big man for the next 6 years.— Phillyphan26
- If you guys don't like how much Ryan is getting paid, stop paying for the tickets to the games, stop watching the games on TV, stop buying Phillies merchandise, and stop supporting Phillies sponsors. All of these factors make it possible for Howard and others to cash in. I'm tired of all the complaining about money. It's America, fools! Capitalism rules! If Ryan makes 25 mill, the owner make 100 times that. So don't hate the player, hate the game.— PhillyHouse JayDuce
- Poor sliced and nothing. How many of those "30" best players have been ROY and MVP and World Champ? Instead of getting fat off his contracts, Ryan has been getting in better shape every year and works himself hard every year. Pity you can't see that. He's also one of the biggest reasons that park is filled every game. And get over Lee. This extension has nothing to do with keeping Lee. It doesn't take effect for two years. Lee would be gone by then even if they kept him this year. When the Phillies carry the trophy down Broad St. again this year, you'll still be saying, "Just think how good they'd have been if the kept Lee."— mike l
- Nothing But The Truth - this team's payroll was $46 mil in 2000... $89 mil in 2007. You clearly haven't been around very long
- stikolaboloni this deal still makes the Phillies cheap because we could have keep Cliff Lee. Cheap cheap cheap!!! We all know by now from the Eagles that being cheap leaves you coming up short year in and year out.— Nothing but the truth
- Is Howard likely to play better as he enters and then moves through his middle 30s? Generally speaking, we're more optimistic about players with a broad base of skills. Of course, that's the opposite of Ryan Howard. He's not a Gold Glover like Albert Pujols. He doesn't steal 10 or 15 bases every season like Albert Pujols. And -- oh, and by the way this is one of my Favorite Fun Baseball Facts -- if you believe all the record books, Howard is two months older than Albert Pujols.* * And yes, Albert Pujols' agent's salivary glands exploded when he heard about Howard's deal. But that's the Cardinals' problem, not the Phillies' (or ours). Maybe it's not fair to compare anybody to Albert Pujols, considering that he's the single best player in the sport. But Howard's going to be paid like one of the best player in the sport, and he's not. Not one of the very best. Last year, enjoying one of his two best seasons, Howard might have been one of the 30 best players in the majors. Maybe one of the 25 best. And maybe, just maybe, if you stretch the boundaries of analysis and tilt everything in his favor, he was one of the 20 best players in the major leagues. That was 2009. What will we (and the Phillies) be trying to do in 2015? Make a case for him as one of the 40 best players in the majors? One of the 50 best? Ryan Howard's new contract is a testament the enduring power of the Are-Bee-Eye. It's also a testament to old-school ignorance: ignorance of aging patterns, ignorance of position scarcity, ignorance of opportunity costs ... hey, take your pick. The Phillies have done a lot of things right over the last few years. But this is a big bowl of wrong.— Sliced Bread is the best thing since Matt Wieters
- AJser: I agree. These negative people love to complain, but they are probably young "whipper snappers" who don't remember Steve Jeltz, Ricky Jordan, Kevin Gross, or Bruce Ruffin. They don't know what is was like to watch Von Hayes hit .270 with 15 HR and 75 RBI, we're told he's the "future". Like you said, it's the Golden Age of Phillies baseball. I hope all of the Phils hit a lick. I hope they all get paid. Right now, it's Ryan's turn. Let's enjoy the ride. Those people should save their negativity for the Eagles and Sixers...— PhillyHouse JayDuce
- It's hard to believe how far this club had come since those brutal summers at the Vet with all those horrible teams! It's so awesome to be able to enjoy the best team in Phils' history. This is the golden age of Phillies baseball, so enjoy the ride! I hope we can celebrate at least one more trip down Broad Street.— socalphillyguy
- Are you on medical marijuana left ooast? Or are you a Met fan?— mmmike22
- What a great thing Ryan could do by donating 1 mill to the school district per year> Great tax deduction for him and great for the kids. Great hero he would be!!!— reedo
- Shoulda saved some of that money and got a pitcher......like the one we let go— jibberjabber
- Dull, left coast... NOBODY in MLB history has done what Howard has done through the first 4 years of their career. Who do you want instead? Maybe Jesus?
- I can't believe anyone would be opposed to this. I'm stunned at the last two posts. Hey guys, enjoy the ride here, this is the most incredible chapter in the 120+ year history of this franchise. We can no longer complain about ownership acting like this is a small market franchise. Amazing stuff.— AJSer
Comment removed.- I am sure in two years when he is struggling everyone will want him traded, but his contract will be to big and no one will want to take on that burden. The Phillies major problem is pitching. They did nothing in the off season to improve it. I am still upset that they did not keep Lee also.— zippy1346
- Dull: Your comments certainly live up to your name. You must be a Mets fan. You conveniently left out the 3 HR and 10 RBI in the WS in '08. You also left out his ROY, MVP, and NLCS MVP. As for the errors, Pujols had approximately 12 errors, too. The fact remains that Ryan is the imposing bat in our lineup that most teams lack. Also, let's not leave out the fact the Ryan's clutch and he's a leader. So you can go root for Jose Reyes or Wally Backman. Obviously, you are not a true Phillies fan.— PhillyHouse JayDuce
- This deal had to be done. NOW CAN WE STOP CALLING THIS TEAM CHEAP!?!?
- This contract is horrible in both years and $$$. He's 30, has a bad baseball body, is not a good defender at a crucial position and has struggled to make contact versus lefties throughout his career. If this contract took him to age 3031, then it wouldn't be so bad because there would be some upside. But a $25M/year at age 35-37 playing 1B? YIKES. . . Boy would I love to be Pujols' agent, Danny Lozano now. If Howard is worth $25M, then Pujols is worth $33M+. . .— left coast flyer fan
- Hard to believe you can reward someone with that type of contract who hit lefthanded pitching at .207 last year and so far this year at .227. Last year he lead all NL first baseman in errors. He was overmatched by Yankee pitching in the World Series hitting .174 striking out 13 of 23 at bats. Good for him for finding a front office willing to pay long term big bucks after compiling those kind of numbers during the past 12 months.— Dull
- $54,000,000.00 + $125,000,000.00— PhillySubsMac
- Comment removed.
- I think Howard should show his committment to Philadelphia and try to buy the Inquirer. It's the least he could do in return for this deal and think of all the positive press he'd get when he goes into a slump next year.— Wanny
E-A-G . . . Who?— Nihilist- What kind of security is he referring to? After all he has already made 26.255 million dollars. I do wonder how much of his new contract could have been spent to keep Cliff Lee— Nothing but the truth
- I always thought he was going to be a Yankee. However, the fact that three other top 1st basemen are hitting free agency at the same time may have convinced him to not test the market. I guess I'm fine with the deal. I am a "pitching first" believer, so I hope they have enough left over to get a good number two at some point (Hamels doesn't look like he's it). This also punched Werth's ticket out of town. You can't keep everybody, and they have some good OF prospects in the minors.— #1PhilliesFan#1
- I've thought a lot about this today and decided I'm pretty stoked about it. Howard's hitting is always tops in the league. Its the improvements in his defense and clutch hitting that have me excited. The numbers he put up in the first two rounds of the postseason were ridiculous. When he's locked in, there's no one I'd rather have at the plate. And the improvements in his defense are enormous. I think he only gets better as this contract plays out.
- Brilliant move. Howard clearly someone who will play up to his contract and not loaf. This also will allow him to step up and share the leadership mantle with Utley and Rollins. Compare RH to that fat slop Prince of the Brewers who is four years younger but is in horrendous shape. Imagine having to write a big check for that guy! Plus my hunch is by the end of his contract RH will have produced power nums better than Pujols. Actually looking at total dollars being paid to Howard from 2009-2016 it is almost identical to Texiara of Yanks and Howard has slightly better numbers actually and is closing the gap defensively.— davi
- Howard and the Phillies made a great deal. Doing it now is important because it relieves pressure on Howard to become a free agent with Pujols; now the onus is squarely on the Cardinals to extend Pujols, post-haste. Not only that, it will be more expensive and probably longer than Howard's deal with the Phils. This is the right deal at the right time. EXCELLENT WORK RUBEN!!!!— stormcominin
