Commentary: We should appreciate what Ryan Howard gave us

HE POINTS HIS BAT at the pitcher and says bring it - bring that weak stuff. This will be the indelible image of Ryan Howard in my mind, the mind of all of us here in Philadelphia who live and die with the Phils, or even those who chased that bandwagon and jumped on during the magical run. Such bad-assedness from a player was something that we hadn't seen here in the land of 10,000 losses in a long time, maybe never. With the extended bat pointed at the hurler, Howard readied to take all of Philadelphia's eyes on a magical arc to Ashburn Alley, the upper deck, or maybe to deep leftfield.

With apologies to maybe a few luminaries, such as Mike Schmidt, Doctor J or Allen Iverson, his at-bats were the most can't-miss events in Philadelphia sports history. From the time he hit the big leagues until he suffered a devastating injury in a National League Championship Series against the Cardinals that the Phillies should have won, when No. 6 six strode to the plate, especially with Chase Utley or Jimmy Rollins already on base, people stood and grabbed the shoulder of the person next to them, bartenders stopped pouring drinks, conversations halted, "Shh, Ryan Howard's up," drivers turned Harry Kalas way up on the radio. The Big Piece, as manager Charlie Manuel called him, was going to put us on his back again and send one skyward.

I have these memories of Howard, something my kids unfortunately missed by a few years because of his devastating injury. On that fateful night in October 2011, Ryan tore his left Achilles' tendon. He hasn't been the same since. As we've seen in recent weeks, he still has that epic power, but, it's not there all season long, as it was when he was battling for MVP every year.

Some lesser people, who probably still call themselves Phils fans, have never forgiven him, forgetting that he played hurt for most of that year and was a huge contributor to the most successful regular season in Phillies history. They've come out in full force the last few years, pointing to a contract that every one of them would have signed in a nanosecond. It's always funny that in a blue-collar city, supported by unions, we have so many people, including union sports writers, who decry high salaries that athletes make through the power of collective bargaining.

Conveniently, those writers forget to write about the fact that from 2005 until 2011, he was one of the most underpaid players in the history of the game. The Phils could have paid him his worth at the outset. Instead, they mismanaged their payroll and got stuck paying Howard the money now, when he should have made it when he led the league in RBI, or was still coming back from an injury that can end a career.

Phils management paid Howard $65 million or so from 2005-2011. I'll bet they sold pretty close that amount in beer and food during during that time. Ryan, along with Utley, Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and the core of the greatest run in Phils history made the ballpark the place to be, every night. For the first time in a long time, the Phils led the league in attendance. Howard's work in a Phillies uniform was worth every dime he got. In fact, he was underpaid for what he gave to us and what he gave to the Phillies. They printed money at Citizens Bank Park and Howard's power fueled that printing press.

Last week, Utley deservedly came back to epic cheers in a half-empty ballpark. Rollins, the third part of the triumvirate of greatness, did not get to a similar ovation. Howard probably won't get that, either. Sadly, he'll still hear a smattering of boos as this year winds down. He might not go out on top from a statistical standpoint, but he will go out on top as a person and a contributor to the great game of baseball.

Howard's true character, always there, has been revealed even greater in this year, which we all agree will likely be his last here in Philadelphia. He has accepted his role on a team of young players as the elder statesman, the mentor and he has contributed. He has done so with the same dignity and class that have been evident from the time he humbly came on scene, won the Rookie of the Year and MVP in back-to-back years. His legacy in Philadelphia is further cemented with his leadership and philanthropy at the Marian Anderson Rec Center with the baseball facility he helped build and his numerous other contributions.

For some reason, the Phillies don't retire numbers unless a person makes the Baseball Hall of Fame. This silly policy should be waived for the numbers 11, 26, and, of course, 6. For those just hitting 40 in this town, who couldn't remember the 1980 Phillies team or Fo-Fo-Fo Sixers, missed the Flyers' back-to-back Stanley Cups, and will forever pine for a Lombardi Trophy, the 2008 season and the overall greatness of the Phils from 2007-2011 is our sports paradise. Each year, we could pack our Phillies banners with the Halloween stuff, because it was always Red October. I hope that, in time, the Phis reverse course and 11, 26 and 6 rest on that centerfield brick wall.

During some moribund Phils years, we still had Schmidt. Kids who got to see Howard at that formative time in their lives were just as lucky.

His numbers might come up just short for consideration for Cooperstown. But for his contributions to our civic spirit and pride, his greatness and his generosity as a philanthropist weighed together, he'll always be a Hall of Famer in my book.

Email: ajthomson7@gmail.com or @ajthomsonphilly on Twitter