Phillies

Ryan Howard breaks toe; season over

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.

86 comments

Ryan Howard breaks toe; season over

POSTED: Saturday, September 29, 2012, 5:11 PM

Matt Gelb

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.

86 comments

Comments (87)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:15 PM, 09/29/2012

His big toe? OUCH!

— Reality Speaks

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 6:16 PM, 09/29/2012

How fitting. The Big Schmoe breaks his big toe. What a bad signing Howard turned out to be.

— D.C. Stinkley

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:18 PM, 09/29/2012

har Ryan layed the whole season his numbers would hasve translated to 40 HRs and 135 RBIs. That's really bad,huh? Dumb.

— mike l

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:08 PM, 09/29/2012

Actually, Howard's contract is one of the better ones in baseball. Players of similar stature - Votto, Fielder - are getting paid nearly twice the amount of $ Ryan Howard is making with his contract (5 years compared to 10 years)...kudos to RAJ for getting 'er done; and even more appreciation to the BIG PIECE for taking the hometown discount just to remain a lifetime Philadelphia Phillie.

— Reality Speaks

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:01 AM, 10/01/2012

... this can go back and forth and the only losers are the phillies and the phans with this ...

here me out - so you take his prorated #'s and you have to add his K's - which would hover about 225 or so ...
and his avg. about .220 - something is wrong - when you K you are being beat - flat out ....

then you have to look at the importance and timing of his HR's, RBI's and K's during the game...

being up or down by 5 and having 3 RBI's and the game is out of reach - is not a significant...

losing a game, leaving RISP - 6 or more, GIDP, and multiple K's is crucial...

a K is always counter productive / while a HR or RBI might never be as significant other than a stat in the box or towards someones's incentives, fantasy play etc... it's timing for everything - you can do without a run, rbi, although you can never get that out back from a whiff...

— LivePhilly_DiePhilly

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:20 PM, 09/29/2012

He probably hit himself in the foot swinging at a bad ball.

— 2smart4philly

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:32 PM, 09/29/2012

haha! I knew this would bring out the jokes.

— Reality Speaks

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:03 PM, 09/29/2012

Remarkably fortuitous turn of events, which no one questions? Is everyone a sheep, willing to "tow" the company line?

It puts Ruf at first, his natural position. It means that the .219 BA doesn't fall any further. It means he doesn't play in meaningless games , risking further injury, like last year, last play.

I don't buy into this load of "nonsense", any more than I would buy into a politician's promise looking you square in the face. Practiced liars all, especially the front office of the Phillies.

At least Ruf gets to start all the remaining games, the only reason left to watch.

— PhillyboyinNYC