By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — Even though former Philadelphia Phillies World Series champion slugging first baseman Ryan Howard has not appeared in a big league game since 2016, he is not calling his career quits just yet.
In a recent Wharton Business Radio podcast, Howard made it clear he is "not officially retired."
"There hasn't been any announcements that have been made about any of that kind of stuff," said Howard, who unsuccessfully attempted a comeback in 2017 through minor league pacts with the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies.
While Howard's career on the field is in jeopardy, the three-time All-Star, 2006 National League Most Valuable Player and 2006 National League Silver Slugger Award winner is assuring he proceeds toward a pathway to success, whenever his playing career in fact comes to an end, in partnering with SeventySix Capital.
A sports technology firm led by managing partners Wayne Kimmel and Jon Powell, SeventySix Capital invests in both ideas and people who are "smart, nice," and "want to change the world." Howard partnered with the firm in May, even though he was still under contract and playing with the Braves' Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Braves.
Howard said he "always knew" he wanted to get into the business world following his career, and that venture capital was something that "jumped out" to him, given the opportunity of "being able to work with smart, nice, great entrepreneurs that are looking to try to change the world and make it a better place."
"I've always been very forward-thinking. For me personally, I've always understood that baseball is not going to last forever," Howard said. "I've been blessed and lucky enough to be able to play for as long as I've been able to play — 12-plus years — but, you live to be 100 years old. I'm almost 40 years old now and I still have another 60 years to go."
"It was something that appealed to me. In being able to meet my partners Wayne [Kimmel] and Jon [Powell]," Howard said, "it was the perfect fit."
Kimmel said the relationship with Howard started in meeting through mutual friends. "We spent a lot of time together, getting to know each other, getting to know each other's families," he said. "We really connected around the things most important to us. We're all about working with smart, nice people who want to change the world. That's who Ryan is. After spending that time with him, we said, 'let's go do this together.'"
In 13 seasons with the Phillies from 2004-2016, Howard hit .258/.343/.515 with 382 home rusn and 1,194 RBIs. Howard's three home runs and six RBIs through five games of the 2008 World Series greatly helped the club overcome threatening Tampa Bay Rays pitching featuring Matt Garza, David Price and Scott Kazmir.
Regardless whether Howard makes another appearance in the majors, it appears he definitely is on the right track to life after baseball as a SeventySix Capital partner.
