Ryan Howard will have a busy August. (Frank Klose/SportsTalkPhilly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia Phillies icon Ryan Howard is still a few years away from becoming eligible for the team's Wall of Fame. This August, however, he'll receive another prestigious organizational honor.
The Reading Fightin Phils, the Double-A affiliate of the Phillies, announced Monday that they'll induct Howard into the Baseballtown Hall of Fame this summer:
In 102 games for the then-Reading Phillies in 2004, Howard slashed .297/.386/.647 with a 1.033 OPS, 37 home runs and 102 RBIs. Though he's since been surpassed by the trio of Darin Ruf, Rhys Hoskins and Dylan Cozens, Howard's 37 home runs in 2004 broke Hal Jones' 44-year Reading record for most home runs in a single-season. He was the position playing recipient of the Paul Owens award that year.
Blocked by future Hall of Famer Jim Thome, Howard finally got a chance to appear full-time at the major league level in July of 2005, with Thome out for the season. Howard never relinquished the first base position, as he hit 22 home runs and drove in 63 runs in 312 at-bats, en route to winning the National League Rookie of the Year. A year later, with Thome having been traded to the Chicago White Sox, Howard smashed a franchise-record 58 home runs, while hitting .313, driving in 149 runs and posting a 5.9 fWAR. Two years after turning heads at Reading, Howard became the first Phillie in 20 years – since Mike Schmidt's third and final MVP – to win the National League MVP award.
Four years after starring at Reading, Howard helped lead the Phillies to their second World Series title in franchise history. In addition to being inducted into the Baseballtown Hall of Fame in mid-August, Howard is expected to be on hand for the Phillies 10-year anniversary celebration of that World Series title on Sunday Aug. 5, the final day of of alumni weekend.
