This past Tuesday, Phillies' long-time broadcaster Larry Andersen joined MLB.com's Hot Stove to share his thoughts on first baseman, Ryan Howard.
"I look for him to be with the Phillies to start the season, and see where it goes. I have to be honest, I was one of the guys that felt Howard's skill diminished to a great extent. I know coming off of the Achilles, and talking to other guys that had the Achilles injury, it takes a full year of playing before you really get back to normal."
Howard, who suffered a torn left achillies injury at the last at-bat of the 2011 National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, has not fully bounced back since. Over the past three seasons in 1,115 at-bats, he hit for 48 home runs and 194 runs batted in. In comparison, in just 581 at-bats during his 2006 National League MVP season, he hit for 58 home runs and 149 runs batted in.
Andersen believes the 2015 season can be a different story than in year's past for the 35-year-old slugger:
"For me, I'm thinking well maybe this will be a different year. He starts the season completely healthy, so there's no concern with that. The other thing is, coming to find out after the season all of the problems that Howard went through with his family. That is such a tough thing to get through. I don't think Howard is out on the field thinking about his family, contract situation, or any of that, but everything leading up to it. The mental drain on you going through something like that, I think it is important to maybe sit back and say 'hey, this guy had a lot on his plate and had a lot going through his head. It was tough for him physically and very tough for him mentally'."
This past season, Ryan Howard was reportedly facing legal action from his own family over his own finances. Both sides recently reached an agreement to resolve the dispute, settling any court obligations and permanently dismissing the case from future lawsuits according to David Murphy of the Daily News.
Andersen continued:
"I'm more on the side of giving him the benefit of the doubt and thinking he can bounce back and put up better numbers than he did last year. If he's with the Phillies, I think he can help. But at the same time, it's a situation where you are still trying to get younger guys in there so maybe he will rest a little more and not play quite as much.
I still think having the other issues behind him, he can turn things around. I don't think he will get back to what he was doing in '07, '08, '09, and in there, but I certainly think he can get back to being much more of a productive hitter."
With Howard's family dispute finally being resolved, and him being another year parted from his devastating Achilles injury, all signs are surely pointing in the positive direction for the 2009 National League Championship Series MVP.
There could be something in the works that would help his game even further.
Newly elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, has made it public of his interest to 'inject offense into the game'. In a sit-down intervew with ESPN's Karl Ravech, one of the changes Manfred would be willing to implement to achieve such goal would be to eliminate defensive shifts.
"We have really smart people working in the game. They are going to figure out ways to get a competitive advantage. I think it is incumbent upon us in the commissioner's office to look at the advantages that are produced, and say, 'Is this what we want to happen in the game?'"
Defensive shifts have long-plagued the production from Ryan Howard, even during some of his best years in the game. Essentially, teams will place an additional fielder towards the right side of the diamond, leaving just one on the left, close to the second-base bag.
The following spray chart from FanGraphs.com shows the results of Howard's at-bats from 2012, all the way through the 2014 season. Notice the high concentration of outs, or gray circles, of which are located around the whereabouts of the shift.
If Manfred indeed gets such ban of a "defensive shift" enacted, it likely would not occur until the 2016 season, where Howard will have just two years remaining on his contract. He is set to earn $25 million this season, as well as in 2016. In 2017 he has a $23 million team option, or a $10 million buyout.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
