Twenty years ago, Ryan Howard launched baseballs into the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh and won MLB’s annual Home Run Derby.
Read more Richard D. Wood Jr., Wawa chair emeritus and ‘guiding heart and soul,’ has died at 88
In some ways, it launched his career.
Howard was the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 2005. But his star turn at the 2006 Derby came in the midst of a season in which he won NL MVP and became the foremost power hitter in the sport for a six-year stretch.
As the All-Star Game returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 30 years, Howard sat down with Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss the Phillies’ first half, his expectations for a Home Run Derby in Citizens Bank Park, and more.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcaston Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Q: You played in three All-Star Games in your career. You were the Home Run Derby champ in 2006. When I say All-Star Game, what sticks out to you from your career?
A: When you say All-Star Game, it’s one of those things that when you’re younger, you always strive to want to be a part of. It’s kind of where, it’s the elite of the elite, if you will, and you’re always striving to try to make an All-Star team, and you’re always striving to try to win a championship. So to be able to participate on the All-Star teams and be recognized by the fans and your peers as one of the top players, in the middle of the season, is something that’s always such a great honor to have. And it means you’re doing something right. So you always want to continue to try to do something like that.
Q: How much are you looking forward to seeing what a Home Run Derby in Citizens Bank Park will look like?
A: I’m so excited to see what it’ll look like. This group of guys are just different. It’s a whole different level of strength, and these guys are bigger, stronger, faster. The ball just travels further, so I’m excited to see where the ball lands. Charlie [Manuel] always told Jimmy [Thome] and I that he saw Julio Franco hit a ball in batting practice that hit the bell. Now we’ve said that’s a little suspect, Charlie. There’s got to be like a 35 mph tailwind. He’s got to catch it and do the whole nine, but like it’ll be very interesting. I think somebody could potentially get close to trying to hit that bell, so I would love to see somebody hit a ball that goes up and hits that bell on the fly.
A: Kyle Schwarber is one of the preeminent sluggers of this generation, him and Aaron Judge, and certainly Shohei Ohtani. Is this the year that maybe Schwarber matches or tops your Phillies record 58 home runs in a season?
A: He’s must-watch TV. You don’t want to miss his at-bat because of what he’s able to do with the swing of the bat — the ball comes off his bat different. It’s just so violent, and the swing is so … quick and it’s so violent off the bat that it’s so fun to watch. The ball he hit a few years ago in San Diego, people don’t do that. People don’t hit the ball like that, but Schwarber does. As far as the 58, it’s just a matter of him staying healthy and just continuing to stay consistent and do what he does. He got close last year [with 56]. Right now he’s at [32]. You just want him to stay healthy and be good for the stretch run, and he’s going to get those hot streaks where he’s dropping off like five, six, seven homers in a week, and again it’s like video game-type stuff.
But it’s fun to watch. I like to call it kind of like some blackout moments where you’re like, I don’t even know what’s going on, but I’m not going to fight it. And he gets in those zones where it’s just like it feels like every time the bat comes off your shoulder, damage will be done, and usually it winds up on the other side of the fence.
Q: Did you see this Phillies turnaround coming after the 9-19 start? How do you look at the first half they’ve had?
A: … There’s no level of panic because with the level of quality players on this team and what they’ve done in the years past … I feel like the Phillie franchise, even when I was playing, we’d always get out to slow starts in April. April is not a good month for the Phillies. And the thing is, you can’t win the division in April, but you could lose the division in April. And I think with the talent that this team possessed … you still had [Zack] Wheeler that was out. [Cristopher] Sánchez was doing his thing. It was just a matter of time because they had too much talent, too much veteran presence on this team to do what they were doing, and that’s what happens over the course of the season.
You’re going to have bad stretches, and you’re going to have good stretches. So, hopefully, for them, they got that bad stretch out of the way early, to where you have plenty of time to be able to make up for it, which is what they’ve been able to do and put themselves in a position to make the postseason.
And you just want to continue to try to say, OK, stay above .500 each month. With the caliber of guys that they have, the chemistry that they have, it’s not a surprise that they put themselves back in it. It’s what they do, and you would expect them to be able to go and be in the postseason and try to make a long run in the postseason.
Phillies Extra is your deep dive into all things Phillies on Gameday Central! Hosted by Scott Lauber, each episode brings you insider analysis, exclusive interviews with players and experts, reader emails, and more to cover the hottest topics with the Phillies and across Major League Baseball. Don’t miss it — the conversation starts here!
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Read more The USWNT will play reigning World Cup champion Spain at Subaru Park in October