You are purchasing an amazing commemorative Bobble-head of 3 Time All-Star, Silver Slugger, MVP, Rookie of the Year and World Series Champion Ryan Howard! This is Ryan Howard MVP Bobble Figurine given out by the Phillies & Toyota to honor Howard’s 2006 MVP Award at the Phillies 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on May 16, 2007 complete with a Howard Home Run during the game! Ryan Howard finished his 13-year career as the greatest first baseman in Phillies history, winning the 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Award, the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year Award and helping the Phillies win the 2008 World Series. The Phillies won five consecutive NL East championships from 2007-11, when Howard hit cleanup for Charlie Manuel’s Phillies. The bobble-head is still new in the box. The box has a few creases from the ballpark on it. This is a definite MUST HAVE for any Howard or Phillies fan/collector/investor and would make a great gift!
Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big
Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard
spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the
Philadelphia Phillies, from 2004 to 2016. He is known for being the fastest
player in baseball history to reach 100 home runs and 200 home runs. Howard
holds numerous Phillies franchise records.
Howard made his MLB debut in 2004. He won the
National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 and the NL Most Valuable
Player (MVP) Award in 2006. Howard was a three-time NL All-Star (2006, 2009,
2010), and won the Silver Slugger Award, Hank Aaron Award, and the NL
Championship Series MVP Award in 2009. Known for his power, Howard is a member
of the 50 home run club. He was a two-time NL home run champion (2006, 2008),
and became the fastest player to reach both the 100 and 200 home run milestones
in MLB history, passing the marks in 2007 and 2009, respectively. He is also
tied with Sammy Sosa for the most National League 140 RBI seasons at three and
the most National League 130 RBI seasons at four. From 2006 to 2009, he hit 198
home runs, hitting at least 45 in each season. By the time he reached thirty
years old, he had hit 222 home runs in 732 games. Over the remaining 840 games
of his career, he proceeded to hit 160 home runs before playing his last major
league game at the age of 36.
On September 1, 2004, Howard made his first
Major League plate appearance, striking out against Jaret Wright in a pinch-hit
at-bat (for Vicente Padilla) in a 7–2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. On September
6, Howard logged his first Major League hit in a single at-bat in a 3–1 loss to
the Braves; on September 8, he recorded his first multi-hit game with a double
and a single in a 4–1 win over the Braves. On September 11, Howard hit his
first Major League home run off Bartolome Fortunato, driving in his first RBI
and scoring his first run in an 11–9 win over the New York Mets.
Howard had 42 plate appearances in 19 games
with the Phillies in 2004. He posted a .282 batting average with two home runs
and five RBI; he also hit five doubles, drew two walks, and was hit by a pitch.
Between playing for the Double-A Reading Phillies, Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons and the Philadelphia Phillies, Howard hit 48
home runs, which was tied for the highest total in organized baseball in 2004
along with Adrián Beltré of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On May 15, Howard recorded his first
three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a double, two singles, and a run-scored in a
4–3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. On August 23, he recorded his first four-hit
game, going 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, two singles, three RBI and three
runs-scored in a 10–2 win over the San Francisco Giants. On July 1, Howard
became the Phillies' everyday first baseman when slugger Jim Thome was
sidelined for the season with an elbow injury.
Howard led all major league rookies with 22
home runs and posted a .288 average and 63 RBI in just 312 at-bats
and 88 games. He hit 11 home runs and 27 RBI in September and October. Howard
finished his rookie season with 17 doubles, two triples, 52 runs scored, and
100 strikeouts and 63 runs batted in as the Phillies battled the Houston Astros
for the National League wild card until getting eliminated on the last day of
the season. Howard was rewarded for his effort by being named NL Rookie of the
Year, the fourth Phillie to win the award.
After the 2005 season, the Phillies faced a
dilemma involving Thome and Howard. Both were very talented and proven power
hitters; Thome was the biggest free agent player the Phillies signed prior to
the 2003 season, but Howard was the reigning Rookie of the Year and a promising
young player. Before the 2006 season, Thome was traded, along with $22 million
cash, to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Aaron Rowand, and pitchers Gio
Gonzalez, and Daniel Haigwood in order to make room for Howard.
On April 23, Howard became the first player
to hit a home run into Ashburn Alley at Citizens Bank Park. The home run
traveled 496 feet and was hit off Sergio Mitre of the Florida Marlins. It was
the first of two Howard would hit in the game, the first multi-home run game of
his career. He also became
the first player to hit a home run into the third deck of the park in right
field when he connected off Mike Mussina on June 20, a 437-foot long-ball that
was again his first of two home runs. To honor the home run, the Phillies
painted a white H on the seat where the ball was caught. Howard collected seven
RBI on the two home runs and a triple in the 9–7 loss, becoming the first
Phillies batter to drive in seven runs since pitcher Robert Person on June 2,
2002.
Howard was named to his first All-Star game
at PNC Park in Pittsburgh as a reserve first baseman, by the player ballot. He
participated in the Century 21 Home Run Derby prior to the game, and won the
contest with a total of 23 home runs, defeating the New York Mets' third
baseman David Wright in the final round. Howard was the second consecutive
Phillie to win the Derby, with Bobby Abreu hitting a record 41 home runs in
2005.
From August 25 to August 29, Howard hit home
runs in four consecutive games; on the 29th, Howard hit his 48th home run of
the season to tie Mike Schmidt for the Phillies single-season record. Two days later, on August 31, Howard hit a
home run into the upper deck of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to surpass
Schmidt as the Philadelphia Phillies single-season home run record holder.
On September 3, Howard went 4-for-4 with
three home runs and a single in an 8–7 win over the Atlanta Braves, to become
the first Philadelphia Phillies batter and the 24th player in Major League
history to hit 50 home runs in a season. Reaching 52 home runs in the game,
Howard also broke Ralph Kiner's 1947 record for home runs in a sophomore
season, becoming just the second batter to hit 50 home runs in a second season.
On September 5, Howard was named the NL Player of the Month for August. His 41
runs batted in were the most any player had in one month since Frank Howard had
41 in July 1962. With 14 home runs, he also set new franchise records for both
statistics in the month of August. On September 22, Howard became the 8th
player in history to hit 58 home runs in a season, belting a three-run
round-tripper off Florida Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco. The same day, Howard
was awarded the third annual Mike Schmidt Most Valuable Player honor by the
Philadelphia Baseball Writers Association of America
On October 2, Howard was named the NL Player
of the Month for September. Howard, who also won the award in August, became
the first player since Albert Pujols in May and June 2003, to win the award
back-to-back.
On October 10, Howard was named The Sporting
News 2006 Player of the Year. On October 25, Howard was awarded the 2006
National League Hank Aaron Award. On November 8, Howard was named by his fellow
major league players as the Player of the Year and the National League
Outstanding Position Player in the 2006 Players Choice Awards balloting. He
succeeded Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones, the 2005 winner of both
awards. On the same day, following a 5–3 win over Nippon Professional Baseball
that capped a five-game international sweep by the MLB in the Major League
Baseball Japan All-Star Series, Howard was named the Series MVP; he hit .558
with eight runs, three doubles, four homers and eight RBI. On November 10,
Howard was awarded the National League Silver Slugger Award at first base.
On November 20, he won the National League
MVP award, and became only the second player in baseball history to win the
Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in successive seasons, joining Cal Ripken,
Jr.
On March 2, 2007, the Phillies renewed
Howard's contract in a one-year deal for $900,000, the highest salary ever
offered to a player not eligible for salary arbitration.
On May 9, Howard hit his 4th career grand
slam against Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Medders when he came into the
game as a pinch hitter for Wes Helms. On May 13, Howard was placed on the
disabled list with a left quadriceps strain after missing five straight games.
Howard fielded grounders for about 45 minutes before the Phillies game with the
Toronto Blue Jays on May 20. Howard returned to the lineup on May 25, after a
rehabilitation assignment with the class A Lakewood team as a designated hitter.
He hit a home run in his first at-bat there. On May 27, he hit two home runs in
a win that helped the Phillies sweep the Braves.
On June 27, Howard hit a 505-foot home run,
and became the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to hit 100 home
runs. The accomplishment was achieved in only 325 games, 60 games
fewer than the 385 games that Ralph Kiner needed to hit his first 100 home runs
from 1946 to 1948.
Though Howard did not compete in the 2007 MLB
All-Star Game, he was chosen to compete in the 2007 Major League Baseball Home
Run Derby for the second straight year in order to defend his title. However
Howard only hit 3 home runs in the first round and did not advance.
After coming back from the DL, Howard had a
"power surge," as he quickly climbed to second on the home run
leaders list in the National League. On July 25, Howard hit a walk-off home run
in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the Phillies a victory over the
Washington Nationals.
Howard had his tenth career stolen base on
August 21, 2007 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On September 27, he established a new major
league record by striking out for his 196th and 197th time, breaking the old
record of 195 (he tied it on September 23), set by Adam Dunn in 2004. He ended the season with 199 strikeouts,
striking out an NL-highest 37.6% of the time.
His final 2007 season totals were a .268 average,
with 47 home runs and 136 runs batted in, helping the Phillies win the National
League East title on the final day of the season to earn their first postseason
berth since the 1993 World Series. The Phillies were swept by the Colorado
Rockies (who had won a one-game playoff against the San Diego Padres for the NL
Wild Card) in the 2007 National League Division Series; Howard homered off
Jeremy Affeldt in Game Two, but also struck out seven times in his other 11
at-bats.
Howard began the 2008 season in a slump,
finishing the month of April with a batting average of just .172 and going
2-for-25 to close out the month. He fared better in May, averaging .238 with ten
home runs and 30 RBI for the month, and finishing out May just north of the
Mendoza Line with an overall batting average of .205. Howard hit his 15th home
run of the season in a 7–3 loss to the Florida Marlins on May 30; Chase Utley
having hit his 15th longball on May 25, the two became the first pair of
Phillies to hit 15 home runs each before June.
On June 13, Howard hit two home runs and
drove in five in a 20–2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. This included the
second of a first-inning set of back-to-back-to-back Philadelphia home runs. It
was the seventh time that the Phillies had hit three consecutive home runs, the
first since May 18, 2004, and the fourth occurrence by any team in
the 2008 Major League Baseball season. On June 16, Howard again hit two home runs and
drove in four in an 8–2 win over the Boston Red Sox for his 15th career
multi-homer game; the four-day span between multi-homer games was the shortest
of his career. In stark
contrast, Howard went 0-for-4 the next night with four strike outs in a 3–0
loss for his tenth career golden sombrero. Howard drove in his 100th run of the 2008
season on August 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking his third
consecutive season with at least 100 RBI.
He finished the season with 146 RBI and a .251
batting average. Historically speaking, this was a statistical aberration, and
is by far the lowest batting average ever for any season in major league
history in which a player topped 130 runs batted in. His contributions again helped lead the Phillies
to the division title and the post-season. Against Milwaukee in the first round
he batted a mere .182 average and only batted in one run. Things picked up as
he delivered with a .300 batting average against the Dodgers in the next round
although he only delivered 2 RBIs and still remained in his home run drought in
the post-season. However as the Phillies advanced to the World Series he
finally started delivering significantly with 6 RBIs, .286 batting average, and
3 home runs (which tied Donn Clendenon's 1969 World Series record for most home
runs in a five-game Series) –
two of which came in game 4 (which also drove in 5 RBIs) as the Phillies took a
commanding 3–1 series lead. The Phillies eventually won the series in 5 games
to bring the Phillies their first World Series championship since 1980, and
Philadelphia their first major sports championship since 1983; he finished
second in the voting for the 2008 NL MVP award, behind Albert Pujols of the St.
Louis Cardinals.
On May 4, Howard hit his second grand slam of
the year, the seventh in his career, against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch
Stadium. On May 30, he hit
his third grand slam of the season off of Washington Nationals pitcher Shairon
Martis. The grand slam landed in the third deck in the first row above the
Powerade sign in right field at Citizens Bank Park, and was estimated at 475
feet. The grand slam put Howard ahead of Mike Schmidt, who had 7 grand slams in
his career, putting him first all-time in Phillies franchise history.
On June 20, Howard was checked into the
hospital early that morning with a 104 degree fever, but pinch-hit later that
day, hitting a home run. A
month later, against the Florida Marlins on July 16, Howard hit his 200th
career home run, making him the fastest player ever to that mark. It took
Howard 658 games to reach 200 long-balls, beating out the previous titleholder,
Ralph Kiner (706 games).
In August, Howard hit 11 home runs with 33
runs batted in, after just six the month before. His batting average in the
month was .299, raising his overall average to .275. He was named the National
League Player of the Month for these achievements. On October 3, Howard hit his
45th home run of the season and became only the fourth player in Major League
Baseball history (joining Babe Ruth from 1926–1931, Ken Griffey Jr. from
1996–1999, and Sammy Sosa
from 1998–2001) to amass at least 135 RBIs and 45 home runs in four consecutive
seasons.
Howard ended the season tied with Milwaukee
Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder for the major league lead in RBIs with
141, and led all major league first basemen in errors, with 14. In Game 4 of the 2009 National League Division
Series against the Colorado Rockies, Howard hit a game-tying double with two
outs in the top of the ninth off of closer Huston Street. Howard scored the winning
run on a Jayson Werth single. After tying Lou Gehrig's record for the most
consecutive postseason games with an RBI, Howard won the NLCS MVP award on
October 21. However, Howard
struggled against the New York Yankees during the 2009 World Series, surpassing
Willie Wilson's record by striking out 13 times in the series.
He was also the first designated hitter in a
National League ballpark during a regular-season game when the Phillies played
as the road team against the Toronto Blue Jays in Citizens Bank Park on June
25. Major League Baseball moved the interleague series to Philadelphia due to
the G-20 Summit taking place near the Rogers Centre in Toronto. On August 1, Howard sprained his ankle while
returning to second base on a baserunning play, and was placed on the 15-day
disabled list. On September
8, Howard hit his 250th home run in only 855 games, which made him pass Ralph Kiner as the
quickest player in history to reach that milestone. On September 18, Howard hit
his 30th homer of the season, setting a franchise record with five consecutive
30-homer, 100-RBI seasons. He had been tied with Chuck Klein, who had four
consecutive 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons from 1929 to 1932. Howard
was listed with teammates Chase Utley, Jamie Moyer, and Roy Halladay as one of
the few active players that is likely to be considered for the Hall of Fame
Through 2011, Howard was fourth among all
active major leaguers in career slugging percentage (.560; behind Albert Pujols,
Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun), and ninth in career intentional walks. During
the 2011 season, Howard had a batting average of .253, 33 home runs and 116
RBI. It was his sixth consecutive 30 home run and 100 RBI season, a Phillies
franchise record.
In Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS against the St.
Louis Cardinals, Howard was the last batter to ground out before the Phillies
lost the series. Howard tore his Achilles tendon when running to first base on
the final play of the game, a ground out to the second baseman, Nick Punto. His
injury required surgery and as a result, he missed the start of the 2012 season.
|
Career highlights and
awards |
|
Bid with confidence. SHIPPING INSIDE THE US: between $15-18 for USPS Ground or Priority Mail! SHIPPING OUTSIDE THE US: Please add $30 (approximately) for First Class
International Mail to most countries (I will check with the local post office
for the exact price to your address rounded up to the nearest dollar). We do
offer combined shipping for multiple purchases and local pick up in Camden
County NJ. Bubble mailer or sturdy box and careful packaging with all orders.
Will ship out within two business days after your payment arrives. Good Luck
and Thank You for looking!