Comments on: 100 Greatest Phillies: 25 – Ryan Howard

By: CJ

CJ — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:40:11 +0000

Howard is easily the top 10 greatest. I strongly believe hes still hasnt hit his greatest season yet so keep watch of him i see him cutting down on Strikeouts and Hitting atleast 60+ Homers

By: Phan in TN

Phan in TN — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:54:32 +0000

I would never Dairy Queen Von Hayes from the list because he decided to come back.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:41:37 +0000

I still don’t know why you’re against giving players with so-called “incomplete” records time on the list, Bruce.

Think about these scenarios:
- God forbid, a current player is injured or dies, or just simply retires before 2009.

So then the player’s record is suddenly “complete”?

- Von Hayes decides to make a comeback for the Phillies in 2009.

Are we going to automatically DQ him from the list because he decided to come back?

The list chronicles players from 1883-2008. I wouldn’t have done this list during the season, but by doing it in the offseason, it allows for a closed date. As of right now, I’m saying Howard is the 25th greatest Phillie. I do not in any way consider potential in my rankings. Why should I? Like I wrote before, what if he decides to retire right now? He is then entrenched solidly between Maddox and whomever comes after him.

I don’t think adding current players complicates anything. Nor does it make my job any more subjective. I’m basing Howard’s ranking on his performance from 2004-2008. Just as I’m rating Mike Schmidt on his performance from 1972-1989. And so on.

By: Roose13

Roose13 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:37:49 +0000

I would have put him higher but to each his own I suppose.

By: ryan

ryan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:08:52 +0000

this is an appropriate spot for R-HO. whew. god i love that big guy.

By: Bottom of the first 3.3.2009 | Red Phever

Bottom of the first 3.3.2009 | Red Phever — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:33:12 +0000

[...] Phillies blog names Howard one of the greatest Phils players. [PhilliesNation.com] [...]

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:37:24 +0000

I have questioned in the past when Tim started to do his countdown of his “greatest–” list about the inclusion of current players from the 2008-9 team. The repeated complaints from more than one posters such as ” ..have not played with the phils long enough ” to get a true picture of a current player’s potential greatness will continue to persist. Ranking current players with short “sevice time” requires even greater SUBJECTIVE thinking on Tim’s part. Consequently, his rankings will and have invited “debates” and at times compelled Tim to defend his choices. I have already expressed my appreciation for Tim’s time and effort with research and enlightened us with information on selected players of generations past. However, as stated, to include and select current players with INCOMPLETE record complicates the listing and as a few commented, penalized those players having potential greatness with a LOWER ranking.

However, as Tim said, the list is a “fun” feature for the purpose of entertainment and enlightenment and that matters more than rankings for his blog. Keep up the good work.

By: Chris.I

Chris.I — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:29:14 +0000

Dude how the fuk is Howard 25 on a 100 list? He would definitly be top 12-If not top 10. Your doing this based on what? Stats? LoL. No seriously, all due respect your information is highly incorrect. I’m not even a Howard fan, and anyone can agrue this until there blue in the face, and I’ll still tell you your wrong.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:58:21 +0000

Just a note: I had Demeter on my short list outside the top 100. In retrospect he was a heck of a power hitter, and I wouldn’t have been against making room for him in the rankings.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:26:23 +0000

i beg to differ christopher.

i think a lot of the guys, especially on the 2008 team, have not played with the phils long enough. are you saying that shane victorino is better than chuck klein or richie ashburn? are you saying that brett myers is better than jim bunning?

this is not the top 100 phillies teams, its the top 100 players.

ALSO, history is often more kind of a to a player than present day. we remember the mishaps with rollins, we remember the arbitration issues with howard. its really hard to judge a player who has not completed his career really high up.

consider this: for howard to only play 3 full seasons, ,and already be named the 25th best player for a franchise that has been around for over 100 years with over 10,000 players ( and yes, 10000 losses) is a huge honor.