arty:If Albert hadn't miss so much time off due to injury I think He would be leading Howard in all categories. I am pretty sure He led before his injury. He still leads in batting average, SLG., OPS, OBP, runs scored.cadillac man said:
Howard leads only in home runs unless you want to count SO where He has struck out 153 times to Pojols 39. This last stat stands out and is what makes Pojols my MVP. I am not taking anything away from Howard but He's no Pojols
Hward would get my as of now:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Posted on Sat, Sep. 09, 2006</TD><TD width=15 rowSpan=7>
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Hammering Howard rolls on
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer
<!-- begin body-content -->MIAMI - The performance and pace have been incredible, and they're making people think:
MVP?
The unofficial home-run king?
They are becoming interesting debates in the final month of the season. First baseman Ryan Howard crushed his 55th and 56th home runs of the season last night in the Phillies' 3-2 victory over the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium. The win put the Phils in position to win the four-game series with a victory tonight, and left them no worse than 21/2 games behind San Diego in the National League wild-card race.
Howard is on a pace to finish with 64 homers and 158 RBIs.
"I'm trying not to get sucked in by everything that's going on right now," Howard said. "I'm just trying to stay focused on the task at hand, which is make the playoffs."
He was asked how he would feel to become the unofficial single-season home-run champion, if he passes the "clean" marks Babe Ruth and Roger Maris set before Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa shattered and arguably tainted the record books. Howard, who has hit 28 homers in 54 games since the all-star break, said he isn't thinking about chasing Ruth, who hit 60 homers in 154 games in 1927, and Maris, who hit 61 homers in 162 games in 1961.
"I know everybody is going to make a big deal about it," Howard said. "Right now, I'm just day-to-day. Don't get me wrong. Sixty is an achievement. To be able to get into that club, whether it's 61 or 62 or whatever it is. Hitting 60 first, that's not shabby at all."
But would it mean something in this supposedly "cleaned-up" era of baseball to pass Ruth and Maris, even if he can't catch Bonds, who holds the official single-season record of 73?
"It'd be nice to be able to achieve something like that," Howard said. "I'm not going to lie. It would, but I'm not going to go out there and think, 'Let me hit a home run.' That's not going to be my focus. But if it happens, it happens."
Howard crushed a 2-0 fastball from Marlins lefthander Scott Olsen in the sixth inning to hand the Phillies a 2-1 lead. He hit an 0-1 fastball to right field in the eighth to make it 3-1.
Twenty-eight of Howard's 56 homers have either tied the game or given the Phillies the lead this season. His second homer proved valuable after the Marlins scored a run off closer Tom Gordon in the ninth.
Howard entered the night hitting .356 (69 for 194) with 26 home runs and 64 RBIs since the all-star break. He also had a .492 on-base percentage and a .799 slugging percentage in that stretch. His top competitor for NL MVP is St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols. Pujols had hit .333 (65 for 195) with 15 homers and 40 RBIs since the break. He had a .413 on-base percentage and a .651 slugging percentage in that span.
Lost in the Howard hoopla was that lefthander Jamie Moyer baffled the Marlins. In eight innings, he allowed five hits and a run. He struck out four.
He is 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA since he joined the Phillies.
"It's my responsibility to pitch effectively," Moyer said. "But I need my defense behind me, and I need offensive support."
Howard provided that. People are noticing, and that's sure to bring more attention in the final 21 games.
He said it hasn't bothered him.
"You mean like doing these interviews?" Howard said. "It's cool. It's one thing you kind of have to embrace with what's going on. I know there's going to be more attention. More media. More stuff going on outside... . I'm just trying to stay focused and get this team to the playoffs."
<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end --><HR class=tagline color=#cccccc SIZE=1>Contact staff writer Todd Zolecki at 215-854-4874 or tzolecki@phillynews.com.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Posted on Sat, Sep. 09, 2006</TD><TD width=15 rowSpan=7>
Hammering Howard rolls on
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer
<!-- begin body-content -->MIAMI - The performance and pace have been incredible, and they're making people think:
MVP?
The unofficial home-run king?
They are becoming interesting debates in the final month of the season. First baseman Ryan Howard crushed his 55th and 56th home runs of the season last night in the Phillies' 3-2 victory over the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium. The win put the Phils in position to win the four-game series with a victory tonight, and left them no worse than 21/2 games behind San Diego in the National League wild-card race.
Howard is on a pace to finish with 64 homers and 158 RBIs.
"I'm trying not to get sucked in by everything that's going on right now," Howard said. "I'm just trying to stay focused on the task at hand, which is make the playoffs."
He was asked how he would feel to become the unofficial single-season home-run champion, if he passes the "clean" marks Babe Ruth and Roger Maris set before Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa shattered and arguably tainted the record books. Howard, who has hit 28 homers in 54 games since the all-star break, said he isn't thinking about chasing Ruth, who hit 60 homers in 154 games in 1927, and Maris, who hit 61 homers in 162 games in 1961.
"I know everybody is going to make a big deal about it," Howard said. "Right now, I'm just day-to-day. Don't get me wrong. Sixty is an achievement. To be able to get into that club, whether it's 61 or 62 or whatever it is. Hitting 60 first, that's not shabby at all."
But would it mean something in this supposedly "cleaned-up" era of baseball to pass Ruth and Maris, even if he can't catch Bonds, who holds the official single-season record of 73?
"It'd be nice to be able to achieve something like that," Howard said. "I'm not going to lie. It would, but I'm not going to go out there and think, 'Let me hit a home run.' That's not going to be my focus. But if it happens, it happens."
Howard crushed a 2-0 fastball from Marlins lefthander Scott Olsen in the sixth inning to hand the Phillies a 2-1 lead. He hit an 0-1 fastball to right field in the eighth to make it 3-1.
Twenty-eight of Howard's 56 homers have either tied the game or given the Phillies the lead this season. His second homer proved valuable after the Marlins scored a run off closer Tom Gordon in the ninth.
Howard entered the night hitting .356 (69 for 194) with 26 home runs and 64 RBIs since the all-star break. He also had a .492 on-base percentage and a .799 slugging percentage in that stretch. His top competitor for NL MVP is St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols. Pujols had hit .333 (65 for 195) with 15 homers and 40 RBIs since the break. He had a .413 on-base percentage and a .651 slugging percentage in that span.
Lost in the Howard hoopla was that lefthander Jamie Moyer baffled the Marlins. In eight innings, he allowed five hits and a run. He struck out four.
He is 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA since he joined the Phillies.
"It's my responsibility to pitch effectively," Moyer said. "But I need my defense behind me, and I need offensive support."
Howard provided that. People are noticing, and that's sure to bring more attention in the final 21 games.
He said it hasn't bothered him.
"You mean like doing these interviews?" Howard said. "It's cool. It's one thing you kind of have to embrace with what's going on. I know there's going to be more attention. More media. More stuff going on outside... . I'm just trying to stay focused and get this team to the playoffs."
<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end --><HR class=tagline color=#cccccc SIZE=1>Contact staff writer Todd Zolecki at 215-854-4874 or tzolecki@phillynews.com.
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