Ryan Howard 2006
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[edit] Summary
[edit] Season Highlights and Memorable Games
On April 23, Howard became the first player to hit a home run into Ashburn Alley at Citizens Bank Park. The blast traveled 496 feet (though many claim that the ball fell at least 10 feet short of a 500-foot marker in Ashburn Alley) 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. [1]
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 481-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 RBIs were the most any player had in one month since Frank Howard(no relation) 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 [2]
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.
In 2006, he struck out 31.2% of the time, the second highest percentage in major league baseball.
