By the time Ryan Howard was drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round in June 2001, Alex Rodriguez was two months into his record $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers, already a bona fide star with several playoff trips under his belt with the Mariners.
When the lefty-hitting Howard made his major league debut at home against the Braves three years later - Sept. 1, 2004 - it was an inauspicious outing. Pinch-hitting for pitcher Vicente Padilla, Howard struck out looking against Jaret Wright. Rodriguez was by then five months into his debut season in pinstripes, the star Yankee third baseman on a team littered with All-Stars. A-Rod already had one MVP award (2003), and was en route to a historic playoff series against the Red Sox.
Yankee fans don't need to be...
Read Full Article »
Recommended Articles
Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports - May 11, 2012
Alex Rodriguez has played in every game this season. Sometime this summer, maybe on an extra-humid afternoon or during the 20-games-in-20-days stretch the New York Yankees face in August, manager Joe Girardi will sit him.... more »
Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports - May 11, 2012
I don’t care what Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says — I’ll believe his team is a seller when I see it.
But know this:
According to major league sources, at least one club — the... more »
Adam Kilgore, Washington Post - May 7, 2012
The Nationals never had any doubt, from the moment Cole Hamels’s 93-mph fastball bored into Bryce Harper’s backside, that Hamels had done it on purpose. Afterward, in a statement that may earn him a fine and suspension,... more »
Tracee Hamilton, Washington Post - May 8, 2012
Now we’re talking. Now the Washington Nationals have a rival. A real rival, not an interleague, MLB-arranged, bi-annual blind date with the Baltimore Orioles, which despite their proximity was actually more of a long-distance ... more »