Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman.

[6] While doing this, he impressed scouts enough that general managers of several teams tried to lure the Phillies' Ed Wade into trading him, as Jim Thome was blocking his path to the majors.

On September 1, 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.

Before the 2006 season, the Phillies traded Thome for outfielder Aaron Rowand and minor league pitching prospects Gio González and Daniel Haigwood in order to make room for Howard.

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 Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco.

The Philadelphia Baseball Writers' Association of America awarded him the third annual Mike Schmidt Most Valuable Player honor.

[26] On May 9, Howard hit his fourth career grand slam, against Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Medders, when he came into the game as a pinch hitter for Wes Helms.

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.

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 struck out seven times in his other 11 at-bats.

It was the seventh time that the Phillies had hit three consecutive home runs, the first since May 18, 2004,[36] and the fourth occurrence by any team in the 2008 Major League Baseball season.

[45][46] On February 8, the Phillies and Howard agreed on a 3-year, $54 million contract that bought out his remaining three years of salary arbitration eligibility.

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 (145 m).

[52] 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.

[54] Howard ended the season tied with Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder for the major league lead in RBI with 141.

In the 2009 National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Colorado Rockies, Howard hit a game-tying double with two outs in the top of the ninth off of closer Huston Street.

After tying Lou Gehrig's record for the most consecutive postseason games with an RBI, Howard won the NLCS MVP award on October 21.

[55] However, Howard struggled against the New York Yankees during the 2009 World Series, in which he struck out a record 13 times, passing the mark previously set by Willie Wilson in 1980.

[57] He was also the first designated hitter in an NL 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.

[60] On September 8, Howard hit his 250th home run in only 855 games,[61] which surpassed Ralph Kiner as the quickest player in history to reach that milestone.

[63] Howard was listed with teammates Chase Utley, Jamie Moyer, and Roy Halladay as one of the few active players that were likely to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

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.

[70] Howard entered the 2014 season feeling rejuvenated, and looking to utilize the whole field, rather than exclusively pull the ball, as he had done in recent years.

[75] In 2015, Howard batted .229, and his 23 home runs, 77 RBI and 138 strikeouts led the last-place Phillies, even though he missed the last three weeks of the season due to a left knee injury.

[78][79] On June 1, manager Pete Mackanin announced his plans to keep Howard on the bench so as to give Joseph, a rookie, more playing time at first base.

On November 2, the Phillies declined the option for Howard that had a $23 million deal for the upcoming season, making him a free agent for the first time of his career.

[84] On August 12, 2017, Howard agreed to a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies and was assigned to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.

While attending Missouri State University he became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and his line name was "Blue Hurt".

[92][93] Howard appeared alongside teammate Chase Utley as himself on the 2010 episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia "The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods".

[97] On January 5, 2016, it was announced Howard had filed a lawsuit suing Al Jazeera for defamation following the publication's release of the documentary episode "The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers", which linked Howard and Washington Nationals infielder Ryan Zimmerman, among others, to a clinic that allegedly distributed steroids and HGH.