Philadelphia Phillies: Beer Bottle Thrown at Ryan Howard

During the Philadelphia Phillies‘ game with the Brewers on Saturday, longtime Phillies slugger Ryan Howard had a beer bottle thrown at him after he grounded into the final out of the game.

There is no video of the incident, but the Philadelphia Phillies and Major League Baseball turned the investigation over to the police following the game.

Ryan Howard has been one of the Phillies’ best players for over a decade now. This season has been disappointing to say the least. In 2016 Howard has hit .151/.211/.336 with a 32.9 percent strikeout rate and 40 wRC+, which is one of the worst set of hitting stats I have ever seen.

Regardless of how good or bad Howard has been this season as he continues to decline, Phillies fans should recognize how much he gave their franchise during his career. The same Howard that can’t hit the broad side of a barn this season won the MVP in 2006 and the World Series in 2008.

Frustration at his current failures with the team in a position to possibly reach the playoffs is understandable, but based on everything Howard has done for the team, he is the last player fans should be taking their frustration out on.

I’ve done too much in this town to have that kind of stuff. – Ryan Howard

Following the situation, Howard was understandably furious when he was asked about the incident. For Howard, the line was crossed when an item was thrown at him. Verbal abuse is commonplace in his job, but the act of throwing a bottle showed a clear physical attack on not only Howard the player but also Howard the person and he wants the offender to be found and punished appropriately.

Philadelphia fans have gotten a bad rap for many years as being “trashy” fans who quickly turn on their sports heroes the moment something goes wrong. Perhaps that stereotype correctly describes a few fans among the thousands, but we shouldn’t be so quick to judge a whole group based on a single incident or even multiple incidents.

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The fan that threw the bottle in the heat of the moment does not necessarily represent the fanbase as a whole. It’s important that we remember that fans of teams other than the ones we cheer for are just like us; they care deeply and passionately about their team.

One angry, possibly inebriated fan doesn’t stand for the whole group of fans. As a competitive athlete, Howard is almost certainly already feeling down about his 2016 slump. His career appears to be coming to an end, which is always tough for players to conquer. Most players want to leave the game knowing their fans loved every minute of watching them.

A moment like this could diminish an already low level of confidence that Howard has in himself and his image with the fans. Hopefully he realizes that thousands of Phillies fans still love and respect him for what he brought to the team in his prime.

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At one point Howard was not only the Phillies’ best hitter but also the best hitter in Major League Baseball. He can rest easy knowing that the mark he made on the franchise is unlike almost any other in the team’s history.