No, Not the Ryan Howard from The Office played by B.J. Novak.

Former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman, Ryan Howard, has hung up the cleats at the age of  38 years old. Howard signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies in August of 2017 and showed he did not have much left in the tank. hitting a lowly .189/.208/.367 through 27 games with the teams Triple-A affiliate with four home runs and four doubles.

Sad to see it come to and end. Howard burst into the scene in 2005 at 25 years old winning Rookie of the Year honors by finishing with 22 home runs, 63 RBI’s, 17 doubles and a slash line of .288/.356.567 through only 88 games. The next season in 2006, Howard took home the National League MVP award following a season where he hit the shit out of the ball. Howard finished that season with 58 home runs, 149 RBI’s, 182 hits, 104 runs, along with a slash line of .313/.425/.659–1.084 OPS and 383 total bases. That year, Howard led the National League in Home runs, RBI’s, and total bases. Most of his numbers from that year are career highs going down as one of the best seasons for a first baseman since that fantastic year.

Ryan Howard is one of only four players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in back to back seasons with his company being Kris Bryant, Dustin Pedroia, and a guy named Cal Ripken Jr. Only one player since that year in 2006 has surpassed that 58 home run total, that man being Giancarlo Stanton last year during his monstrous 2017 MVP season. Always known for his strike outs, Howard struck out more than 170 times in 6 total seasons and probably would have had more if he wasn’t hurt as often as he was toward the end of his career.

From 2006-2011 there wasn’t many more feared hitters in baseball. Along with those great numbers, Howard also helped Philadelphia capture its first World Series since 1980 in 2008 while winning 2009 NLCS MVP. Phillie fans will not forget Howard as he was a huge piece of their great run from 2005-2010. Howard finishes his career with 382 career home runs and 1,194 RBI’s and three All-Star appearances. Baseball says goodbye to one of the guys who my generation grew up watching and admiring. One of the biggest noses in history of baseball too.

P.S. Congrats to Mets pitcher Eric Hanhold on making his Major League debut last night throwing 1.1 innings without allowing a run. Many more great years to come for that young man.