“If you ask me, he is worth every penny.\u00a0 I’ll even be the first in line on Dollar Dog Night to buy 20 million hot dogs.”<\/strong> In summary, it’s pretty simple.\u00a0 To be an elite team, you\u00a0need<\/span> elite players – period.\u00a0 And, to get elite players, you have to pay prices that may seem exorbitant (and stupid), when you try to compare them,\u00a0empirically, to\u00a0the rest of the field.\u00a0 But, that is the “elite tax.”\u00a0\u00a0Think about\u00a0it – from an empirical standpoint, is a $2.5 million home really TEN TIMES BETTER<\/em> than a $250,000 home?\u00a0 Almost certainly not, but to get an “elite” home, you have to pay the “elite tax.”\u00a0 The same goes for elite firstbasemen or closers or whatever…<\/p>\n “Chicks dig the long ball, and I dig Ryan Howard.”<\/em><\/strong> One more thing on this.\u00a0 I heard so many people say, “Why did they extend Howard when they did when they could have just waited and seen what else was out there for that price?”\u00a0 Again, a valid point, at the time, but now with the advantage of hindsight, let’s take a look.\u00a0 The number one argument I heard for this (including from some of the baseball writers I respect the most) was “Why spend all this money on Ryan Howard, when you can probably get an emerging Joey Votto<\/a> for half that?”\u00a0 (At the time, Votto hadn’t really broken out yet…).\u00a0 Well, by the time Votto was due to hit free agency, what happened?\u00a0 Well, let’s just say that Joey Votto is now on the books for $25 million\/year through…wait for it…2024<\/em>!<\/em>\u00a0 Sorry, the Reds have a team option in 2024, so they may only have to pay him through 2023…6 years after Howard’s expires…at $25m\/year.\u00a0 So, how would the “wait for Votto’s free agency” plan have worked?\u00a0 Okay, but Votto is probably the best player in the game right now.\u00a0 That’s true, so then what about Prince Fielder<\/a>?\u00a0 He’s a “pudgy” firstbaseman who just signed a contract that pays his $24 million\/year through 2020.\u00a0 (Oh, and unlike Howard, Fielder is NOT slimming down and vastly improving his defense in his offseasons.)\u00a0 Okay, but Fielder is only 28.\u00a0 That’s true, but what about Albert Pujols<\/a>?\u00a0 Pujols, who is the same age as Howard (with a MUCH scarier injury history), is due to receive $30 million in 2021!<\/p>\n The point is that Ryan Howard is one of the game’s best power hitters.\u00a0 And, elite power hitters are (a) very expensive and (b) absolutely essential – which is why even teams like the Reds and Tigers (not exactly historically big spenders) are willing to shell out mega-bucks for these guys.\u00a0 So, to all those people who say that Howard is too big to last, I give you the much larger Fielder, who has 4 more years on his deal.\u00a0 To those who say that Howard is too old to get that extension, I give you Pujols, who is the same age and has a contract of 4 additional years at a higher salary.\u00a0 To the ultimately stubborn of you who say that the defensive value (or lack thereof) of first base isn’t worth these massive contracts, I give you Votto, who is due upwards of $25 million\/year for the next 14 years!\u00a0 Even I didn’t defend the deal, at the time, but with each 1B signing that has occurred since, the decision looks less and less rash and may even be bordering on “prudent,” though even I am not quite there yet.<\/p>\n “While I, personally, believe math is much more important than chemistry in education, as well as baseball, you can’t deny how much better this Phillies team is with Howard in the lineup.” In summary, I, for one, enjoy laughing at the laziness of the national media (and some local media) talking about how overpaid Ryan Howard is or how stupid the Phillies were for extending him.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is that this team is INFINITELY <\/em>better with The Big Piece in the middle of the lineup.\u00a0 So, sit on the soapbox all you want and tell me that Ryan Howard’s $20 million dollars could be better spent on TWO Aubrey Huffs<\/a> or THREE Adam Linds<\/a> or THREE James Loneys<\/a>.\u00a0 I just want the guy back in that lineup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of our most dedicated “BSBelievers,” has been asking for quite some time now for a post about Mr. Howard, and more specifically, the big guy’s contract.\u00a0 This post is probably going to make every elitist “Sabermaterician” stop reading this … Continue reading
\n<\/em>One thing that I think all these critics of the big contracts completely miss is that there is\u00a0a premium (and a significant one, at that) on the best<\/em>.\u00a0 Call it an “elite tax” or something like that.\u00a0 But, the point is that there are all these people ripping contract signings like Howard, Papelbon, Cain, Tulowitzki,\u00a0Cabrera, Mauer, etc.,\u00a0with the same, tired arguments.\u00a0 They say things like “looking at their statistical worth, there is no way any of these guys can live up to those deals.”\u00a0 And, then they go further – even at his best (2006), Ryan Howard only gave the Phillies FIVE <\/em>wins more than a replacement player (WAR).\u00a0 So, at $25 million, even the best Ryan Howard would cost the Phils $5 mil\/win.”\u00a0 And, then they go on to rattle all the “cost-effective” players that they could buy for $25 million, add up their WARs and say how ridiculous the contract is.\u00a0 But, what they don’t realize is that even the most cost-conscious “good” teams are entirely populated with the Ben Zobrists<\/a> of the world.\u00a0 Even those Tampa Bay Rays have big-dollar guys like Evan Longoria<\/a> and James Shields<\/a>.\u00a0 And, the only reason that their payroll isn’t $120 million is because all those young pitchers haven’t hit free agency yet.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/newspaper.li\/static\/955f65f7c821cc001e5c0eb6b3908711.jpg\" "\\"The")
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\nSo, if you go with me on that first point, the next obvious question is – well, is Ryan Howard “elite?”\u00a0 And, honestly, that’s a pretty good question.\u00a0 I hear the arguments against him being elite, and there are some cogent points to be made.\u00a0 It is true that he has declined in just about every offensive category (except plate discipline) each year since his monster 58-HR season.\u00a0 But, what I do find laughable is how people are, all of a sudden, talking about this guy like he’s somewhere in the “mediocre” range.\u00a0 Are you kidding me?\u00a0 He had 33 HRs and 30 Ds last year in a “down year.”\u00a0 Say what you will about award voting, but the dude still finished TENTH in the NL MVP voting.\u00a0 He was, pretty much without question, the best offensive player on a team that won 102 games<\/em> – and, again, it was a down year for him.\u00a0 So, to say that this\u00a0guy isn’t\u00a0The Best firstbaseman in the league is one thing, but to say that he’s not still an elite player –\u00a0let’s take a cold look at the stats and not think about the\u00a0nationally overexposed, ruthlessly overcriticized player.\u00a0 Let’s stop and think for ourselves on this one, people, instead of lazily going with the prevailing, national opinion or on the SportsCenter highlights of all of his strikeouts.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em><\/strong>Another great point\u00a0at which\u00a0the Saber-elitists would scoff (if they were tormenting themselves by still reading this “traditional” and “simple” piece).\u00a0 Baseball is a different sport than just about any other when it comes to dealing with “the moment.”\u00a0 In most other sports, the more you “want to,” the better you will be.\u00a0 If you are really fired up and impassioned in a football game, you probably boost your chances to go out there and rip someone’s head off.\u00a0 Same for basketball.\u00a0 But, in baseball, because of the patience and precision required (and the aggression that is NOT required) a lot of times, the more you “want to,” the harder the sport becomes.\u00a0 Well, one of the biggest problems that appears to be haunting the 2012 Phillies offense is entwined in this phenomenon.\u00a0 Without Utley and Howard in the lineup, everyone feels like they need to do more, and therefore, usually do less (Chooch is an obvious exception to this, but I think he is just really good at controlling this emotion).\u00a0 Hunter Pence<\/a> is the prime example.\u00a0 He’s having a great year, by the numbers, but in run-scoring opportunities, he’s been awful.\u00a0 Same might go for the uncharacteristically testy, Shane Victorino<\/a>, and even the steady veterans like Polanco or Rollins.\u00a0 The big guy has been in the middle of this lineup since he was brought up, and this team has done nothing but win since he was brought up.\u00a0 He’s ready for the pressure.\u00a0 He’s accustomed to being “the guy” and everyone else is more comfortable with him as “the guy,” as well.\u00a0 This lineup just works with him in it.\u00a0 Now, put a price on that…if you can.<\/p>\n