EMBED >More News Videos Philadelphia Phillies star Ryan Howard was honored Sunday at Citizens Bank Park prior to what is believed to be his final game for the team. PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has officially announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.Howard made the announcement in a letter written on The Players' Tribune titled "Thank you, Philly. ""I'm officially announcing my retirement from the game of baseball. It's almost like I blinked, you know? It's almost like I blinked - and suddenly, September 2004 ... it became September 2018," Howard said.Howard wrote about what he was going through his mind as he made his Phillies debut 14 year ago:"I'd been hearing for years about how famous the fans in Philly were for being hard on their own players. And about how, if I didn't meet expectations, and meet them quickly, well, those fans - they were going to let me hear about it. It was basically the same advice from everyone, over and over: Philadelphia's tough. And if you want to survive there? You have to get tough, too.Howard said he understood the Philadelphia fan - they were in the long championship drought and were hungry. "So when I'd hear that Philadelphia was 'hard on its players,' it's funny - I'd just be like, Alright, well, that's my kind of town. I related to that," Howard said. "And I saw Philly as having that hunger to win - same as mine. "Howard recalled his first time coming up to bat 14 years ago at Citizens Bank Park. He was nervous and did not know how the crowd was going react, until he heard them. "Man..... the crowd just ROARED. ""It's like they were telling me, You're family, now. You're one of us. And this special thing that we've got going here - starting tonight, you're a part of that," Howard said.In the letter, Howard also looked back at his first home run, winning the Home Run Derby in 2006 with his son watching, and, of course, winning the 2008 World Series.Howard recalled the moments before the final out of Game 5 when pitching coach Rich Dubee went to the mound to visit Brad Lidge. Howard said Dubee asked Lidge how'd it go the last time he faced Tampa Bay Rays' Eric Hinske. Lidge said, "He waffled me. "Howard explained, "Waffle was our word, as a team, for when someone totally destroyed you... but it was also kind of like ... this ... joking term. You have to understand that about the moment. Or to put it another way: Waffle wasn't the kind of word that you were used to hearing in the top of the ninth, with two outs, one batter away from clinching the World Series. "Howard said the group of seven at the mound tried to keep their cool and stay composed. "You already know the rest," Howard added.Howard ended his letter by thanking his family, friends, and the fans:"Thank you to the crazy game that I'll miss, and the crazy city that I love. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the most passionate group of fans in the world. Y'all took a chance on this big, quiet kid from St. Louis - and for that I'll always be grateful. "ONLINE: Theplayerstribune.com------<doc-sep>Ryan Howard, the heart of the 2008 Phillies team, has officially retired from baseball. In a heartfelt letter to Philadelphia he posted on the Players’ Tribune, Howard talked about his journey in baseball, and his journey with Phillies fans. He talks about his first at-bat, his first home run, being with his son at the 2006 Home Run Derby, and of course the 2008 World Series. It’s long, but it’s Howard all over. You can hear him saying those words, and you know exactly what they would sound like coming out of his mouth. Between 99 and 100% of the pieces on the Players’ Tribune are written by PR people with the player’s approval, but this one sounds like Howard dictated it and someone faithfully put all his words and speaking tics onto the page. It’s completely lovely. We all said goodbye to Howard when he played his last game for the Phillies at the end of 2016. Instead of going through a career retrospective, none of which has changed since his last game for the Phillies was also his last MLB game, here’s the link to “Piece Out,” the series of the best Ryan Howard moments we did in Fall 2016. It feels appropriate that Howard is retiring now. Shane Victorino officially retired a few months ago. Chase Utley’s playing the last month of his career (though the playoffs are still a possibility). Jimmy Rollins never officially retired, but he’s clearly done with baseball and enjoying raising his two adorable daughters. It remains to be seen whether any of them besides Victorino will decide to retire as Phillies, but there’s no question which franchise they all belong to. And we’ll love them all forever regardless of whether they decide to have a press conference with a ceremonial one-day contract. When Howard played his last major league game at the end of the 2016 season, many of us reflected that it was going to be weird seeing baseball played at Citizens Bank Park without Howard there. His 12 years in the majors, plus the three years he spent in the minors, spanned the entirety of the Phillies most recent rise and fall. Less than a year after he departed, the Phillies made an unexpected jump from “sad rebuilder” to “actually interesting” in the last few months of the 2017 season. There’s a whole new crop of players who will (and maybe already have) become brothers. In players like Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery, Aaron Nola, and Jorge Alfaro, we see the next core. But we’ll never see anything like that 2008 core again. Even if the team we see before us in 2018 wins a World Series in a few years, it will be completely different. But while there will never be another Ryan Howard, I hope we’ll see someone else like him. Endless positivity, an enormous heart, and a home run swing that could make the baseball gods weep. Here’s how he ends his Players’ Tribune letter. All you can hope for in baseball, I think, is a moment of perfection every now and again. You can hope for a few, perfect moments — moments that belong to you, that are yours. And then you can hope for them to matter. And if it’s cool with everyone reading this … I’m going to feel like my moments did. Howard’s moments did matter. To hundreds, thousands, millions of Phillies fans, his moments mattered a lot. As some memories fade, and his last few difficult years in Philly get farther away, those moments will be what we remember of him. Players like him, who helped end the long championship drought of a faithful, hungry city, are immortal. Enjoy retirement, Ryan Howard. We love you.<doc-sep>Former Phillies 1B, NL MVP Ryan Howard retires after 13 MLB seasons Former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard announced his retirement after 13 MLB seasons. Howard made his announcement on the Players' Tribune website in an essay entitled, "Thank You, Philly." The 38-year-old Howard last played during the 2016 season. A three-time All–Star, Howard led the National League in home runs twice and also led the league in RBI three times. In 2005, Howard was named NL Rookie of Year, while playing in only 88 games. Howard's best season came the following year when he hit 58 home runs and drove in 149 runs while hitting a career-best .313 in winning the NL Most Valuable Player award. Two years later, he helped the Phillies win their first World Series since the 1980 season. He finishes his career with 382 home runs and 1,194 RBI.<doc-sep>Rich Schultz/Getty Images Longtime Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard announced his retirement from baseball Tuesday following a 13-year MLB career. Howard, who last played in the major leagues during the 2016 season, confirmed the decision in an essay entitled "Thank You, Philly" for The Players' Tribune. "And that's definitely something I've learned, one way or another, over these last 14 years: How, in baseball, man…you truly do have to take the all of it," he wrote. "You truly don't get your share of the sweet, in this game, without taking your share of the sour." The Phillies selected Howard in the fifth round of the 2001 MLB draft. He made a quick ascent through the club's minor league system before making his debut late in the 2004 campaign, when he flashed his power potential with two home runs in 39 at-bats. He captured National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 after posting a .288/.356/.567 triple-slash line with 22 homers across 88 appearances. One year later, he was named the 2006 NL MVP after racking up an MLB-high 58 home runs and accumulating a career-best 1.084 OPS in 159 games for Philadelphia. Howard, who spent time in Triple-A for the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies in 2017, also features a 2008 World Series title, three All-Star Game selections and a Silver Slugger Award on his resume. Video Play Button Videos you might like "It's been a wild ride…and I'm glad that I got to stay on it for as long as I did," Howard wrote. "Which I guess has really also kind of become my overall perspective on things: How, when it's come to these last 14 years of mine—nothing has ever been easy for long, and nothing has ever been perfect for long. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." He finishes his career with 382 home runs—the second-most in Phillies history behind only fellow team legend Mike Schmidt (548)—1,194 RBI and 848 runs scored in 1,572 MLB games.<doc-sep>
Former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has officially announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. Howard has not played since the 2016 season. The 38-year-old made the announcement on the Player's Tribune, in a letter titled "Thank you, Philly." "I'm officially announcing my retirement from the game of baseball. It's almost like I blinked, you know? It's almost like I blinked — and suddenly, September 2004 ... it became September 2018," Howard said. In the letter, Howard reminisces on some of his favorite memories from his playing career, including his first home run at Shea Stadium in 2004, his Home Run Derby victory in 2006 and his World Series championship run with the Phillies in 2008. A three-time All-Star, Howard led the National League in home runs twice and also led the league in RBI three times. He was voted the National League's Rookie of the Year in 2005, after playing in just 88 games, and its Most Valuable Player in 2006. Howard finished in the top-10 in MVP voting for five straight seasons, from 2007 through 2011. Howard ended his letter by thanking his family, friends, and the fans. "Thank you to the crazy game that I'll miss, and the crazy city that I love. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the most passionate group of fans in the world. Y'all took a chance on this big, quiet kid from St. Louis -- and for that I'll always be grateful." Howard played all 1,572 games of his big league career in a Phillies uniform, and he finishes his career with 382 home runs and 1,194 RBI.