Revisiting Ryan Howard's Golden Era with Phillies

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Bob Ford revisits the golden years of Ryan Howard and the Phillies as Howard has played his last game as a part of the franchise, marking the end of a glorious era. Ryan Howard had been overlooked and taken for granted while the Phillies were dominating the N.L. East and competing in the postseason consistently year after year. The World Series in 2008 was special and after that, the Phillies slowly declined and each player moved on from that team. Eight years later, Phillies fans say goodbye to the last player from that World Series team, and officially moving on to the future. Ford compares Howard to Mike Schmidt, both great players in Phillies’ history and each had their own decline that made Phillies fans realize how really special they were to the organization. (Bob Ford. September 30, 2016. Philly.com). Ford clearly used a technique in which he established an …show more content…

“Howard was never questioned before he lost his skills, and Schmidt was never embraced until after he did. Howard's obvious importance to the team's success far outweighed his many strikeouts when the Phils were winning. Schmidt was never given the same pass.” To finally convince the reader that Ryan Howard was a gift to the city of Philadelphia, he puts him in the same conversation as Mike Schmidt. He wants the reader to take away the great things that he did for the Phillies, and to give him a pass on the things Howard could not control. Everyone knows how important Schmidt was to this organization, and maybe fans have to realize what they had when they no longer have it, as then the appreciation comes wholeheartedly. Ford had to remind fans of what Howard used to be and how he was embraced by the city of Philadelphia, because Ryan Howard deserves to have a great legacy that should not be tarnished

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