Not bad for a second year player. Last year Rookie of the Year and now the National League Most Valuable Player. Howard becomes the second player in Major League Baseball history to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards in consecutive seasons, following Cal Ripken in 1982 and 1983. Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) have the sweeter distinction of winning both awards in their first seasons. Howard's season of 58 homers and 149 RBIs is made more impressive by his .313 batting average. Congrats Ryan!
Now the Phils need another bat since their off season target Alfonso Soriano signed a crazy contract with the Cubs, Soriano agreed Monday to a $136 million, eight-year contract. The deal became official after Soriano passed a physical Monday. Soriano's deal is the fifth-largest total package given to a major league player. And Pat Burrell still hasn't been traded.
In other sports news the Eagles season went into the toilet, if it wasn't there already, when Donovan McNabb got hurt again. And Penn State beat Michigan State finishing with an 8-4 record and probably will get a New Year's Day bowl game.
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Congrats to Ryan Howard. At the end of the regular season, the majority of pundits, I would say, predicted that Pujols would get the award mostly because the Cardinals made the playoffs and the Phillies did not. Well, the Phillies still had a better regular season record than the Cardinals - thanks largely to Howard. And, he didn't miss weeks on end with an injury like Pujols did.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to February and spring training. Because there's not going to be a heck of a lot for a Philadelphia sports fan to watch between now and then.
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