The Great Strikeout Debate - Conclusion

Early this season, Ryan Howard was arguably a liability to the Phillies. He was striking out in bunches, topping out at .200 with his batting average, and making too many mistakes in the field. 6-8 weeks into the season, his power production began to improve, and his BA had moved into the low .200's, but the strikeouts were still very much in evidence. He was winning some games with his bat but he was also killing rallies. Then came late August and September and it was 2006 all over again. Now the home runs and RBI's were coming in bunches. Strikeouts were down modestly but there were more quality at bats and Howard was hitting for average.

Unfortunately, in the playoffs Ryan is reprising his spring performance. So which is the real Ryan Howard? In September, when the Phils were playing their best ball of the season, Howard was hitting for average even with numerous strikeouts. He was winning many games with his bat. 200 strikeouts with a .260-.270 average are one thing. With a .220 average, they're something else. Howard will never be a Chipper Jones, Albert Pujols, or Manny Ramirez - power hitters who make consistent contact. But for those strikeout numbers to be acceptable, he needs to get that BA up. Maybe not as high as in his surreal MVP season, but up just the same.