Ryan Howard and the Great Strikeout Debate, Part I

Up until the last 4 or 5 weeks of the season, Ryan Howard was on a pace to strike out well over 210 times. But Howard found his stroke, making much more consistent contact over the last month or so, and finished with "only" 199 k's. This coincidentally was the same number he had last year when he set a major league record (last year, it should be noted, it was accomplished with considerably fewer at bats). A new record of 204 k's was set this year by Mark Reynolds of Arizona. Until Howard's late season surge, there had been intense debate over his strikeout numbers, and to what degree they undermined his value to the team. That debate seems to be a distant memory now. Without the first baseman's torrid September, the Phils would not be knocking on the World Series door, and momentum is building for another MVP award for Ryan.

Yet the strikeout issue is still a valid one and we will be discussing it over the next few days. For now, I would offer two thoughts:

1. 199 strikeouts are too many.
2. If you hit 50 home runs and drive in 150 runs every year, no one will care.

Next time, we'll try to put Howard's numbers into some context, comparing them with past and present players. Feel free to jump in.