Phillies sign Ryan Howard to contract extension
Already one of the game’s premier sluggers, Ryan Howard became one of the premier-paid players yesterday by signing a five-year $125million contract extension.
The deal could keep him with the Phillies until 2017 and it’s somewhere Howard wanted to remain for the foreseeable future.
"I tell you what, it's a great feeling to have that security and know where you're going to be," Howard said. "I feel what I've been doing over the last couple of years, I feel pretty confident that down the road, I'll be right where I want to be and still doing the same things."
And who wouldn’t want to be somewhere where for the next five years they’ll be paying you $125million. Howard will make $20million a year in 2012 and 2013 and then $25million from 2014-16. The Phillies have a $23million club option for 2017 with a $10million buyout.
The $25million average salary makes him the second-highest paid player in the major leagues behind Alex Rodriguez, who averages $27.5million a year, after he signed a 10-year $275million contract in 2007.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr was understandably delighted to keep his superstar slugger with the club. “We just felt it was good timing for us," Amaro said. "We felt No. 1, he's one of the elite offensive players in the game. We could have waited another year-and-a-half or so and dealt with it later on, but the fact of the matter is we decided he is that important to our organisation and to our club and to our future."
Howard is one of four players to hit at least 40 home runs and have 130-plus RBIs in four straight seasons and trails only baseball's greatest ever player, Babe Ruth, who had seven straight years of 40 home runs and 130 RBIs.
Howard is earning $19million this year and will make $20million in the final year of the three-year $54million he signed in February last year.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel will now have Howard until 2017 and if he hits .279 with 45 homers and 141 RBIs like he did last season the Phillies will be contenders for years to come.
"This is absolutely great. We signed Ryan Howard quite a few years ago and that means we're keeping him. He's one of our guys, he is a Phillie. It's big for our team. That's what you set out for.
“He's very worthy of it. He is a great player and he is going to continue to be a great player for a while. Everything about it's good,” Manuel said.
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