By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Technically, Ryan Howard isn't the National League single-season leader in home runs. But his 2006 season season, in which he hit 58 home runs and won National League MVP, remains the most a National League player not substantively connected to PEDs has hit in a season. Giancarlo Stanton is closing in on that mark.
In this afternoon's 9-2 win over the New York Mets, the Miami Marlins slugger launched his 56th home run of the season, which StatCast says left his bat at 116.7 miles-per-hour:
Out in the blink of an eye!@Marlins slugger @Giancarlo818 crushes No. 56 at 116.7 mph. It's his 2nd-hardest HR of 2017, 8th across @MLB. pic.twitter.com/XTCeR3dbLy
— #Statcast (@statcast) September 20, 2017
Though it's possible Stanton cools down to close out the season, he has 10 games left to match or pass Howard's mark of 58 home runs. He's averaging a home run every 9.9 at-bats, so it seems likely that he will eclipse 58 home runs.
Of course, Howard's 2006 season isn't the most home runs a National League player has ever hit in one season. The trio of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa own the six most prolific home run seasons in National League history. However, a combination of admission, court testimony and credible media reports cast doubt on whether any of those seasons were done without the help of PEDs.
The point of this article isn't to suggest those seasons be erased from history of ignored. Valid or invalid, they happened.
Related: Ryan Howard sings Rhys Hoskins' praises on Twitter
It is interesting, however, to think about an alternate world where they didn't happen and Stanton was chasing Howard's record for most single-season home runs in National League history. Frankly, for as magical as Howard's 2006 season was, it would have been even more magical if he was chasing Roger Maris at 61 home runs, as opposed to Bonds at 73.
Stanton isn't going to catch Bonds at 73, but he's probably going to pass Howard and has an outside chance to at least match Maris at 61, which would tie him for the most single-season home runs of anyone not tied to PEDs.
Then we can get back to the real issue: debating whether the Phillies should attempt to make a mega-trade to land the 27-year-old.
