By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
After a 13-year major league career, Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Series champion and three-time All-Star first baseman Ryan Howard has decided to retire from Major League Baseball, according to his self-written article published Tuesday on The Players' Tribune.
Howard writes:
"It’s been 14 years, almost to the day. … September 1st, 2004 — that was the first time that I set foot inside the Phillies’ clubhouse: home against the Braves, during Citizens Bank Park’s inaugural season, for my Major League debut. … And now here I am, 14 years later, writing you this letter. I’m officially announcing my retirement from the game of baseball. … Thank you to the crazy game that I’ll miss, and the crazy city that I love. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the most passionate group of fans in the world."
Howard, 38, has recently found his way into the business industry through partnering with SeventySix Capital, a sports technology firm led by Wayne Kimmel and Jon Powell.
In February on the Wharton Business Radio podcast, Howard said he "always knew" he wanted to get into the business world following his career, and that venture capital was something that "jumped out" to him, given the opportunity of "being able to work with smart, nice, great entrepreneurs that are looking to try to change the world and make it a better place."
"I've always been very forward-thinking. For me personally, I've always understood that baseball is not going to last forever," Howard said. "I've been blessed and lucky enough to be able to play for as long as I've been able to play — 12-plus years — but, you live to be 100 years old. I'm almost 40 years old now and I still have another 60 years to go."
The Phillies selected Howard out of Missouri State University in the fifth round of the 2001 amateur draft. In 2004 — prior to his Sept. 1 MLB debut — Howard produced 102 RBI in 102 games and set a Double-A Reading single-season home runs record, 37. This record was broken eight years later by Darin Ruf in 2012 (38), followed by Rhys Hoskins (also 38) and Dylan Cozens (40) in 2016.
Howard platooned with 2018 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Jim Thome in 2004, and saw a significant increase in playing time in 2005 with Thome sidelined due to injury. Howard earned the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2005, with 22 home runs and 63 RBI in 88 games. That offseason, Thome was dealt to the Chicago White Sox, leaving Howard as the Phillies' main "big piece" for the next 11 seasons.
Read: The Ryan Howard-Albert Pujols Blockbuster Swap That Never Was
In his first full season as the starting first baseman in 2006, Howard slugged his way to the National League Most Valuable Player and Silver Slugger awards, slashing .313/.425/.659 with a MLB-best 58 home runs and 149 RBI. The St. Louis, Missouri, native would have at least 31 home runs and 108 RBI over the next five seasons, up to and including the franchise's 102-win season in 2011.
Howard's final season in red pinstripes, 2016, featured his seventh season slugging at least 25 home runs. This tied Howard with Del Ennis for the second-most in franchise history, trailing only Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt (13). Also in his final season, Howard hit two grand slams — increasing his franchise-leading total to 15 — and averaged a National League-best one home run per 10 at-bats in the second half.
Read: Ryan Howard: Analytics 'Slowly Killing Certain Aspects' of Baseball
Overall in his career, Howard's 382 home runs places him tied with Frank Howard and Hall of Famer Jim Rice for 67th all-time. In 1,572 games, Howard slashed .258/.343/.515 with 1,475 hits and 848 runs scored in 6,531 plate appearances. Howard finished first in Phillies franchise history in games played at first base (1,478), second in home runs (382) and RBI (1,194), third in extra-base hits (680), fifth in total bases (2,940) and 10th in doubles (277).
Howard appeared in 46 postseason games with the Phillies from 2007-2011, and was named the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player in 2009, with one double, one triple, two home runs, eight RBI and six walks in five games and 21 plate appearances. Howard produced three home runs and six RBI in the 2008 World Series, lifting the franchise over the Tampa Bay Rays for its second-ever championship.
In 2017, Howard attempted a MLB comeback with the Atlanta Braves' and Colorado Rockies' Triple-A affiliates. Howard slashed just .189/.208/.367 in 27 games, with four doubles, four home runs, 13 RBI, two walks and 28 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances. Howard elected free agency in November, and was never able to strike a deal with another organization for the 2018 season.
Howard was inducted into the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils' Baseballtown Hall of Fame on Tuesday, August 14. He joins Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Jayson Werth as other members of the 2008 championship to announce their retirement this season.
