Why is Ryan Howard such a better second half player?

Written by Mike Mariano | 31 August 2009

August ended yesterday and so did a torrid month from Ryan Howard.  The Rhyno hit .299 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs, even adding a triple for good measures.  None of the other months were particularly terrible for the big man, however August was easily the best month that Howard has had this season.  And it should be no surprise to anyone reading this blog that this has become a Ryan Howard staple in his career thus far.  Check out his splits for his career in July (this year wasn't great, but it usually is), August & September:

July:  .296/.401/.591, 39 HR

August:  .286/.374/.584, 44 HR

September:  .317/.435/.716, 44 HR

Seeing as Rhyno's August was in line-with his career averages, we should be looking forward to a HUGE September.  But why?  There's got to be a reason that in his career, Howard is hitting .255/.342/.537 in the first half and .302/.409/.638.  Let's look at some possible reasons for these numbers:

• Ryan is a hot-climate guy who heats up as the summer does.
• Watching the Mets fade down the stretch gives him Hulk like powers.
• His depth-perception is so poor that it takes him half a season to get used to seeing pitchers.
• There is a strange fruit that is the source of his power, but is seasonal and Howard can't get until late summer.
• Wind currents change after June across the nation and blow his outs into hits.
• He needs to have a good sweat going and the summer humidity helps that.
• He's intentionally coasting until the team needs him.
• His pants don't fit, they stretch better in the summer.
• Long-sleeved shirts and under-armour sap his power.
• Howard draws his power from the summer solstice on June 29th, but it runs out on the winter solstice, until he can repower in the next go around.
• After using the first-half as a scouting tool, he can surgically attack the shifts played against him to better find holes.
• Being a kid at heart, he plays better when school ends and there are more kids at the ballpark.
• Patriotism wills Ryan Howard to become a better player after July 4th.

If none of those things cover it, well then I just can't crack the case.  But more seriously, Ryan Howard spends the first half of every year making everyone wonder if he's really that good, then tears up the second half and reminds why you thought he was the man in the first place.

As far as what the real answer is, I think it's got something to do with that 3rd bullet point.  The farther the season goes, Howard begins to zero in and learn and it hitting simply becomes easier for him.  In my own baseball playing experience, it's simple the more you stand in against live pitchers, the quicker you get comfortable in there.  That sounds silly and obvious, but in Howard's case it might just be everything.

Howard is a guess-hitter and slow starter.  I'm going to venture that it takes most hitters much, much less time to get up to 100% than Rhyno.  For instance, Chase Utley seems like the type that shows and is the man immediately.  The fact that Howard is such a slow starter only lends credence to how good of a player that he is.  The second half stats are the stats that Ryan should produce, however he just takes much longer than the average player find his groove.

So beware Mets fans now that you know the only thing stopping Howard from mashing start to finish is a little bit more preseason.  Somebody call Ruben Amaro, it's all so simple.