Michael Smerconish: Phillies' Ryan Howard: Nice guy and winner

February 22,2008

Philadelphia Daily News

I DON'T PROFESS TO have the sports wisdom of Messrs. Conlin, Smallwood or Murphy, which is why my views are normally relegated to the front pages of the Daily News with the other eggheads. But this is Philadelphia, where lack of expertise never precludes an opinion on matters concerning the Phils, informed or otherwise. And while others are now wondering why the Phillies ever challenged Ryan Howard's $10 million demand instead of just paying him the money, I think I understand why the team took a shot at saving $3 million.

Everything I needed to know I learned in just the lead of David Murphy's coverage yesterday. He reported that at the arbitration hearing, Ryan Howard arrived in a coat and tie. And that Ryan Howard drove himself. He brought along his father. And 6 1/2 hours later, on the way out, he stopped and signed autographs for kids.

Bottom line: Ryan Howard is a class act, a throwback, an old-school big-leaguer for whom we are proud to have our kids cheer, all of which in this context, was potentially against his self-interest.

I say that because in baseball arbitration, somebody wins and somebody loses. There is no Solomonesque division down the middle, akin to what I and other lawyers see in the real world. Instead, it was all or nothing. Either the panel would award the $10 million sought by Howard, or the $7 million the team would rather have paid. That leaves no margin for spin on the part of the loser when it's all over. And the embarrassment that comes from losing could make a temperamental athlete do a slow burn, in this case, just as the season is starting.

All of which had to be in the minds of the Phillies when contemplating whether to pay Howard the additional $3 million, which, face it, is chump change in their world. You just can imagine the skull session where Pat Gillick, Mike Arbuckle and Ruben Amaro Jr. must have speculated as to how Ryan would react after sitting and hearing about his strikeouts, instead of his home runs. Their expectation of his behavior in the event the team won the arbitration must have been a large part of the Phillies' consideration when deciding not to pay.

By this logic, the decision to proceed to arbitration means the Phillies calculated that Ryan Howard was everything David Murphy reported - a gentleman, the kind of a guy who'd drive his own car with his father riding shotgun, make time for young fans when it's over, and not become disgruntled in the face of challenge or defeat. In a world of pompous athletes, Ryan Howard's stellar character suited him in pinstripes for arbitration and could have cost him money.

Only this time Leo Durocher was wrong. A nice guy finished first. *

Listen to Michael Smerconish weekdays 5-9 a.m. on the Big Talker, 1210-AM. Read him Sundays in the Inquirer. Contact him via the Web at www.mastalk.com.