As Jerad Eickhoff warmed up in the bullpen for his 33rd and final start of the 2016 season on Sunday afternoon, he was overcome by an unexpected case of butterflies.
“It was actually one of the most nervous I’ve been before a start,” he said. “I don’t know why.”
Eickhoff thought about it for a second a realized why he was a little anxious before the start.
Though the Phillies were long out of the race in the National League East and were preparing to play their final game of the season before heading out the door to the offseason, this was a special day at Citizens Bank Park.
There were 36,935 fans in the seats and a buzz in the cool, autumn air. The occasion: A little “thank you” sendoff for Ryan Howard, a man who filled a lot of seats over a decade in red pinstripes, as he played his final game with the club.
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The team honored Howard with a moving video tribute and several gifts before the game. It was that video, which captured all of Howard’s great moments with the Phillies, that got Eickhoff.
“I was lucky and fortunate to be part of it,” he said. “I was warming up and I kept glancing up at the board. There was some emotion there. It was hard to block out, just the emotion of the fans giving their praise to Howie. Just being able to call him my teammate is just an incredible thing so to be a part of that and play (in this game) was really special for me in my career.”
Eickhoff reeled in his emotions and pitched six innings of one-run ball and the Phillies rallied with four runs in the final two innings to defeat the New York Mets, 5-2 (see Instant Replay), and finish their 134th season at 71-91 – an eight-game improvement over last season.
Maikel Franco led the Phillies with four hits and knocked in his team-best 88th run.
But this day belonged to Howard – from the touching pre-game tribute, to the words he spoke to the fans before the game, to the standing ovation he received while exiting the game in the ninth inning.
“It was a bittersweet day,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “All in all, I’m glad Ryan got to feel the affection from the fans. I must admit, I had a tear welling in my eye. It was that kind of day.”
Howard, who got emotional while addressing the fans before the game, spoke to the fans again after the game.
“Philadelphia is always going to be home,” he said.
And afterward, he came to the interview room with Darian, his teenage son, and Ariana, his show-stealing 23-month-old daughter, and reflected on the day and his time in Philadelphia. The Phils will not pick up the 2017 option on Howard’s contract and he will become a free agent after the World Series.
“It was a rollercoaster, man,” he said of the day. “It was crazy. I really didn’t know what to expect, what the organization was going to do, how I was going to feel. But getting out there, seeing the people, seeing the different videos. Everything just all kind of came in and hit me all at once.
“It was great. I’m still trying to register it. Looking at the video and having all of those memories coming back can hit you all at once. It’s crazy.
“Just watching the growth over the years, the different things, the different times, different events, and different games. It just brought back a lot of those different memories.
“When I came here, I was looking to go out here and just do a job and play baseball and do it to the best of my ability. To go out today and be recognized for it in the way it was recognized will be with me forever.”
Howard won a National League MVP and World Series championship with the Phillies. He said it would take a couple of weeks to digest everything – the tribute, the end of his time with the team.
“Once I let go and kind of decompress from the season and start to reflect – that’s when it will hit me,” he said.
But he quickly pointed out that he wants to continue to play next season. He will turn 37 in November and would likely have to find an American League team looking for a platoon designated hitter to continue his career in 2017. He went hitless in four at-bats Sunday to finish at .196. But he did hit 25 homers in 331 at-bats.
“I still want to play and I know there's more in the tank,” Howard said. “I tell my wife all the time that I'll know when it's time. I just want to get it all out of the tank and have no regrets. I don't want to sit at home and be like, ‘I wish I could still go out there and play.’ I don't want to have those kind of thoughts.
“When it's time, I'll know when it's time.”
Howard’s time with the Phillies is now over. He ended with a victory, lots of smiles and a few tears.
The last member of the 2008 World Series championship team has moved on.
The torch has been passed to Maikel Franco, Jerad Eickhoff and others.
“Those guys in the clubhouse now can start their own legacy,” Howard said. “They don’t have to be under that umbrella of people talking about 2008. They can pave their own path. That’s what I told a couple of the guys.”
