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Flimsy number retirement policy shouldn’t preclude Phillies from honoring Ryan Howard

On Jan. 25, the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its newest inductees from the 2022 Baseball Writers Association of America ballot. Spoiler alert: Ryan Howard has only three votes in the public reveal and will fall off the ballot. He is unlikely to receive any meaningful consideration in the future with the Today’s Game Committee.

The Phillies should retire Ryan Howard’s No. 6 (Philadelphia Daily News via Icon Sportswire).

Because the Phillies have an unwritten policy of only retiring the numbers of players who were elected to Cooperstown with a Phillies cap, his one-year stint on the BBWAA ballot could mark the end of Howard’s chances of receiving the organization’s highest honor.