Ryan Howard‘s struggles against left-handed pitching, his 2014 season notwithstanding, are well known. The New York Yankees took advantage of this during the 2009 World Series, having lefty reliever Damaso Marte face Howard four times in four games and getting the out all four times in two fly balls and two strikeouts. It then became the law of the land for opposing managers to bring in their lefty specialist to neutralize Howard.
Injuries, age, and defensive shifting sapped Howard of his potentially productive 30’s, but so did the evolving bullpen zeitgeist.