A Look Back: Howard’s 2007 Rehab Appearance
As we announced today that the BlueClaws will be retiring Ryan Howard’s Number 29 on September 2nd, we thought it would be a good time to look back at his rehab appearance in May of 2007 (note he wore 29 here in 2002, which is being retired, and he wore his Phillies 6 during his rehab assignment (pictured).
On the field, it was pretty cool, as you may remember.
- Our slick friends in the production room played “Welcome Back Kotter” when he came to bat for the first time.
- He had an early double on May 23rd, and later homered into the berm in left-center field.
Some quotes from that day (May 23rd).
- Howard: “This park plays big. I remember that from when I was here.”
- Howard: “It’s fun, seeing the looks on some of the guys’ faces. Being out there clowning around with them. It might make their day or their year. It’s a lot of fun.”
- Howard: “It felt good to be back here for me. It’s a little weird, it all started here.”
- BlueClaws SS Jason Donald: “I was running on the pitch (HR) and got a good look. It was a great feeling being at home plate to greet him. That’s something you see on SportsCenter and here I was a part of it. It was surreal.”
- BlueClaws manager Steve Roadcap: “When he got back in the dugout, I just asked him if he wanted me to get him the ball. He just smiled and laughed.”
More on this game here.
Off the field, the BlueClaws officially get the word that he’ll be in Lakewood a few days before, and the preparations begin, including:
- Finding room for over 40 members of the media (normally we fit about 12), which included concourse tables.
- Finding a backdrop for the press conference afterwards
- Some more details on this side in this article from MiLB.com (for which I was interviewed while sitting in the DMV about 10 months ago).
All told, over 16,000 came out to see the two games and the BlueClaws set a May attendance record largely because of his rehab appearance. Lakewood split the two games, a 7-4 win followed by an 8-6 loss.
You can bet we’ll have a lot more as we lead into the ceremony on September 2nd.
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