Ryan Howard officially retires from baseball

Ryan Howard, the heart of the 2008 Phillies team, has officially retired from baseball.

In a heartfelt letter to Philadelphia he posted on the Players’ Tribune, Howard talked about his journey in baseball, and his journey with Phillies fans. He talks about his first at-bat, his first home run, being with his son at the 2006 Home Run Derby, and of course the 2008 World Series. It’s long, but it’s Howard all over. You can hear him saying those words, and you know exactly what they would sound like coming out of his mouth. Between 99 and 100% of the pieces on the Players’ Tribune are written by PR people with the player’s approval, but this one sounds like Howard dictated it and someone…