Phillies Fan ‘Infuriates’ Ryan Howard By Throwing Beer Bottle At Him In 6-3 Loss To Brewers

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard grounded out to finish Saturday’s 6-3 home loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, bringing his batting average this season to .151. As the first baseman walked back to the Phillies dugout, an angry fan threw a beer bottle that landed at Howard’s feet. Howard, 36, took no physical action against the fan, but was also evidently furious and shouted at him.

Phillies Fan ‘Infuriates’ Ryan Howard By Throwing Beer Bottle At Him In 6-3 Loss To Brewers

“I’ve done too much in this town to have that kind of stuff,” Howard said via the Philadelphia Inquirer. “If you want to yell out ‘You suck,’ that’s whatever. But when you start throwing stuff, that’s when stuff gets personal.”

According to CSN Philly, the team has a video of the aluminum bottle being thrown that it has given to local police. “We take this very seriously,” a Phillies spokesperson said.

“We have to be held accountable,” Howard then added (via the Inquirer). “If someone throws something, we’re just supposed to sit there and wear it and get hit. Nah man, we’re human beings first and foremost. People get it twisted. They see the baseball stuff and they don’t see you as a human being. They see you as someone that just plays baseball.”

The 13th-year veteran continued: “It was a Bud Light Lime bottle. I turned around and it was down near my feet,” Howard said. “I don’t play that. To me, that’s crossing the line. It becomes a security issue. It’s not necessary. That stuff infuriates me.”

“That’s dangerous for whoever threw that. We can’t have that happen,” said Phillies manager Pete Mackanin.

WPVI-TV Philadelphia’s Jeff Skversky tweeted out this picture of the alleged suspect:

Howard, who has played his entire career for Philadelphia, was once one of MLB’s most dreaded sluggers. He won the 2006 National League MVP award and finished in the top 10 five other times while helping the Phillies reach two World Series and win a title.

Nevertheless, his play has dropped off in recent years, despite signing a five-year, $135-million contract– of which he is in the final year– that made him all but untradable.

Howard went on to say that if someone in the street had done something like what the fan did to him, that person would have been ‘hauled off on,’ and that more severe punishments must be issued.

“If I would’ve done something, if I would’ve went into the stands and tried to beat this dude up, I would’ve gotten in trouble by Major League Baseball,” the first baseman said. “He probably would’ve tried to sue me. But it’s okay for him to throw a bottle and then go home and be on his merry way? Nah, that doesn’t work.”

Saturday’s loss was the 12th in the Phillies’ last 15 games.

Philadelphia’s Tommy Joseph led off the second inning with a home run to center field. Cesar Hernandez, who had gone 550 plate appearances without a homer, followed with a two-run homer after Tyler Goeddel tripled.

Then, however, the bats went silent. The Phillies had just three runners reach scoring position after the second. Cody Asche doubled to lead off the fourth, but none of his teammates were able to drive hime in.

“The offense just shut down,” Mackanin said.

Philadelphia did not score after the fourth inning in each of the first three games of the four-game series against Milwaukee. The series ended 2-2, with the Phillies winning 8-1 at their own Citizens Bank Park on Sunday.

The Phillies (28-29, 4th in NL East) will next host the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

MILWAUKEE, WI – APRIL 22: Ryan Howard #6 of the Philadelphia Phillies grounds out against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 22, 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)