It’s no secret that Ryan Howard is very much available. The Phillies are so desperate to unload their first baseman that they’re reportedly willing to eat $50 million of the $60 million Howard is owed over the next three seasons. Even then it might be tough to find a taker.
Well, there is one team out there that is interested in acquiring the 35-year-old Howard, although they might have a little trouble picking up the remaining $10 million on his contract.
The York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League have made it known they would like to add the 2007 NL MVP to their lineup and have enlisted the help of their fans to make it happen.
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Here’s how they plan to raise the necessary funds:
“If there are roughly 400,000 people living in York County, we only need $25 from each of them to have the funds necessary to put Ryan Howard in a Revolution uniform,” surmised York General Manager John Gibson. “Some dads might have to dock a kid’s allowance for a couple weeks, big deal,” Gibson continued.
Hoping the campaign will spread beyond the York area and statewide, the Revolution has lowered the donation amount they are asking for to $10. As a thank you, each fan who donates will be provided with two complimentary ticket vouchers to the Revolution’s Opening Night game at Santander Stadium in Downtown York, on Friday, April 24 against the Long Island Ducks at 6:30 p.m.
Should the Revolution fall short of the funds required to add Howard, the team has agreed to donate 83% of the funds raised to Penn-Mar Human Services, the presenting partner of the 2015 York Revolution season.
The story on the team’s website also includes a picture of Howard wearing a Revolution hat.
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Of course there’s no chance Howard will actually be making the two-hour trip from Philadelphia to York, Penn. any time soon, but kudos to the independent league ballclub for seeing an opportunity to have some fun while garnering a bit of publicity.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
