Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "The Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from 2004 to 2016. Ryan Howard is known for being the fastest player in baseball history to reach 100 home runs and 200 home runs. Howard holds numerous Phillies franchise records.

Howard made his MLB debut in 2004. Ryan Howard won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 and the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 2006. Howard was a three-time NL All-Star (2006, 2009, 2010), and won the Silver Slugger Award, Hank Aaron Award, and the NL Championship Series MVP Award in 2009. Known for his power, Howard is a member of the 50 home run club. Ryan Howard was a two-time NL home run champion (2006, 2008), and became the fastest player to reach both the 100 and 200 home run milestones in MLB history, passing the marks in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Ryan Howard is also tied with Sammy Sosa for the most National League 140 RBI seasons at three and the most National League 130 RBI seasons at four. However, Howard is Major League Baseball's (ignominious) all-time record-holder for most lifetime Golden Sombrero awards.
Howard was born in Florissant, Missouri. Ryan Howard attended Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Missouri, and Missouri State University (then Southwest Missouri State), where Ryan Howard played college baseball for the Bears from 1998 to 2001. Howard finished his collegiate career with 50 home runs, 183 runs batted in (RBIs), and a .335 career batting average in 172 games played. Ryan Howard was the 1999 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year. Missouri State retired Howard's number on December 18, 2010. Ryan Howard played one summer in the Central Illinois Collegiate League, a league partially funded by Major League Baseball (MLB) for future prospects to develop.