Ryan Howard says the Phillies signing Jim Thome to a six-year contract while he was still in the minor leagues at the same position could’ve convinced him he’d never make it, but says instead he made a decision that he wouldn’t ever care who was in front of him or blocking him and he was going to respond by working harder “I always tell people there’s always going to be roadblocks and bumps and stuff like that. It’s like, how do you respond to that? I’ve got to tell you a quick story. My sophomore year in high school, me and another dude, both sophomores, were trying out for the varsity squad.” “They kept him. He played third base and pitched, and we didn’t have a whole lot of pitchers. He threw about 88 to 90. So they kept him, and they sent me back down to the sophomore squad. My old coach, who ultimately became my summer ball coach, came up to me and kept it a thousand with me. He said, ‘Look, man. I know you’re upset. I know you don’t want to be here. But you’ve got two choices.’” “‘You can either sit here with your should-haves, could-haves, would-haves and be upset that you’re not there, or put all your focus into what you need to do to get back up there.’ I said, ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ So I did what I needed to do. I got called back up to the varsity squad, and my first game back I had a really good game.” “That taught me something I’ve always had with me. You’re always going to run into something, and what it comes down to is your mindset. You’re the only person who can stop yourself. The world is going to throw stuff at you, it’s all about how you respond.” “When I got drafted a few years later, the Phillies signed Jim Thome. This was my first full season in the minor leagues in 2002, and they signed him to a six-year deal. So again, I’m like, ‘Damn, man. They just signed Jim Thome.’ As a fan, I’m like, ‘That’s awesome.’ But then the player who’s trying to get up there is like, ‘They just signed Jim Thome. Damn.’ So I’ve got a choice.” “I can either be mad and say, ‘I’ll never make it because Jim Thome is here,’ or stay focused on the goal, which was to get to the big leagues. Whether it was wearing a Phillies uniform or somebody else’s uniform, it doesn’t change the goal. It just changes the fact that maybe it’s with these dudes, maybe it’s not with these dudes.” “But I’m trying to get to the big leagues. I don’t care who’s in front of me. There are going to be roadblocks and stuff, man. It’s all about how you choose to spin it and how you choose to look at it.”