CLEARWATER, Fla. – Ryan Howard would only talk about the game, and, frankly, he had a game worth talking about.
The embattled Phillies’ first baseman opened the Grapefruit League with a nice showing in what ended up a 5-5 tie with the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Howard singled twice, drove in a run and looked nimble around the first base bag.
Afterward, he obliged interview requests for the first time since the end of last season.
But …
He would not talk about anything other than immediate baseball issues, meaning he would not comment on a much-publicized legal dispute with his family that was settled in the fall, nor would he comment on the team’s unsuccessful efforts to trade him this winter.
In short, he didn’t want to talk about the past.
“What good does it do? What’s the benefit of it? Why be negative?” he said. “It takes a lot more energy to be negative than it does to be positive. Negative, bad. Positive, good. There’s no need to be negative.
MLB
“Everything that happened in the past is in the past. We’re all moving forward.”
So, for now, no one knows whether last year’s personal problems affected Howard on the field. (Those who know Howard, including general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and former teammate Jimmy Rollins have speculated that they did.) And no one knows whether Howard feels unwanted by the team after Amaro’s wintertime admission that the Phillies might be better off without him.
Since reporting to camp last week, Howard’s body language has supported his positive mindset. He has smiled easily, laughed and joked with teammates. He also appears to be having a lot of fun on the field.
“That’s the goal,” he said. “That’s what happens when you come positive.”
Howard, 35, is in noticeably better physical condition than he was at the end of last season. He said he dropped about 15 pounds by “cleaning up” his diet and eliminating sugar.
Manager Ryne Sandberg has said Howard looks quicker on the bases and in the field.
After Tuesday’s game, Sandberg commented that Howard’s bat also looks quicker.
“I see better bat speed this early in the spring than I did last year this early,” Sandberg said.
Howard pulled one of his hits to the right side in the game and went the other way for the other. Sandberg liked that.
“I liked him going to left field, opening up the field,” said Sandberg.
Howard’s batting stance is slightly different this spring. In addition to carrying his hands a little lower, a practice he started last summer, he is standing more upright at the plate. Howard lowered his hands at the suggestion of former teammate Marlon Byrd. The theory is it quickens the hands through the zone. The more upright stance came after watching video of days gone by.
“I’m just trying to find what’s comfortable,” Howard said.
In addition to being in better shape, Howard is simply healthier. Time has helped heal the wounds his legs have endured.
“They feel good,” he said. “Obviously you guys have watched camp. We’ve had a pretty busy workload. For them to be able to withstand the kind of workload that we’re doing right now, it’s a good sign.”
Despite hitting 23 homers and driving in 95 runs, Howard hit just .223 last season and his career-worst .690 OPS ranked 120th in the majors.
He was asked if he has come into camp with something to prove.
“I’m just here to play ball,” he said.
Does he have any individual goals?
“Yeah, but I can’t tell you,” he said.
Fair enough, but what about the team?
“We had our problems last year,” Howard said. “One of the biggest things is we didn’t put teams away when we had the opportunity. If we can put teams away when he have the opportunity to, then I think we’ll shock a lot of people.”