Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard says he is healthy, not old

CLEARWATER, Fla. — There are no walking boots or infections to speak of this spring. Ryan Howard is in no need of crutches to reach the dugout or a stool to field ground balls. The Phillies first baseman is healthy, and for the first time in 15 months, Howard can truly focus beyond staying uninjured.

He played 71 games in 2012 and admitted Thursday what everyone who watched him knew: There was fear in the back of his mind that he would again hurt his Achilles tendon.

"It's one of those things where you're just not 100 percent confident in it," Howard said. "You can't do the things you normally could do. Sometimes you might try to make a cut and you might feel something. ... Now it's not even a second thought in my mind."

It showed in his performance; Howard produced a .718 OPS, which was more than 200 points below his career average. He wilted against lefty pitchers, lumbered around the bases, and struck out at a higher rate than ever.

Howard has four years remaining on his blockbuster five-year, $125 million contract. He is a year older, having turned 33 in November, and resisted the idea he cannot improve with age.

In fact, he railed against the notion the Phillies' age will restrict them. They, of course, were the oldest team in the National League last season. Much of that core has returned and is a year older. Various studies by sports scientists have found a baseball player's peak age to be 29. Some sabermatricians would argue it's closer to 27.

Howard cited former teammate Jamie Moyer, who annually defied those standards.

"I don't buy into the old thing," Howard said. "It's all about how young you feel inside and how well you take care of yourself. Everybody in this clubhouse goes out and works their butt out. Everybody goes out in the offseason, they train and we do what we need to do to comeback. If people want to call us old, that's fine, but I think going out there this year we're going to show people that we're not old."

Howard said he wants to play all 162 games. He has reached at least 143 in six of the last seven seasons. Manager Charlie Manuel said 140 games was a more realistic target.

Manuel is eager to have another chance at tutoring Howard rather than simply using the spring as a rehabilitation period.

"I think he's got some work to do and I think he knows that," Manuel said. "We'll definitely be talking to him more about hitting. We'll try to prepare him more and he'll definitely get a lot of playing time in the games. He'll be ready when the season starts."

Howard agreed.

"You don't realize how important spring training is," Howard said, "until you don't have one."

Contact Matt Gelb at mgelb@phillynews.com or follow on Twitter @magelb.