Howard enjoying his run with surprising Phillies

The biggest star remains from those Phillies teams that dominated opponents much of the previous decade. Actually, there is Ryan Howard, along with suddenly rejuvenated teammate Carlos Ruiz, but only one of them won a National League Most Valuable Player Award and promoted Subway sandwiches.

It wasn’t Ruiz, by the way.

With apologies to that Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Greg Luzinski group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the glory days for the Phillies involved that stretch when they finished first or second each season for eight consecutive years through 2011. Howard and Ruiz joined a clubhouse back then with the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Jamie Moyer and Brad Lidge.

They’re all gone. Not Ruiz, though, who lost his starting catching job last season only to regain it this year at 37 with consistency behind the plate and an impressive enough bat. It’s just that, while Ruiz was good during the Phillies’ run, Howard was great, and at 36, the 6-foot-4 and 250-pounder still trots to first base more often than not when the Phillies take the field.

During those years, when the Phillies had another league MVP winner, several owners of multiple Gold Gloves, players grabbing awards such as Rolaids Man of the Year, Cy Young and Roberto Clemente, did Howard think he would be the last of those Phillies standouts still playing?

“Nah, not really. No,” Howard said the other day, shrugging over the fact that he is in the final year of his contract with the only Major League team that he has known since he won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2005. “You always have to remember that, when it comes to players leaving a team, that’s the change aspect of the game. As for me still being here when compared to those other guys, I don’t think you ever look that far down the road to …

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