Howard has a new stance on upping his numbers

It's true that Howard's career average is .237 after the sixth inning, but that average is skewed by the 2008 season, when he batted just .139 (26 for 187) after the sixth inning. Take away that season, and he's a career .268 hitter after the sixth inning.

It should also be noted that all those breaking balls didn't stop Howard from hitting .279 with 45 home runs and a league-leading 141 RBIs last season.

More walks, however, could be the key to taking Howard from an extraordinary power hitter to a superhuman slugger who is also capable of hitting .300.

"What I talk about with him is he should be over 100 walks every year," hitting instructor Milt Thompson said. "He just needs to be patient at some points during the game when they're trying not to pitch to him. Don't go outside of the zone and try to do something because we have other guys in the lineup that will try to pick you up."

During his 2006 MVP season, Howard walked a career-high 108 times and batted a career-high .313 despite seeing curveballs 29 percent of the time.

"That year, he hit with a little more patience, and he hit everything they threw up at him," Manuel said. "He hit lefties pretty good, too."

Howard, a career .226 hitter against lefties, batted a career-high .279 against them in 2006.

"I know he can do it again and so does he," Manuel said.

So does Thompson.

"The other thing I talk to him about is concentrating on hitting the ball to left-center field," Thompson said. "The year he won the MVP he hit 27 home runs to [the opposite] field. No hitter has ever done that. I tell him when you can hit the ball out to the other side of the ballpark, there is no reason to even think about pulling the baseball."

But it's only natural for Howard to look for an inside pitch when three infielders are playing on the right side of the diamond.

"It's in his head," Thompson said. "When they put the shift on you, you have to be thinking they're going to try to pound you inside. When he gets away from not worrying about the shift and just concentrating on the pitch he wants to hit, then he'll drive the ball to left-center field."

Howard's resume is already remarkable. You can break down the splits and analyze the pitches coming at him, but the numbers next to the first baseman's name validate his greatness. Still, there's a sense he can be even better.

"He has worked really hard this off-season," Thompson said. "He's really concentrating on trying to get his left-field stroke back. I still think when he gets it all together that he has a chance of breaking the RBI record. And the home run record, too."

Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577

or bbrookover@phillynews.com.