Philadelphia's Ryan Howard rounds third after hitting a home run Thursday in Bradenton, Fla. Howard has been accommodating to the stream of interview and autograph requests this offseason and already may be the most popular Phillie ever, team chairman Bill Giles says.

C’mon, slugger. Try on Ryan Howard’s shoes for a while. Who wouldn’t want to be a 27-year-old bona fide star, one who has found himself holding the baseball world in the palm of his gargantuan hand?

Slip into his oversize dungaree shorts, slide on an ultra-hip XXL black T-shirt by renowned tattoo artist Ed Hardy (you know, like Madonna wears). Get the sunglasses just so, punch a large diamond stud into each ear and walk through the left field pavilion at Bright House Networks Field on an 80-degree day in Clearwater, Fla. Meet up with your teammates and buddies, outfielder Shane Victorino and shortstop Jimmy Rollins, about an hour after the Phillies’ 12th game of spring training.

Here’s what you’ve got: a crowd. Phillies fans have been hanging out for hours at the outfield bar, and now – out of left field, literally – they see the franchise savior has arrived. They want a peek. The crowd grows, presses closer. You’re 1,100 miles from Philly, but there’s no anonymity. Fans snap pictures on cell phones, walk near just to be near, shout questions. Small kids in too-big hats approach you for autographs. Sunburned old men, a bit tipsy, are concerned about the Phillies’ chances this year: “We should make the World Series, don’t you think, Ryan?”

Twenty-somethings, beyond tipsy, anticipate the encore to that homer-heavy 2006 season: “How about 70 bombs this year, Ryan?”

If you’re going to put on Howard’s shoes, slugger, you’ve got to hang out for an hour, for no other reason than because the folks keep coming. This isn’t some paid publicity appearance. This is Howard, just being himself, smiling for photos, signing, high-fiving, bending down (a consequence of being 6-foot-4, 250 pounds) to fit into photographs, answering question after question after question.

Sound like fun? Every day of Howard’s off-season has been this way. Going to the grocery store, buying a pair of shoes, visiting a restaurant – a crowd follows. Asked if Howard could wind up the most popular Phillie in history, team chairman Bill Giles says, “He might already be.”

After winning the National League MVP award, Howard spent five months accommodating interview requests, filming commercials, doing photo shoots and appearing at banquets in Philadelphia, St. Louis, New York and Boston.

“It was pretty crazy,” he admits.

Victorino adds, “Ryan’s problem is he can’t say no to anyone.”

But the hardest part of being Ryan Howard is just beginning. As the 2007 season opens, all those questions lobbed his way will begin to be answered. Can he produce something similar to the best sophomore season in baseball history, a year in which he slugged 58 home runs, drove in 149 runs and hit .313? We’ll see. Will he carry the RBI burden for a team expected to make the playoffs this year? Maybe. Is there a pitcher in his right mind who will give Howard anything to hit? Doubtful.

And there’s this issue, one that Howard wishes would just go away: How will he deal with Barry Bonds’ chase of Hank Aaron’s home run record? Somehow, Howard’s performance has gotten tangled up in Bonds’ run to 755, mostly because he contrasts so sharply with Bonds (a player Howard says he grew up admiring). Howard is jolly both in nature and physique. He does not look like a steroids guy, and it’s almost impossible to imagine him linked to grand juries or congressional hearings. The Ryan vs. Barry overtones are stark – natural vs. steroids, smile vs. sneer, good vs. evil. Bonds is the slugger baseball fans are stuck with. Howard is the slugger they want.

It’s a lot to ask of a guy entering his third major league season. The Phillies have not reached the postseason in 14 years, and no matter how Howard hits, they’ll still have a soft rotation and a weak bullpen. With Rollins and Chase Utley, the team has ideal hitters ahead of Howard and will score runs, but the front office was unable to secure a big bat to put fifth behind Howard – attempts to land Alfonso Soriano failed, which leaves the No. 5 job to Pat Burrell or Wes Helms – and the busy off-season left Howard feeling a little off himself.

Asked about the state of his game, Howard says, “It’s not at all where it needs to be.”

With every new steroids allegation, baseball nation turns its lonely eyes to Howard. Wear Ryan Howard’s shoes and get to know pressure.

“You might worry about pressure with some people,” says Phillies general manager Pat Gillick. “But Ryan is the kind of guy who does not get too high or too low. There are a lot more things to worry about before you worry about Ryan.”

Watching Ryan Howard stand in the left-handed box to take batting practice, the self-pressure is evident. He takes B.P. like a slap-hitting second baseman. Line drive, left field. Line drive, center. Ground ball, up the middle. This guy hit 58 home runs?

“Watching Ryan take batting practice is pretty boring,” says Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson.

That’s because Howard is working on becoming a better hitter, not a better slugger. He takes as much pride in batting average as he does in home runs. So, when he lifts a pop fly to right field on his last swing in batting practice, he slams his bat into the dirt. Then he heads inside to the batting cage for more work.