You’re on the phone with then-Phillies GM Ed Wade, who brings up the name of a certain first baseman who’s been pounding homers at a phenomenal clip in the minors.


He tells you the price it’ll take, in terms of top prospects, to acquire the hulking slugger.


But you’re not interested.


You’re dubious about the young man’s numbers because you don’t think he can achieve similar success in the majors. After all, long-ball hitters are a dime a dozen in the minors, right?


So you exchange goodbyes with Wade and hang up.


Congratulations, baseball genius, you just blew an opportunity to get Ryan Howard.


Yes, the 26-year-old power machine with 58 home runs and 143 runs batted in, the one who may very well win the National League’s Most Valuable Player award in his first full major-league season.


It’s scary now to think the Phillies were even entertaining offers for Howard, and both Wade and current assistant GM Mike Arbuckle insist a trade wasn’t close to fruition.


But at that time, Jim Thome was entrenched at first base and in the midst of his second 40-plus-homer season with the Phils. Thome was the proven commodity, and Howard just a minor-league sensation; it’s no wonder the club was exploring the possibility of dealing the youngster.


Today, all of us Phillies fans can breathe an enormous sigh of relief the front office didn’t pull the trigger, though that may have resulted less from their good sense and more from the historic miscalculation of other teams.


But what if Thome hadn’t gotten hurt last season, and given Howard the chance to show what’s he’s capable of?


It’s like when Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp at first base in the Yankees starting lineup and never looked back. The analogy is a bit flawed, though, because Howard isn’t in Gehrig’s class — yet — and Thome is a probable Hall of Famer, unlike the forgettable Pipp.


But Howard does share some important characteristics with the Iron Horse, including likeability, humility, and a gentlemanly demeanor.


In the post-steroid era, Howard’s genuineness is just what major-league baseball needs.


He “represents a true breath of fresh air,” David M. Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California’s Sports Business Institute, told the Wall Street Journal in a Sept. 15 article.


“I sense fans, both everyday fans and corporate fans, long for an authentic figure to support.”


(As proof Howard is an easy guy to identify with, the Journal said he likes to bowl, and drives a truck with more than 100,000 miles on it.)


The newspaper wondered why Howard hasn’t picked up major endorsements, unlike Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. The speculation is that Howard is paying the price, literally and figuratively, for the likely steroid use of his predecessors.


Though the national media’s finally awakened (Howard has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and received an invitation to appear on the “Late Show With David Letterman”), a cynical environment has left corporate sponsors gun-shy, though that could soon change.


Let’s hope Howard doesn’t.


Right now, he’s a homegrown superstar we, and the rest of the country, can be very proud of.


After all, sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.


Paula Wolf, a sports enthusiast who uses a wheelchair because of rheumatoid arthritis, is a staff writer for the Sunday News. E-mail her at pwolf@lnpnews.com.