One of baseball's most dangerous power hitters ain't done swinging for the fences just yet ... 'cause 38-year-old Ryan Howard tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to return to the MLB this season!!
We spoke with the 2006 National League MVP about his future in baseball ... and the 3-time All-Star makes it very clear he's not ready to walk away just yet.
"I'm still active, so we'll see what happens. Right now, we're kinda in the belly of the beast," Howard says.
Howard blew up early in his career ... leading the league in homers 2 different seasons. He spent most of last season bouncing around the minor leagues, but wants to put any retirement talk to rest:
"Kill that noise."