Ryan Howard (the Baseball Player, not the Character) to Appear on The Office

NBC is struggling. So is Ryan Howard’s career. But two wrongs make a right, so The Office is bringing on the Phillies slugger for an episode to air in late-March. And as Philly Post contributor Steven Silver notes, there’s more than a little serendipity to this pairing.

For as long as I can remember, there have been two Ryan Howards in the Eastern half of Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Phillies first baseman, and the Scranton-based character onThe Office, played by B.J. Novak. They’ve been around for about the same amount of time, too-  Howard the baseball player was a rookie in 2005, while Howard the character made his debut when The Office started that same year.

Howard will be worked in (presumably as himself) when the John Krasinski character tries to start a Philly-based sports marketing firm. [TechnologyTell]