Bohm delivers against Cubs, reflects on his journey to All-Star starter originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
CHICAGO — Alec Bohm had a good idea the news was coming, but he officially found out he would be starting Rob Thomson’s All-Star Game early Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Bohm was at the training table getting a massage, looked up and smiled when the Phillies manager confirmed the inevitable.
How did you feel?
“I really don’t know yet,” said the soon-to-be 28-year-old after hitting a two-run homer and helping fuel a game-winning rally in a 5-3 victory over the Cubs.
“It’s obviously one of those things that makes you think about all the time and all the games you’ve played. The good and the bad. It makes it all worth it.”
Bryce Harper and Trea Turner, the Phillies’ other two All-Star starters, have been here before. This will be Harper’s eighth All-Star Game and Turner’s third. Both have been MVP candidates for much of the last half-decade.
Bohm reached this point gradually. He was the nation’s No. 3 pick out of Wichita State in 2018 and the read on him was that he seemed to be able to hit for average with double pop, but that home run power might take time to develop. There were also legitimate questions about his defense at third base.
One thing Bohm has done consistently since the day he reached the majors in 2020 was hit the nail on the head. He hit .452 with runners in scoring position as a rookie and is .319 for his career. That’s how he drove in 97 runs last season with a relatively low total of 20 home runs.
With Wednesday night’s two-run pitch, Bohm is up to 11 home runs and 70 RBI on the season. He leads the majors with 28 doubles and has driven in three more runs than anyone in the NL.
He also became much more reliable defensively, which is equally important because he might not have been able to stay on the field for the Phillies without this marked improvement. Field coach Bobby Dickerson deserves a lot of credit for helping mold Bohm as a defender.
“It’s all part of it,” Bohm said. “The good times, the bad times, all of it. You play baseball long enough, it’s not always going to be pretty, but a lot of those failures and a lot of those things are also teaching moments. Little ways to become better in the long run, I think. everything happened exactly as it was supposed to. It brought me to where I am today.
Bohm credited his fellow veterans, particularly Harper and Turner, with helping him grow as a player and as a person. It is even more enjoyable for him that he will be accompanied by two teammates in Texas on July 16th.
“It will be cool to look to my left and see Trea, pick up a ground ball and throw it to Bryce,” he said. “Being able to share this with these guys is really cool. These guys have been really important in helping me grow as a player, showing me what I should be like.”
How did they help?
“Pretty much any way you can imagine,” he said. “Starting right when I arrived, a lot of really good veteran players from 2020 onwards have come through here. Whether they stayed a while or just stayed here for a little while, I feel like a lot of these guys have set a good example for the team that we have now, where everywhere you look in this clubhouse, there’s a guy who was an All-Star and did all these things.
“The way they go about their business, whether they’re talking to you about it or not, these guys have done a great job of setting an example for young people.”
He also recognizes that he wouldn’t be here without his parents, Dan and Lisa. They tried to let the All-Star process play out, he said, and didn’t pepper him with the questions or comments that led to Wednesday’s revelation. It was quite obvious that Bohm would get Manny Machado’s approval. He maintained a 70% to 30% lead.
“They were happy. They come a lot,” he said. “They’ve been supporting me since — I’m an only child, so it was just following me, in this tournament, in that tournament, in college, and so I think they had a lot to do with where I’m at too. .”
At least six more Phillies have genuine arguments to make the All-Star team. JT Realmuto is still one of the three best catchers in the NL, along with William Contreras and Will Smith. Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler rank first, second and fourth in the league in ERA. Jeff Hoffman has a 1.24 ERA with seven saves and elite strikeout-to-walk numbers. Matt Strahm has a 1.64 ERA with 44 strikeouts and four walks.
Sunday at 5:30 pm ET is when the reserves and pitchers are announced and when the Phillies will find out if they have five, six or potentially more All-Stars.
