Justin Fileccia-Pizzo

The 2022 Philadelphia Phillies have punched their ticket to the NLDS after securing their first playoff spot in 11 years. This was certainly a group effort, however it wouldn’t have been possible without one major contributor.  

Alec Bohm is a young third baseman who entered the league in 2020 during a shortened season. Due to COVID-19, in 2020 only 60 games were played, but in this short period Bohm turned heads and got the city excited about its young core again. He finished top 3 in the rookie of the year voting and was expected to be manning the hot corner for the Phillies for years to come.

He took a step back in 2021, looking like a shell of the player he was the year prior. His defense struggled mightily, and the bat was nowhere near what it was in the shortened season. For reference, in 2020 he batted .338 with a .881 OPS. In ’21, a .247 batting average with a .647 OPS.

Fast forward to April of 2022. In a game against the rival New York Mets, Bohm made 3 errors very early in the game, and the Phillies fans in attendance that night let him know that they were not happy with his performance. As the camera shifts to him and the booing rings throughout the stadium, it is clear that Alec mumbles something to his teammate. “I [explicit] hate this place.” 

This clip circulated throughout the sports world relatively quickly, and after the game ended Bohm was asked about the comments he made on the field. 

“Yea I said it.” said Bohm, owning up to his actions. The following night when it was his turn to bat, the Phillies crowd rose to their feet to give the young man a standing ovation for simply being a professional. Since this incident, Bohm has completely changed the narrative around his potential as a player. 

Fast forward a fe
w more months, he leads the team in batting average (.290) and cleaned up his defense tremendously. As the Phillies headed into St. Louis for the Wild Card Series, they knew they would be seeing one of the best third baseman of the modern era in Nolan Arenado. Arenado is known for his excellent defense at the hot corner along with his MVP caliber bat. He was clearly, on paper, the better third baseman of the two.

The Phillies went on to beat the Cardinals in 2 games, securing their spot in an NLDS matchup against the division rival Atlanta Braves. In these two games, Bohm went 2-5 at the plate and drove in a run. On the other end of the ball, he made some crucial defense plays including a diving catch to rob the opposing third baseman of a hit. 

Arenado on the other hand went 1-8 in the series and didn’t drive in any runs although he had the opportunities to. 

After the Phillies clinched in game 2, Bohm was interviewed on the field as the team celebrated their victory. He was asked if he had a message for the Phillies fans watching at home. “I love this place.” he said while looking into the camera. 

The Phillies look to advance to the NLCS with 3 wins over the reigning World Series champs as their young and talented core continue to win over the hearts of some of the most passionate fans in sports.