Phillies veterans taking straight-shooting, tough-love approach to leadership

ST. LOUIS — Six weeks into the season, the Phillies have already had a veteran pitcher call out teammates after a game for being “flat” and their All-Star catcher express frustration over a stubborn starting pitcher’s shaking him off too frequently.

Sheesh. Imagine if the Phillies’ record was 15-21 instead of 21-15.

There are two ways to look at Jake Arrieta’s rant after a rain-soaked, 5-1 loss in New York on April 22 and J.T. Realmuto’s public criticism of Vince Velasquez after Monday night’s 6-0 defeat in St. Louis. Either the Phillies are prone to infighting, a potential detriment to their aspirations of winning the National League East, or they have vocal and respected leaders who set a high expectation for the team by demanding excellence.

"I think it's a sign that we trust each other," first baseman Rhys Hoskins said.

The Phillies had the youngest roster in baseball last season. And regardless of what they say in retrospect about believing they could compete for a playoff spot, 2018 was always supposed to be the continuation of a rebuilding rather than the beginning of serious contention.

It’s different now. Not only did the youngest Phillies play meaningful baseball into September last season before crumbling worse than blue cheese, but they have been surrounded by more experienced and accomplished players such as Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, and $330 million superstar Bryce Harper.

So, yes, the expectations are considerably higher, both externally and inside the clubhouse. And many of the veteran players see it as part of their job to make sure that one- or two-game lapses in focus or concentration, collectively or as individuals, don’t snowball into something worse, a point of view endorsed by manager Gabe Kapler.

Kapler backed Arrieta when he took the team, in general, to task for what he perceived as a subpar effort against the Mets, and Harper, in particular, for getting ejected from that game. And Kapler all but applauded Realmuto for confirming that Velasquez strayed from the game plan against the Cardinals by throwing fastballs when the catcher called for sinkers and curveballs.

“It’s nice to have veterans in the clubhouse who can address something like he addressed [Monday] night and as sensitively as he did with a lot of awareness and a lot of accuracy,” Kapler said.

“The right person to address that was J.T., and he did exactly what he should’ve done, in my opinion. And I think Vince did exactly what he should have done, which was acknowledge that that was the case. It’s really helpful when guys handle those sort of things in the clubhouse.”

Indeed, it was telling that Velasquez agreed with Realmuto’s criticism and vowed to follow the catcher’s lead in subsequent starts. There wasn’t any blowback from Arrieta’s comments, either. Harper, who got kicked out of that night’s game for harassing home-plate umpire Mark Carlson over balls and strikes, conceded that Arrieta was right about Harper’s needing to keep his cool.

"Look, obviously things were said publicly, but I think we've handled those situations and things that come up like men, like teammates, like a team is supposed to do," said Hoskins, the de facto team leader despite being in only his second full season in the majors. "And I think the cool part about this group is that it's not taken personally.

“Stuff like that’s going to happen, right? We’re going to have hiccups. Guys are going to miss stuff. And I think what this group has done a really good job of is realizing that we’re all on the same page. Even if we have to get at each other, it’s for the betterment of you, it’s for the betterment of the group, and I think we’ve seen that.”

Good teams don’t always have to possess good chemistry. Some, such as the Yankees of the late ’70s, even thrive on discord. Harmony certainly helps, though, and Hoskins believes the Phillies have built a positive atmosphere since the beginning of spring training.

Kapler has preached the importance of the players being accountable to one another. The Phillies also staged a few team-building exercises in spring training, including a ping-pong tournament and a three-point-shooting contest. For the second year in a row, Kapler organized a talent show with players.

It’s all designed to bring the team closer together so that, when difficult times arise, it’s easier to “navigate the bad storms,” as Hoskins said.

"We've had some ups and downs already this season. We've had some bad games," Hoskins said. "But I think you see that experience showing through the next day, where we've tended to bounce back pretty well.

“I don’t know if you want to call it ‘leadership by committee.’ I just think everybody in here is comfortable with who they are as a guy, who they are as a baseball player, and it’s working really well as a group.”

Even when it sometimes appears to be dysfunctional.