Alec Bohm, Philly’s latest scapegoat, nears the end of his run as a Phillie. Appreciate him.
Like Tobias Harris, Andre Iguodala, and Shayne Gostisbehere, the city doesn't show Bohm nearly enough love. He's surging, but time is running short.
Nobody eats their own like Philadelphia.
This time, this is about Alec Bohm, a career .273 hitter with a .734 OPS entering Monday night. That’s about 30 points better than the average major league batting average since Bohm hit the big leagues in 2020, and a slightly above-average OPS in the same span. That batting average is second-highest among the 11 everyday third basemen who have played at least 600 games at third since 2020.
He does not stink.
You’d never know that to listen to the critics.
The ones who wanted Bohm traded in the offseason.
The ones who wanted Bohm out of the lineup so Bryce Harper could move back to first base from right field, his natural position and where he was forced to return when the Phillies added infielder Luis Arraez near the trade deadline (Arraez’s arrival moved second baseman Bryson Stott to third base and Bohm to first).
» READ MORE: The Phillies’ playoff chances are complicated by one of MLB’s toughest remaining schedules
The ones who went mysteriously silent over the last seven games going into Monday, in which Bohm hit .542 with four doubles, a homer, six RBIs, and a 1.426 OPS.
Monday night, he added what became the game-winning RBI.
These are the same folks who will tell you that Sixers cornerstones Andre Iguodala was overrated, Tobias Harris stole money, and Shayne Gostisbehere ... yawn.
To this day, Sixers aficionados will deride Iguodala as the first casualty of Josh Harris’ disastrous ownership tenure, traded after the 2012 season as part of a package that brought Andrew Bynum to Philly for a season in which Bynum did not play. Iguodala was an All-Star that year, was first-team All-Defense two years later in Golden State, where he won four titles and the 2015 NBA Finals MVP award.
Marcus Hayes alerts
They’ll also bury Tobias Harris, who, in their minds, the Sixers chose to retain over Jimmy Butler in 2019. That’s a vast oversimplification, since there’s no real reason to believe the Sixers would have been better with Butler, who benefited from the presence of Harris that season, when Harris scored 18.2 points and pulled 7.9 rebounds and played well in the playoffs. Harris has had issues in other playoff appearances, but it’s foolish to let them diminish his overall body of work.
But this isn’t about whether Harris was better than Butler. It’s about whether Harris was a good player. And he was. Maybe not good enough to warrant a maximum contract, but he was really good, and, on a team that gave players playoff games off for having upset tummies, Harris showed up; only eight players in the NBA played more minutes between 2019-20 and 2023-24 than Harris.
As for “Ghost,” the Flyers traded him to Arizona in 2021 for salary-cap relief. He’d accumulated 219 points in six seasons by then, but nobody much cared that he was gone. He’s got 243 points in the five seasons since, and he just won the Stanley Cup with Carolina, while the Flyers are still looking for a defenseman to run the point on their power play.
I’ve been keeping this one in my holster for a few weeks, waiting for Bohm to surge. Even with his recent proficiency, Bohm is hitting .242 with a .684 OPS. He’s not having a great year, but few players have great years every year. Besides, there are obvious reasons.
First, he’s in a contract year. He’ll be a free agent for the first time after this season. That’s a lot of pressure on any player regardless of their personal situation.
» READ MORE: Inside the hitters’ meeting that sparked the Phillies’ on-base percentage turnaround this month
Second, he’s got a personal situation. As the season began, Bohm sued his parents for mismanaging his money. The suit remains active, the next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3.
Third, Bohm changed positions. He went 3-for-16 in his first five games at first base.
Should stud players be able to play through the noise and changes? Yes. Is Alec Bohm a stud player? Probably not.
But he does not stink.
For some, Bohm, who turned 30 two weeks ago, is the embodiment of Gen Z entitlement.
He’s a first-round pick, No. 3 overall in 2018, who signed for a nearly $6 million bonus and has made almost $30 million. He’s also 6-foot-4 and weighs 218 pounds — both likely outdated underestimates — but has just 14 homers this season and, since he’s 16 shy, he probably won’t break the 100-homer mark as a Phillie, assuming they don’t re-sign him.
Further, in 2022, after Bohm made two errors, he said, on camera and on the field, “I (bleeping) hate this place.” He apologized, and he has been effusively pro-Philly since, but, for some, this was unforgivable.
Also, he was an All-Star in 2024. He has not been an All-Star caliber player since, but he hasn’t stunk, either.
Finally, he pouts. He sulks. He has not been alone in this behavior — Taijuan Walker and Nick Castellanos come to mind — but now it’s part of his brand. Of course, the Phillies released both Walker and Castellanos this year, but less for their attitude than for their aptitude.
» READ MORE: Bryson Stott adjusting to the new challenge of playing third base
Bohm remains because his aptitude outweighs his occasionally sour attitude.
Dave Dombrowski, clearly a learned classicist, paraphrased the Greek aphorism “Familiarity breeds contempt” when asked recently why he didn’t trade Bohm at the deadline:
“When you see a player every day, you have a tendency to look at their downside.”
And that’s a choice.
As of Monday, Bohm’s tenure as a Phillie included just 37 more regular-season games. It would be wise to choose to appreciate him.
Tony Gwynn Jr. is a former major league outfielder and son of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Over the last two years, he got to know new Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez, whose contact skills at the plate often draw comparisons to Gwynn. Tony Jr. joined Phillies Extra to discuss his father, Arraez, and the bonds that connect them. Watch here.
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