Busting out of his slump shows ‘maturity’ of Phillies’ Alec Bohm, who is on his way to his first All-Star Game

DETROIT — Alec Bohm’s journey out of the darkness of his only slump of the season began under the dank third-base grandstand at Fenway Park.

Stuck in a three-week, 11-for-67 tailspin at the plate, Bohm wasn’t in the Phillies’ lineup June 13 for the finale of a series in Boston. But a night off doesn’t mean being a spectator. So in the middle innings, bench coach Mike Calitri tapped Bohm on the shoulder.

“He asked if I had been swinging or moving,” Bohm said, “and I was like, ‘Nah, I really haven’t done anything.’”

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Not wanting to make Calitri ask again, Bohm went down to the batting cage and found assistant hitting coach Rafael Peña. They talked for a few minutes about making an adjustment with his back hip, then turned on the pitching machine and went to work.

“I didn’t even put batting gloves on,” Bohm said. “I wasn’t in there swinging hard and trying to homer every time the ball came out of the machine. Just took some swings, observed myself, and got a little bit of a good feel back.

“Just kind of a nice, chill hitting session.”

Bohm got three hits the next night in Baltimore. And two hits the day after. Then three more after that. And three more. In 10 games since his visit with Peña during a loss to the Red Sox, Bohm is 20-for-42, including four hits Monday night in an 8-1 rout in Detroit. He has five doubles, three homers, and 12 RBIs, with an 1.331 OPS.

Slump? What slump?

It’s been the most impressive stretch yet in a breakout season that will put Bohm in the All-Star Game next month as the National League’s starting third baseman. Because in the past, he would try so hard to overcome a few rough weeks that it would snowball into a dreadful month or two and sink his entire season.

But at age 27, with five years of experience, the former No. 3 overall pick is more self-assured and confident in his ability.

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“It’s maturity,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s knowing that he’s going to come out of it, knowing that you’re going to have times like that. It gives you confidence while going through [a slump] that you’re going to come out of it.”

And the baseball world has noticed.

Spurred on by the team’s historic first half, Phillies fans are voting with vigor for the All-Stars. But it isn’t only Phillies fans who are stuffing the ballot box for Bohm. Among National League third basemen, he had a lead of more than 1.4 million votes over the Padres’ Manny Machado, according to results released Monday by Major League Baseball.

Bohm has the second-most votes of any NL player, trailing only Bryce Harper. The only other players with more votes than Bohm were Yankees stars Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.

Judge. Soto. Harper.

Bohm?

“That’s good company,” Bohm said. “It’s pretty cool to see those names of guys that I looked up to. Being in the same conversation as them is pretty cool. It’s pretty humbling.”

It’s entirely deserving, too, said Harper, who figures he has seen a few more hittable pitches because Bohm bats behind him. Opponents still prefer not to pitch to Harper, but they don’t want to put him on base, either, because of Bohm’s success with runners in scoring position.

“I’d imagine teams are like, pick your poison, at that point,” Harper said. “He’s having a great year. He’s really coming into what he is as a player and what we all knew he’d be. He has such a good swing to all fields. And he never looks rattled or overwhelmed with the at-bat.”

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Imagine saying that few years ago? Early in his career, Bohm was notorious for rotten body language. He often meandered around the batter’s box after a bad swing or an umpire’s questionable call, flung his helmet after a strikeout, or flailed his arms after an ill-advised error. When the Phillies demoted him to triple A in 2021, general manager Sam Fuld said they stressed “having fun and enjoying the game.”

And then came the infamous “I hate this [bleeping] place” faux pas in 2022.

Bohm still loses it now and then. But he also catches himself.

“Still, I could handle [struggles] better, for sure,” he said. “There’s times where people can obviously see that I’m not doing as well as I think I should be doing. I could be better about that.”

But at his lowest point this season, when he could’ve slid deeper into a hole, he put his trust in a hitting coach and maintained confidence that he’d find his way out.

“I was probably a lot more calm, not just banging my head against the wall, going in there and swinging as hard as I can, mishitting the ball, and getting mad about it,” Bohm said. “More just taking some swings, feeling some stuff, finding a good feel, repeating it, and then just sat back and got back to it.

“Obviously, I didn’t forget how to hit.”

On the contrary, Bohm remembered what makes him good.

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“He’s a mini J-Dub to me,” Harper said, referring to Jayson Werth. “I just feel the older he gets, the better he gets. Backside power, pull power, things like that, it’s just a very impressive at-bat every time he gets up there.”

It’ll be on full display next month at the All-Star Game. Not that Bohm is booking travel plans yet for his family and friends.

“Obviously, I’m not dumb, but at the same time, I’ve got a game tomorrow against the Tigers,” he said. “I definitely understand and think it’s really cool. Just kind of trying to keep it right here for now.”