Phillies counting on Mr. Fix-It Bobby Dickerson to improve the majors’ worst infield defense

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Near the players’ parking lot here, steps from a side entrance to the Phillies’ spring training clubhouse, there is a half-field that looks just like its name implies. It’s literally a field cut in half — all infield, barely an outfield, a Little Leaguer’s bandbox.

And if you are looking for Bobby Dickerson, well, the half-field is a good place to start.

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Dickerson was there before 9 a.m. Sunday, as he is every morning, fungo bat in hand, a shopping cart filled up with baseballs by his side. His pupils du jour: Bryson Stott and Nick Maton. For more than a half-hour, he hit grounders to their forehand and backhand, tidy one-hoppers and topspin burners. And he shouted a mix of encouragement and trash talk, a language all his own, slathered in the roux of a Mississippi drawl.

”Hunt position!”

”Just dance with the ball!”

”Kill it!”

Dickerson, 56, is in his fifth decade in baseball, the last four as mostly an infield instructor. He has worked for five organizations and coached four Gold Glove Award winners. Manny Machado swears by him. He doesn’t care much for defensive metrics. He prefers to be hands-on.

It’s fair to say, though, that Dickerson hasn’t met a challenge like his task with the Phillies. They rehired him in October to improve the majors’ worst infield defense, with one catch (unfortunate pun intended): They didn’t change the personnel, from Rhys Hoskins and Jean Segura to Didi Gregorius and Alec Bohm. Even shortstop prospect Bryson Stott, pushing to make the opening-day roster, is touted for his left-handed bat, not his work in the field.

But it isn’t easy to foster drastic defensive improvement in one offseason. The Phillies talked to the Oakland Athletics about three-time Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman, according to a source, but were unable to match up on a deal. Instead, they chose a path of lesser resistance. They loaded up on offense, dropping $179 million for Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, to try outslugging their miscues.

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And they have so much confidence in Dickerson as Mr. Fix-It that they believe he can perform a home renovation even with recycled materials.

“Oh, I think he can make a pretty substantial difference. I do,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Bobby has a ton of energy. You see it out there every day. But it’s incumbent on the players to buy in and do his drills. That’s how you get better.”

Dickerson all but demands that buy-in from his players. He’s relentless about it.

If he isn’t drilling Bohm on his drop-step at third base, he’s stopping by Gregorius’ locker for a chat in the 10 unscheduled minutes before the team bus leaves for a road game. He busts out face masks and tennis balls to get Bohm and Hoskins to be more aggressive in catching the ball. As the Phillies weigh Stott’s viability as a third-base alternative to Bohm, Dickerson is on the case.

“He lets you know if you’re doing it right,” Stott said. “He does little dance moves. You want to do anything you can to see those moves come out.”

It’s reasonable to think Dickerson will be able to coach up still-developing players such as Bohm and Stott. Their youth and relative lack of experience in pro ball make them easier to mold.

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With Bohm, in particular, Dickerson has broken things down to the fundamentals, stressing what Girardi calls “ball security.” In a practical sense, it’s separating every play into three components.

“Catch the ball, transfer the ball, throw the ball,” said Bohm, tied for last among third basemen last season with 13 fewer runs saved than average. “You see a lot of guys do it all in one or bobble the ball out of their glove. A lot of my errors have come from times where I’ll mess up a simple play by bobbling a transfer or not finishing a catch.”

But how much change can Dickerson affect on veterans such as, say, Gregorius? At 32, entering his 11th season in the majors, the shortstop’s natural skills figure to be eroding more than improving.

“I think a lot of change,” Dickerson said. “The key to that is to have some self-awareness to say, ‘I can improve.’ I know for sure that our guys have that and they want to be better.”

Indeed, Dickerson senses that some Phillies infielders were humbled last year. Gregorius had his worst season, not only by most advanced metrics (a career-worst 10 fewer runs saved than the average shortstop, for instance) but also the eye test.

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Gregorius shrugged off the suggestion of additional motivation, insisting that he never stops trying to improve “no matter if you have 100 years [in the majors], or 10 years, or you just started.” But it’s also human nature to want to mute critics who, in Gregorius’ case, doubt he can still handle playing shortstop.

“They read things and they see things, how they’re evaluated, and they want to close those holes,” Dickerson said. “Even the veteran guys along with the young guys, they all know last year wasn’t the best version of themselves.”

Regardless, Dickerson focuses first on building relationships. He wasn’t starting from scratch this spring. He worked for the Phillies in 2019 before leaving for a two-year reunion with Machado in San Diego, and got high marks from Hoskins and Segura.

But Dickerson’s reputation also precedes him. He’s regarded with the Braves’ Ron Washington and the Mariners’ Perry Hill as the best in the business. Gregorius heard from other players over the years about their success with Dickerson.

“I bought in from the beginning,” Bohm said. “Because I know the guys he’s worked with and his reputation. Who am I not to be bought in on something he’s bringing to me? If he’s got something, I’m listening. If he’s got a drill, whatever he’s got, I’m all for it.”

What choice do the Phillies really have?

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Sure, they should score more runs this season with Schwarber and Castellanos joining Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, and Hoskins. But the Phillies were last in the majors last season in defensive runs saved (minus-54). Since 2010, only four teams have ranked worse and made the playoffs: the 2013 Tigers, 2014 Tigers, 2013 Athletics, and 2011 Phillies.

And with a starting rotation filled with sinkerballers (Zach Eflin, Ranger Suárez, and Kyle Gibson, in particular), better defense starts with improving the infield.

“We talk all the time about having a growth mindset,” Dickerson said. “Can we be better? Can we do something today to improve it?”

The search begins on the half-field. Dickerson will be there. Any Phillies infielder is welcome to join him.