Three good things that happened to the Phillies in 2020
No one will forget the unprecedented and unpredictable year that was 2020, especially as it relates to the Philadelphia Phillies and the Major League Baseball season.
Yet, despite the season not starting until late July, and the Phillies particularly falling short of a postseason berth for the ninth straight season, there are still several good things that happened to them over the 366-day year. We look at a few of them, one being the emergence of rising star infielder Alec Bohm.
3. Alec Bohm
The Omaha, Nebraska native finished tied for second in the National League Rookie of the Year Award race; but, in a normal, 162-game season, he likely would have came away with the award — which was instead bestowed to Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams. The 2018 third overall draft pick in Bohm would have joined Ryan Howard (2005), Scott Rolen (1997), Dick Allen (1964), and Jack Sanford (1957) as the only players in franchise history to receive Rookie of the Year honors.
Bohm had no trouble getting used to Major League pitching following his mid-August debut. Across 44 games and 160 at-bats, he slashed .338/.400/.481 with 24 runs scored, 54 hits, four home runs, 23 RBI, one stolen base, and 16 walks. He notably finished atop the National League rookie rankings in five categories — batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, RBI, and hits.
He also tied Marcell Ozuna (.338) for the third-best batting average among National League players with at least 100 plate appearances — trailing only Juan Soto (.351) and Freddie Freeman (.341). Not to mention, Bohm hit an impressive .452 with runners in scoring position — the best such batting average in the majors.
It will be exciting to see if Bohm can translate his rookie season success over into 2021.