Philadelphia Phillies fans will be glad to be rid of Alec Bohm, as the embattled third baseman has been thoroughly unimpressive throughout his seven-year tenure in red pinstripes. The highs of an All-Star selection have been overshadowed by the lows of countless tantrums and “I hate this place”. Bohm put his foot in his mouth once again on Sunday when he decried his completely justified treatment as a free out.
It’s been a wearisome journey ever since Bohm was drafted with the third overall pick back in 2018 (a selection which the Phillies could have used on future stars Logan Gilbert, Brice Turang, or Nico Hoerner, among others). His excellent 44-game rookie season placed him second in Rookie of the Year voting, but that proved to be a mirage as he quickly settled into being anything but a needle-mover.
In Bohm’s 3,361 career plate appearances, the Nebraskan has posted a perfectly mediocre .272/.322/.409 slash line with just 83 home runs. His horrifying defense puts him behind the eight ball, and a lack of plate discipline and middling power sabotage whatever chances he had of being a bat-first third sacker.
While Bohm is usually somewhat cromulent despite his flaws, he’s completely bottomed out this year with a pathetic .221/.282/.368 line over 412 trips to the plate. That dreadful performance, combined with the Phillies’ inexcusable lack of a real cleanup hitter, has led to sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper frequently being pitched around or intentionally walked by opposing pitchers in order to face Bohm.
Alec Bohm's clueless response to Bryce Harper intentional walk proves he just doesn't get it
The New York Yankees did just that on Sunday when starter Will Warren gave Harper a free pass in front of Bohm to load the bases. Bohm came through (surprisingly) with a bases-clearing double, and the Phils cruised to an easy 11-4 win.
The 29-year-old was asked for his thoughts on this phenomenon after the game, and responded indignantly.
“It’s happened a lot to me in my career, but yeah, that time it kinda pissed me off,” he said. He went on to claim, “I’m tired of thinking that people think that I’m the easy out… I know what the numbers say, but I don’t feel like I’m an out going up there.”
"I'm tired of thinking that people think I'm the easy out."
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) July 27, 2026
The Yankees walked Brandon Marsh to get to Alec Bohm on Sunday. Bohm responded ... with a base-clearing double. | @WapnerNewman pic.twitter.com/Z7LJ6cdChr
It’s perfectly reasonable for Bohm to have confidence in himself; he wouldn’t have gotten far in professional baseball without it. However, to act aggrieved when the other team tails their strategy based off of his failings is a bit beyond the pale. Bohm acknowledged that his numbers aren’t good, and he’s right. His .650 OPS is almost 100 points lower than last year’s mark. And yet, he doesn’t think he’s an easy out.
Things got worse during Bohm’s struggle session, as he went on to defend his lack of adjustments during his horrifying campaign.
“I feel like I just don’t really have to change my approach much,” he insisted. “Yeah, I ground into some double plays, but you know I’ll take my chances putting the ball in play… instead of going up there and, you know, maybe just trying to be super patient.”
Just to recap, the guy who has walked just 26 times this year and has a sub-.300 on-base percentage thinks nothing is wrong with his free-swinging ways. Importantly, Bohm isn’t some sort of Hell-hacking masher like Vladimir Guerrero Sr. who can put any pitch out of the park. In reality, he’s just a lowly contact merchant who can’t make the opposing pitcher work to save his life.
It’s a pretty asinine way of thinking, considering the fact that Bohm doesn’t like that his opponents view him (correctly) as an easy out, but he’s unwilling to do anything to change that perception. He’s just going to continue on the way he has and somehow that will lead to better results.
Quite frankly, Phillies fans didn’t need another reason to dislike Alec Bohm. He’s disappointed them for seven straight years and he’s mercifully headed for free agency after this season. His poor play and constant shenanigans have worn thin, and no one will be sad to see him walk in a few short months.
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