Phillies backstop J.T. Realmuto is strangely finding most of his success on the road
Phillies' catcher J.T. Realmuto has a staggering disparity between his home and road splits this season.
J.T. Realmuto has had a unique season to this point. At times he has been frustrating at the plate in some big situations. The Phillies' catcher is coming off a great offensive series in Milwaukee. During the three-game stretch, Realmuto was 4-for-9 and hit two home runs— one of which was a 443 ft. shot that gave the Phillies the lead on Sunday.
🗣️ back to back #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/LiE7dmvTLu
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 3, 2023
Realmuto's heating up may not be coincidental. The Phillies' backstop has performed substantially better on the road so far in 2023. The splits between his home games and road games are eye-popping.
At home this season, Realmuto has started 55 games. During those games, he is slashing .201/.268/.333 with an OPS of .601. Those numbers are certainly not what the Phillies expected when they re-signed him to a five-year deal prior to the 2021 season.
Realmuto has made up for his shortcomings at Citizen's Bank Park this year by tearing it up on the road. While away from Philadelphia, the catcher is slashing .308/.366/.597 with a .963 OPS over the span of 56 games started. He has also hit 12 of his 17 home runs on the road this season.
The most bizarre part is that typically Citizen's Bank Park is viewed as a hitter-friendly venue. What is the cause of the drop-off in numbers at home this year? Rob Thomson joked about Realmuto's struggles at home:
Rob Thomson was asked on the radio why J.T. Realmuto’s home and road splits are so drastic and he said it’s because he has four kids 😂
— Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) August 30, 2023
On a more serious note, Realmuto should hopefully improve at home moving forward. His numbers are well below his averages over the course of his career and usually players trend toward their averages.
Despite struggling at home this year, Realmuto's overall stats on the season are not that bad. He has a .785 OPS which is right around his career average and his OPS+ is 113 which is right at his career average. Over his last seven games, the Phillies' catcher is hitting .348 and is getting on base almost 45% of the time. He has also reduced his strikeout rate during that span to 17% which is significantly lower than his season rate at almost 26%.
Realmuto is undisputedly a huge member of this Phillies team. His defensive ability is just as significant as his offense. If he can stay hot at the plate through September, he will be a huge boost to an already potent Phillies' offense.