May 23, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28) scores a run against the Athletics during the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
Phillies manager Rob Thomson has told the media several times in the past that we make too much out of lineup construction. That where guys bat doesn't really matter.
And while statistically, there is not a lot of significance to it, in theory, it's a continual scientific experiment that managers play with game-to-game. Each different lineup is testing a hypothesis, of sorts. Managers are looking for a flow that works best for their team, and then once they get into a groove, they mostly want to stick to it, minus off days for a player.
So, it's worth noting that the Phillies came into Tuesday's game having won 9-of-10, and 21-of-27 and yet, despite all the success, Thomson decided to trot out a new-look lineup.
Alec Bohm, who has batted eighth more times this year than any other spot in the lineup, and has hit 6-through-8 in 40 of the Phillies 53 games this season, showed up for work Tuesday to see he was batting fifth.
It is the first time he's hit fifth since the Phillies were eliminated by the New York Mets in the playoffs last season.
Bohm deserves the promotion. Since hitting rock bottom on April 13, when his batting average plummeted to .150 and his OPS was a microscopic .331, Bohm has been on a tear.
Phillies Slash Lines since May 1:
Bohm .341/.382/.537
Turner .340/.368/.540
Marsh .340/.404/.447
Harper .308/.375/.484
Castellanos .272/.300/.359
Schwarber .271/.398/.624
Realmuto .225/.295/.408
Stott .205/.235/.295
Kepler .194/.276/.403
Rojas .171/.256/.229 pic.twitter.com/npZIW8wJEQ
In his last 36 games, Bohm has at least one hit in 32 of them. He's slashing .326/.367/.481 for an OPS of .849.
So, does he view moving back into a more familiar spot in the lineup as a reward for this good work at the plate?
"It's hard to say no," Bohm said. "We're facing a righty and where (I've) been hitting normally and then you see you move up and you're like, 'Yeah, I've been swinging it well.' But that's the end of it. Now let's go take care of business."
Bohm jumped three hitters in the lineup. This drops Nick Castellanos to the No. 6 spot, Max Kepler to No. 7, and J.T. Realmuto to No. 8.
"Bohm has been swinging the bat good," Thomson said. "I just thought it was the right thing to do for the time being."
Phillies manager Rob Thomson talks about having Alec Bohm hit 5th in the lineup tonight against the Braves and J.T. Realmuto batting 8th. @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/U1CC1mR9Lw
Thomson said the decision was more about taking some stress off Realmuto, who has struggled lately, and is working on adjustments to limit his leg kick, and feels that having him in a lower leverage spot in the lineup will help him get through that easier.
But it's hard to ignore how well Bohm's been hitting. So, to plug that in right behind Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, lengthens the Phillies lineup while it's going good.
It's a bit of a redemption for Bohm, who admitted that he was letting the struggles of the first two weeks of the season eat at him.
"A tough stretch can find you at any moment," Bohm said. "On the mental side of things, you can't let it change you or change what you are doing, or change your approach each day. Your preparation, or your mood, either.
"I think, from time-to-time, especially early on in the year, I let the results dictate how I was feeling instead of just showing up, trusting the work, and enjoying each day. Just knowing that I belong here and that I'm good. I was just letting the results weigh a little too much, you know?"
All professional athletes are perfectionists, to an extent. Bohm is no different. He wants to produce at the highest level every day.
But baseball is a humbling sport, and when he's not caught up in the moment, Bohm is able to reflect on that and grasp it. He feels like he gets better and better at it each time he goes through a rough patch.
The problem was, this season's was right out of the gate, and that's a little harder to overcome, and was maybe more so for Bohm coming off an offseason where his name swirled constantly in trade rumors both at the local and national levels.
"At the beginning of the year, there's so much instant feedback," Bohm said. "It's a game of failure and you're going to know whether you did good or bad each and every night. When it happens early like that (because of the smaller sample size) a week feels like a month, and you feel like, 'Oh God!'
"Over the course of the last month, I feel like things have just kind of settled down. I settled into the season and realized we have a lot of baseball left and that each individual at bat as much. We're going to make an out. We're going to strike out. I'm going to go 0-for-4 sometimes. It's inevitable. So, just play the game. Don't get caught up in all the failures."
And as long as Bohm keeps doing that - even when the next two-week slump hits him - he'll likely come out of it faster than he did this time ... or the time before ... or the time before that.
"It's really about showing up, doing your job, being a professional and just playing the game," he said. "And that's all I have to do."
