Alec Bohm appears to have regretted comments he made regarding the fans in attendance at Citizens Bank Park on Monday during the Philadelphia Phillies’ 5-4 victory over the New York Mets.
A camera from the live broadcast of that game caught Alec Bohm saying “I hate this f—ing place” to teammate Didi Gregorius after receiving a standing ovation from those in attendance that day at Citizens Bank Park as he left for the dugout after ending the top of the second inning on a routine play by a third baseman.
There may not seem to be anything wrong with this, but you have to put everything in context to understand his words. The third baseman made two errors prior to that point, and one of them resulted in a run by the Mets in the first inning, so the fans’ ovation clearly had a tone of irony to it, something that didn’t seem to sit well with Alec Bohm, who didn’t seem to be fully focused on the game as he made another error a few innings later.
Beyond these errors, the Phillies managed to mount a rally in the eighth inning to end up taking the 5-4 victory, something the third baseman will surely be thankful for as he left his mistakes as mere anecdotes.
“Emotions got the best of me,” Alec Bohm said after the Phillies win. “I said it. Do I mean it? No. It’s a frustrating night for me, obviously. Made a few mistakes in the field. Look, these people, these fans, they just want to win. You heard it, we come back, they’re great. I’m just sorry to them. I don’t mean that,” he concluded.
That win allowed the Phillies to finish the night as the National League East Division leaders with a 3-1 record, in what is a division that has multiple teams contending for the top spot in this 2022 MLB campaign.
Alec Bohm’s Errors Are Nothing New
Alec Bohm made his debut in 2020 with the Philadelphia Phillies and his numbers that season were good enough for him to finish as second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Devin Williams, posting a .338/.400/.481 batting average that season, with 23 RBIs and 4 home runs.
However, things got worse for him in 2021, primarily on the defensive side, as he finished the campaign tied for the third most errors by a third baseman who played at least 800 innings in the majors, while his offensive numbers dropped to .247/.305/.342, with 47 RBIs and just seven homers connected in 71-plus games.
It will only be on his part to reverse the bad reputation he has earned and he has a full season to do so, and improving his level would be key as the Phillies look to clinch their first National League East divisional title in 11 years.