Alec Bohm of the Phillies is leading the All-Star vote, and the support is greatly appreciated.

DETROIT — Alec Bohm did not play twelve days ago. Bohm was in the Fenway Park dugout when Mike Calitri, the bench coach, gave him a shoulder tap. Calitri wanted to know if Bohm had been hitting or moving around because the Phillies were behind. No, Bohm informed him, not much had been done.

Bohm realized he wouldn’t be needed that evening as the deficit increased. So in the later innings, he descended to the cage to visit the Phillies’ assistant hitting coach, Rafael Pena. Pena switched the machine on.

Bohm declared, “I didn’t even put on batting gloves.”

He swung lightly. He was making too many lunges at pitches. They discussed the need for him to prevent his back hip from swinging. He had been in a slump for about a month. Bohm needs to learn how to adapt more quickly if he wants to advance in his career. That Boston night, he was cool. He acknowledged that during past downturns, he would have been more irate. A certain calmness at the plate has been acquired by the cleanup hitter on the top baseball team.

He responded, “Obviously, I didn’t forget how to hit.”

Since that off night, he has 20 hits in 42 at-bats. In the Phillies’ 8-1 rout of the Detroit Tigers on Monday night, he scored four runs, including a home slam in the first inning that set the tone as the game began with four runs for the Phillies. Since June 14, nobody in baseball has amassed more hits. This season, he is hitting.313/.366/.507.

Everyone is aware of it. Major League Baseball updated its All-Star Game polling on Monday afternoon. Bohm, Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, and Aaron Judge were the athletes who received the most votes.

In three weeks, he will start for the National League at third base in the All-Star Game.

Bohm remarked, “It’s amazing to see the support from not just our fan base but from all across the nation.” “Merely baseball enthusiasts overall. Seeing that level of respect is really great. Those are the names of men I’ve found inspiring. It’s cool to be having a chat with them. It’s quite humble.

In the election results released on Monday, Bohm had 1,960,231 votes. Compared to Manny Machado, the next NL third baseman, he received 1.4 million more votes.

Phillies reliever Matt Strahm stated, “Every year there will be someone who gets in because of fan voting and someone deserving kind of gets snipped.” But it’s encouraging to see that they’re significantly correct on that one. It’s ill. His entire professional history.

Starter Aaron Nola of the Phillies said, “It’s sick, man.” It’s quite ill. How far he’s come—after all, everyone is aware of the events of ’22. I think his batting has improved as a result of his improvements at third base. It’s been amazing to observe.

Harper, who will most likely be playing on the same NL infield as Bohm, remarked, “It’s sick.” “It seems like it would be really cool.”
Scott Rolen was the last Phillies third baseman to start an All-Star Game, back in 2002. Bohm has profited from the slumps of established mainstays like Austin Riley, Nolan Arenado, and Machado. But he deserves to be acknowledged. This is the most recent landmark on his climb.

This season, in the first seven weeks, he was one of the most productive hitters in baseball. But, when he sat on June 13, his season OPS dipped under .800 for the first time since April 17. He had 20 hits in his previous 96 at-bats; a month of hitting .208/.240/.344 had generated visible frustration.

He pulled himself out of it.

“For sure,” Bohm said. “But even, still, I could handle it better. For sure. There’s times where people can obviously see that I’m not doing as well as I think I should be doing. I can be better about that.”

His manager is impressed.

“It’s maturity,” Rob Thomson said. “Knowing that he’s going to come out of it. Knowing that you’re going to have times like that. When you experience coming out of it, it gives you confidence while you’re going through it that you’re going to come out of it.”

So, all it takes is an innocuous cage session on a night off. Bohm had identified the problem; it was a matter of getting that feel back. It is easier said than done. He’s let promising seasons spiral into just decent ones before.

This looks different.

“He’s having a great year,” Harper said. “He’s really coming into what he is as a player. And what we all knew he’d be. He has such a good swing to all fields. He never looks rattled or overwhelmed with the at-bat.”

Harper has often compared Bohm to Jayson Werth; it’s natural since both were tall with long hair, wore No. 28, and were late bloomers. “A mini J-Dub,” in Harper’s words. Harper has said if he could teach his son a swing, it’s Bohm’s.

“The older he gets and the better he gets — backside power, pull power, things like that,” Harper said. “It’s just a very impressive at-bat every time he gets up there.”

Those inside the Phillies clubhouse know it. They see the daily work Bohm does in the cage and on the infield. But a little national recognition means something.

Bohm has not allowed himself to think about where he’ll be three weeks from Tuesday.

“Obviously, I’m not dumb,” Bohm said. “But at the same time, I have a game tomorrow against the Tigers. So I’m not looking too far ahead in the future. But I definitely understand and I think it’s really cool. Keep it right here for now.”

The view from right here isn’t bad.