Hoskins’ legend is growing by the day
PHILADELPHIA » Keep your eyes peeled, sports fans, for your city’s new hero.
He’s somewhat large in stature, but far from football sized. He’s a little on the young side but seems more pop or country than hip-hop. And besides, judging from the humble persona he has shown during one of the most incredible runs of baseball achievement of any major league newbie, this mature California kid Rhys Hoskins has carried himself like a cool, calm and contented ... pro.
Ah, but he did offer a slight show of excitement Sunday while home-runtrotting around the bases ... for an eighth straight game day.
Like, who does that? Who has ever...?
“Is anyone having deja vu?” Hoskins asked an assortment of microphones and capped teeth after the Phillies smiled through a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs, taking a series win from the defending World Champions at Citizens Bank Park.
So the Phillies went to 48-81, had a decent-sized crowd and — get this — not all of them were Cubs fans this time. That has to have a lot to do with Hoskins, who has homered in eight of the Phils’ last nine games (his only miss was the nightcap of a doubleheader).
He is the fifth Phillie to hit home runs in five consecutive games, Chase Utley doing that twice and being the last one to do it in that 2008 glory season.
With his solo shot to left in his last at-bat Sunday, Hoskins broke Ryan Howard’s rookie mark of most home runs in one month (10 in 2005), even if this August run didn’t start until the month was almost half over.
He has hit in nine straight games, is batting .382 and slugging at a mindbending 1.579 OPS pace during that stretch.
Overall, Hoskins has a .297/.408/.828 slash line with 11 home runs and 24 RBIs. And, of course, those 11 homers in his first 18 major league games? That’s something nobody else ever did.
So when his latest high-five trot came to an end at the Phillies dugout in the eighth inning, it seemed almost overdue when this Cub-heavy crowd rose to beckon him back onto the field.
“Goosebumps,” Hoskins summarized about the fans’ curtain call demand. “Yeah, my teammates pushed me out of the dugout. I didn’t hear it at first, to be honest. And then, you know, I got out there and the ovation was pretty cool. Something I’ll always remember. Special.”
It’s been quite the trip for the 24-year-old Hoskins, who only three summers ago was a fifth-round Phillies draft pick out of California State-Sacramento. His rise through the minors perhaps was as fast as it might have been unexpected, though Hoskins’ power and baseball sense had shone as a college first baseman who turned himself into an NCAA AllAmerican.
He had a terrific first full season in A-ball, had an outstanding 2016 in Reading and didn’t slow down when he reached Triple-A this year. Hoskins had 67 homers in less than two seasons between Reading and Lehigh Valley by the time he finally got the call to join the Phillies as they were entering the stretch drive of another lost season.
“I was just eager to learn about what the big leagues was all about,” Hoskins said. “Try to soak in as much information as I can for the 50 or so days that hopefully I’d be here. I’m doing that daily; still learning with every pitch and every at-bat. That really was the only expectation that I had.”
That plan has been altered a bit, simply because the focused Hoskins keeps hitting home runs.
His first came in his home state, the Phillies playing in San Diego. He hit two in that game, but showed after the first one what kind of a levelheaded yet fun-loving kid he can be.
He would be given the usual major league joke — the silent treatment — from teammates after the first one. But seeing all dugout faces turned, Hoskins outfoxed the comics by simply air-high-fiving any imaginery teammates.
“It’s not real,” Hoskins’ minor- and major-league teammate Nick Williams said of his friend’s streak. “It’s crazy. It’s amazing. It’s fun to watch, fun to be a part of and watch it live. You’re watching records (broken), but only daily. It’s awesome.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hoskins is the fastest to 11 homers in modern major league history, getting there in 64 official at-bats. Previous to that, the quickest to 11 was done in 81 at-bats by Shane Spencer (1998-99) and Gary Sanchez (201516).
“I’m getting there,” Hoskins said. “It’s still a work in progress, but, like I’ve said time and time again, the more live reps I get and the different balls I get in the game, I’m only going to get more comfortable.
“I’m just coming to the ballpark every day with the same mindset. Good stuff just keeps happening. We took two of three (games) from the defending World Series champs, too.” That indeed is a good thing. “It’s phenomenal,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “It’s a special thing to watch, the way he keeps his composure, the way that he sticks to who he is and the way he handles it. He’s a true professional. He brings energy into the clubhouse, too, at the same time. We’re just all having fun. To see a guy do that, it’s very, very special.”