Focus should turn to 2023
With Harper sidelined, chances for success this season could be waning
The sun was out and the humidity was low and Bryce Harper was headed for hand surgery. Rob Thomson couldn’t change any of it, so he did what he had been doing for 23 games and chose to focus on all that was positive outside of his control.
Someone mentioned Ronald Acuña and the Braves’ secondhalf surge to the World Series last year that coincided with the loss of their young centerpiece star. Thomson countered with his own for-instance: 2003, an opening-day collision at third base that left Yankees star Derek Jeter with a dislocated shoulder that cost him 36 games. He just as easily could have pointed to 2011, when Jeter strained a calf in June and missed three weeks.
Both years, the Yankees went on to win the division, thanks in no small part to their ability to win 38 of their 54 games with the star shortstop on the shelf. That included a 24-12 mark that followed Jeter’s opening-day injury in 2003.
“I still like our club,” Thomson said on Tuesday as he sat in the home dugout at Citizens Bank Park and watched his hitters take early batting practice. “We’re going to move forward.”
That’s the right approach. For now. But the Phillies can’t afford to wait too long for that forward movement to occur. If 2022 ends up being the wash that objectivity currently suggests, the worst thing they can do is throw good seasons after bad.
At some point, the focus will need to turn to the things that must be done to put the organization in the best possible position for 2023 and beyond. Is there a
“He’s probably the most prepared I’ve ever had.”
O’Hoppe has evolved into a solid all-around catcher. He calls a good game, has good defensive mechanics, a strong arm and a solid rapport with the pitching staff.
His hitting has followed suit. He hit .270 combined in his three stops last season, which included the final week of the IronPigs’ regular season, then had 11 extrabase hits, 17 RBIs and 21 walks in 22 AFL games.
O’Hoppe did all that as his dad battled cancer. He said his father’s dignity and perseverance gave him the strength to focus on his career.
The catcher’s famously meticulous notes became more detailed and self-reflective as he matured, heeding the advice and following the path of the man he admired.
Michael O’Hoppe’s cancer is in remission. His son’s development is not.
“He’s got incredible makeup,” Reading manager Shawn Williams said. “I saw it a lot last year, but he’s matured this year, and continues to keep getting better. He’s got such a great routine. He is so prepared every day. That’s why he succeeds.
“He’s very regimented every day, how he eats, trains. It keeps him healthy, fresh every day. You talk about a guy who loves to play the game. He plays hard. He plays the right way. That’s a pretty darn good combo.”
O’Hoppe plays a position that is covered by baseball’s best all-around catcher, J.T. Realmuto, at the major league level. The Phillies have Realmuto under contract through 2025.
The Fightins’ catcher has heard that he is a power-hitting catcher who has earned a promotion to Triple-A.
All of that is either noise or out of O’Hoppe’s control. His focus remains only on becoming a better version of himself no matter what clubhouse he is in.
“Just trying to really be in the moment,” he said. “That’s all can control. If I get caught up in outside stuff, it makes the moment even tougher. That’s how I try to keep my head on straight. I try to understand each day and try to get the most out of it.
“If there’s anything MiLB has taught me, it’s how to stay sane over a long period of time, roll with the punches.”
O’Hoppe has nearly as many RBIs (39) as strikeouts (41) despite the uptick in home runs. The rise in long balls is an accident, according to those who work with him.
There is consistency in everything he does from the fitness room to his diet to his approach to all facets of his game.
That includes batting practice.
“He doesn’t hit any balls out in BP,” Williams said. “That’s what he wants to do. He wants to hit line drives and hard ground balls and stay through the middle of the field. I think that’s what keeps him so consistent in the game.
“He doesn’t try to be a home run hitter. He tries to be good hitter first, which I think is extremely important. The home runs will come, which they have. There’s no telling how many he can hit. But he wants to be a good hitter, drive in runs, use the whole field.”
O’Hoppe’s skills and baseball IQ are obvious. His passion for the sport is special, which is what makes games in which he is only the designated hitter more stressful because he feels he can only have so much of an impact.
But everything comes together each day hours before the first pitch.
“[Current Phillies Alec] Bohm, [Mickey] Moniak, [Bryson] Stott all have one trait,” Henson said. “Work ethic, a grind to be better. O’Hoppe is at the top of that list. Every day you come in, he’s the first one here and the last one to leave.
“He’s always searching to be better. Guys like that tend to be the ones who shine. That’s the one attribute I love about him. If you get him out one way one night, he’s going to work on it the next day so you don’t do it to him again.”
O’Hoppe knows he is giving his best effort every day. That makes the Talenti gelato taste much better.