Bohm, Turner join Harper as NL All-Star starters originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
CHICAGO — The Phillies knew they would have one, were almost certain they would have two and were confident they could send three starters to the All-Star Game.
That’s exactly what happened. Bryce Harper was already locked in as the National League’s starting first baseman after he and Aaron Judge received the most votes in their respective leagues during Phase 1, and on Wednesday night it was announced that Trea Turner and Alec Bohm will join Harper in the starting infield in Texas on July 16.
Bohm easily defeated the other finalist at third base, Manny Machado, with 70% of the vote.
Turner was in a neck-and-neck race with Mookie Betts at shortstop, but won 51% to 49%. He would have gotten the starting job anyway, as Betts is sidelined until mid- to late-August with a broken hand.
It’s the first time since 1982 that the Phillies have named three starters to the All-Star Game with Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose and Manny Trillo. They also had three starters in 2009, but Shane Victorino replaced Carlos Beltran.
“It’s great for the organisation, it’s great for all the lads who are on the national stage now,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ve been there for a few years now. Hopefully (Bryson) Stott can make it. I don’t know what the chances are of that, but it would be cool.”
Bohm is quite a story. He could have played himself off the field in early 2022 and fallen out of favor in Philadelphia after his infamous three-error, “I hate this place,” game against the Mets. But he took responsibility that night, continued to grind pregame with infield coach Bobby Dickerson every day, and has become a much more reliable fielder.
Bohm leads the majors with 28 doubles and leads the NL with 68 RBI.
“It means a lot because I saw where he started,” Thomson said. “I saw his first spring training out of the draft. When you see him then, when you see him now, he’s a completely different guy, a completely different player, a completely different person. I’ve been a development guy my whole life and when you see those things happening, it’s really eye-opening.”
Turner has had a very different first half of 2024 than he did in ’23, his first year with the Phillies. He enters Wednesday night batting .338/.386/.487. To this date a year ago, he was hitting .249/.304/.383.
“Anytime you can get your teammates together in the All-Star Game, it’s cool,” he said. “I think for me personally, I think last year, starting out, it was impossible, so to be in this situation for me is a win.”
Four other Phillies — JT Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh — advanced to Phase 2 as finalists. William Contreras received more votes than Realmuto. Shohei Ohtani edged out Schwarber. The three starting outfielders are Cristian Yelich, Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Phillies will find out how many pitchers and backups they’ll have beyond their starting three on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET. They have plenty of worthy candidates in Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Realmuto and perhaps Stott in a thin National League field at second base.
