Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

[bkox]

Not sure there are that many players named "Smith," even.

240 MLB players have had the last name Smith. 8 of those have played this season

[julio]

Also common in Berks and Montgomery counties. I'm into Genealogy, and have several Hoffmans in my Family History.

Yeah - everywhere there was a large German immigrant population - east and central PA may be the densest such historic population in the country. I literally knew older people whose first language was the PA Dutch german dialect (grandparents of my friends, in about 1965).

[bkox]

I literally knew older people whose first language was the PA Dutch german dialect

I have a couple uncles in the Womelsdorf area that spoke English but it was so heavily PA dutch influenced/acccented that I could barely understand them. And even I can still morph into a bit of an accent even though ive lived in Illinois for 10 years now. Especially the word "out"

[BostonRoss]

My surname is the most common surname in Italy, by a lot, and the third most common Italian surname in the U.S. Yet there has only been one MLB player with that name, and he played only one season as a backup catcher. (If a lot of those folks in the old country are related to me, that explains the lack of athletic skill needed to compete at a high level.) There have been more Nolas (a relatively uncommon Italian name--though they are related, of course).

Hoffmann (generally spelled over there with two N's) is the tenth most common surname in Germany, according to Wikipedia.

[julio]

Especially the word "out"

Oh my! You wrote this, and I heard it! Haven't heard it in years... but there it was.

[andyb]

That is a lot of Hoffman talk for a throwaway comment because I initially thought we were reacquiring the Hoffman we recently got rid off. At least this is not a Luis Garcia situation.

[allentown]

That is a lot of Hoffman talk for a throwaway comment because I initially thought we were reacquiring the Hoffman we recently got rid off. At least this is not a Luis Garcia situation.

Yesterday was an off day. That explains a lot.

[zambonir]

An Hoff day

[Callison]

Helpful PA Dutch expressions: Throw from the train your mama a kiss. The ice cream is all.

[Philsmania]

Every Phillies fan has made the leap that Trea should head to the outfield; usually without any type of clear understanding of how vastly different that it is out there.

Trea actually would have an appropriate shot at being a solid CF with the requisite work (although you are correct in that he is of an age that elite CF are moved to a corner anyway). But I think that most ignore the fact that with Trea the whole issue on defense revolves around fundamentals and focus and confidence and not on athleticism and tools. Last season he was a terrific defender; this year was the opposite.It wasn't as if he lost everything - he is frankly a bit of a head case.

I can see him at 2nd before anywhere else; can also see him at third as it is more of a reactive position and would give him less time to overthink. But all of it requires confidence, and he seems to have more ups and downs than most when it comes to that.

I don't know if I would say Turner is a head case but he is oddly hot and cold on defense.

[zambonir]

"Head case" has some different connotations. But it certainly seems like he gets in his own head, and that leads to trouble focusing, which leads to poor positioning or judgment. He's had a lot of coaching during his time here, and sometimes it has really worked, and sometimes it has not. Seems like that's a little easier to quantify on the offensive side (his slump ended in '23 when he stopped doing what Long wanted him to do, which meant he wasn't overthinking. And then last year he traded power for more consistent hitting. I assume this year pitchers adjusted to what he was doing and it's been a struggle to adjust back/not resume bad habits).

But the defense part is more of a mystery. Why did it seem to work like magic last year and not this year?

[Carver]

I should probably explain what I meant by head case, as my usage is on the lesser side of the definition. He is not a Ketel Marte, nor even an Alec Bohm level of head case. His has far more to do with overall confidence, which is more easily shaken than many other stars.

• He expressed some trepidation about being able to live up to his huge deal when he got here, and the pressure that comes with it and playing in Philly. He then had some real trouble adjusting.
• The famous standing ovation, which drew him out of a lengthy and awful slump.
• The consistent ups and downs - both at the plate and in the field. Batting title and elite defense last season / terrible start this year and unexplainable inconsistencies on defense yet again.
• Bigger personalities such as Bryce and Kyle revel in the challenges - Trea is far more under the radar, and seems to let failures carry forward more than a star athlete should.

The talent and the athleticism has not changed in a measurable way, overall. Last year he was an elite fielding SS (after significant work to correct his fundamentals over time). This year he is back to lesser fundamentals, along with focus issues.

Defense is all about confidence - you drill the fundamentals in so that you can just react on the field. If you are fully confident out there, then you want the ball hit to you. The talent just flows; too often he is overthinking and not fully confident in his own abilities and the flow is lost.

Trea is a good guy - he is on the quieter side and does not seem to seek attention in the same way as a number of other stars. Teammates seem to like him; he is supportive and he shows up every day. He just seems to be a bit more fragile in the confidence department than he should be, and it does appear to impact his results. So that kind of head case...

[EastFallowfield]

Calendar breakdowns are arbitrary, but the Phils In August Of 2026 ones are fun so far...

From https://onpattison.com/sports/phillies-offense-without-home-runs-august-hot-streak-mlb/

In 19 games this month the Phillies have hit just 15 homers. Only two teams have fewer – the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels.

However, the Phillies have 175 hits this month – only Tampa Bay and Boston have more. They’ve walked 95 times, most in the Majors.

And consequently, they’ve scored 104 runs, second-most in baseball behind only Boston.

Oh, and they’ve only struck out 113 times, the fewest of any team in baseball.

Just in the month of August, here are all of the regulars by OPS.

Alec Bohm – 1.030
Bryce Harper – .984
Bryson Stott – .899
Justin Crawford – .841
Luis Arraez -.789
Kyle Schwarber – .735
Brandon Marsh – .709
Trea Turner – .650
J.T. Realmuto – .507
Only Turner and Realmuto are underwater this month, and Realmuto had two doubles, a walk and a pair of RBIs in the win on Friday. Marsh had his struggles early in the month, but since the Field of Dreams game he’s 7 for 19 (.368).

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

Oh, and they’ve only struck out 113 times, the fewest of any team in baseball.

This might be the most amazing stat of them all. We knew that Arraez wouldn't strike out much when he was traded here, but he alone cannot account for it. Somehow his approach must be rubbing off on the other players.

[zambonir]

Correlation is not causation of course. Could have just as easily been the team meeting Long called at the end of July (before the trade). These are good players, they've always had it in them to do better in their approach (and I'm sure they'lll also remain streaky).

And I don't think anyone is really aping Arraez's actual approach. After all, some of them still take walks.

What's reallly amazing about those numbers is how little Schwarber and Marsh, to say nothing of Turner, are contributing. If everyone can get going at the same time this really could be a championship team.

How the Phillies reemphasized plate approach and reenergized the lineup

[EastFallowfield]

Seems to me that no team gets everyone going at the same time for more than a moment, the good teams are the ones that have enough going often enough to win the games.

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

Could have just as easily been the team meeting Long called at the end of July (before the trade).

Yes, or the planets were in alignment, or everyone ate their Wheaties before each game.

[Austinfan]

Maybe they were struggling enough that a bunch of stubborn veterans finally listened to their hitting coach?
It's not like he hasn't been preaching this since ST.

[zambonir]

Well of course. Plus you also don't have to win all of them. Only 60% of them, even, and you're in the World Series. And yet somehow these are the same guys that went 9-15 in July. Arraez aside., I reckon a lot of that is from Nola and Painter too.

Probably safter to assume Schwarber will come up big than that Bohm will keep this going. But if both things happen, they have solved the longtime RHB problem, with Arraez basicallly replacing Turner as one of the other four best hitters (and Stott has replaced Marsh as the third-best LHB).

[zambonir]

Fun read. So many Defector writers live in Philly

I Taught A Scorekeeping Class And Everybody Came | Defector