Bohm primed to bounce back -- on both sides -- in 2022

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Alec Bohm learned a few things last season, and he learned a few more things in the offseason.

It has him thinking differently and playing differently.

Bohm grinded through an at-bat for an infield single and picked up an RBI on a groundout in Friday afternoon’s 6-6 tie against the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Bohm, 25, is looking for a big bounceback following a difficult sophomore season. He batted .247 with seven home runs, 47 RBIs and a .647 OPS in 2021. As his struggles continued into late August, he was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Bohm started at third base the final two games of the season for the Phillies -- his only starts there after Aug. 8.

“The biggest thing I really take away is, throughout probably one of my worst years of baseball, I hit around league average, and obviously, have to be better defensively,” Bohm said. “Looking back on that, there’s some stretches where I could have easily gotten out of my own way. I could have ended up hitting better with maybe a few less errors. I think that's what I've been learning. It's a long year; if you have one bad day, don't turn it into two or three.”

It is easy to see how things could have snowballed for Bohm. He batted .338 with four homers, 23 RBIs and an .881 OPS as a rookie in 2020, finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year Award voting. The Phillies expected him to be a major run producer in ‘21. He hit fifth on Opening Day.

“When you're hot like that, it's easy to show up and be happy,” Bohm said. “Everything's going good. It's easy to be good when everything is going good.

“I was trying too hard [last season]. Obviously, I know what I'm capable of. And I have pretty high expectations of myself. When you're not performing to that level, it's frustrating. It sucked. Obviously, I want to help the team win. If I'm out doing my part, helping the team win, we have a chance to be really good. I think, over the course of last year, I just kind of learned how to relax a little bit and be in it for the long run.”

Bohm expects to be better this year. The Phillies have similar hopes, although they have asked shortstop Didi Gregorius to work at third, just in case.

Offensively, Bohm needs to hit fastballs better. He hit just .190 against them last year after hitting .344 against them as a rookie.

“What I really like that [hitting coach Kevin Long] is preaching to me and everybody is just be closer to the hitting position,” Bohm said. “Simplify everything. For me, it's just a touch wider [stance]. I don't know if it looks a whole lot different, but for me, it feels a lot more under control in the stride and all of that. Today, the ball didn't feel fast to me. I think that's one thing I noticed.”

Bohm is spending a lot of time with new infield coach Bobby Dickerson, too.

“His stuff translates,” Bohm said. “What he's doing, I feel it on the field. It works. I think he has everybody believing in it. … It's kind of a different approach to catching the ball than we've all been taught growing up -- at least me. He's really just separating the catch and the throw. Instead of thinking about fielding it in one big thing and you're trying to throw while you're catching it, he's really preaching separating the catch and the throw. That's something that I really thought I did, but it's not something I've ever thought of like that.”

Regardless of his work with Long and Dickerson, Bohm should have less pressure on him this year. Kyle Schwarber on Wednesday agreed to terms on a four-year, $79 million contract. Sources told MLB.com on Friday that the Phillies are making a serious push to sign free-agent outfielder Nick Castellanos. If the club adds Schwarber and Castellanos, Bohm will hit in the lower-third of the lineup.

That would be OK with him.

“Those guys are household names,” Bohm said. “Those are guys that everybody in the park knows who they are. They know what they can do. When you can add that to your lineup, it really makes it long, and tough to get through. If I'm hitting sixth, seventh, eighth, wherever -- I feel like the lower I hit in the order, the longer that order is, because I know what I'm capable of. I think it's fun to think about that.”