Bohm and Turner join Harper on the National League All-Star starters. First seen by NBC Sports Philadelphia
CHICAGO — The Phillies knew they could win one game, but they were almost certain to win two and were confident sending three starters to the All-Star Game.
And 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, but it was announced Wednesday night that Trea Turner and Alec Bohm will join Harper as the starting infielders on July 16 at Texas.
Bohm handily defeated the other finalist for third baseman, Manny Machado, with 70 percent of the vote.
Turner was in a tight battle with Mookie Betts for the shortstop spot, winning 51-49 percent of the time, but with Betts out until mid-to-late August with a broken hand, Turner is likely to assume the starting role anyway.
The Phillies have selected three starting pitchers to the All-Star Game for the first time since 1982, when Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose and Manny Trillo were selected. They also selected three starting pitchers in 2009, but Shane Victorino replaced Carlos Beltran.
“It’s great for the team and it’s great for the players to be on a national stage,” coach Rob Thomson said. “I’ve been thinking about that for a few years now. Hopefully (Bryson) Stott will play. I don’t know what the chances are, but it would be fantastic.”
Bohm has quite the story: After committing three infamous “I hate this place” blunders in a Philadelphia game against the Mets in early 2022, Bohm could have been off the field and out of favor, but he took responsibility that night, continued to work with infield coach Bobby Dickerson every day before games and has become a much more reliable fielder.
Bohm led the major leagues with 28 doubles and led the National League with 68 RBIs.
“It means a lot because I’ve seen where he started,” Thompson said. “I watched his first spring training after the draft. To see him then and see him now, it’s a totally different guy, totally different player, totally different person. I’ve been in development my whole life and when I see stuff like that happen, it’s really invigorating.”
Turner’s first half of 2024 looked very different than his first season with the Phillies in 2023. As of Wednesday night, he was batting .338/.386/.487. A year ago, he was batting .249/.304/.383.
“It’s always great to have all my teammates together at the All-Star Game,” he said. “Personally, I think the way we started last year was impossible, so it’s a win for me to be in this situation.”
Four other Phillies players, JT Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh, also advanced to the second round as finalists. William Contreras received more votes than Realmuto. Shohei Ohtani outranked Schwarber. The three starting outfielders were Christian Yelich, Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Phillies will find out at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday how many pitchers and reserves they have beyond the starters. The National League second base corps is thin, but there are plenty of strong candidates, including Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Christopher Sanchez, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Stram, Realmuto and possibly Stott.
