At long last, David Bell’s name no longer needs to be mentioned every time a Phillies player hits for a triple and another hit early in a game.
It was June 28, 2004, when Bell hit for the last cycle in Philadelphia Phillies history. 19 years later, JT Realmuto has hit for the cycle, becoming the 1st Phillies catcher to ever hit for the cycle and only the 17th catcher in MLB history. Realmuto started early, getting the home run out of the way in the 2nd inning with a solo shot that would tie the game.
Realmuto then secured the hardest leg, a triple, in the 3rd inning. You don’t see 425 ft triples often, but Chase Field provides. He would drive in two to push the score to 3-1 Phillies. The single came with two outs in the 5th inning; however, no extra runs came from that leg of the cycle.
After being walked in the 7th, Realmuto had one more chance in the 9th inning. He drilled a slider from Miguel Castro into left-center field to lead off the inning. The hit gave Philadelphia a spark of hope, down by 2 in the 9th. While Realmuto scored, the Phillies ultimately could not will the comeback into existence.
Realmuto becomes the eighth player in Phillies history to hit for the cycle and just the second player to accomplish the feat in a loss. Chuck Klein was the first in 1933, 90 years ago.
The feat could help bolster JT Realmuto’s case in fan All-Star voting. After the first update was released, Realmuto was fifth in the National League for catchers, garnering 161,838 votes so far.
Even without the voting, Realmuto could have a high chance of being in Seattle for the game. Rob Thomson will manage the National League squad and will have input on who’s on the team.
For now, the Phillies will lick their wounds until tomorrow night, but perhaps this is the beginning of a much-needed turnaround for the Best Catcher in Baseball.
