Memo to Keith Hernandez: Here’s how the Phillies improved their infield defense

Let’s begin with an acknowledgment: Keith Hernandez was right.

The Phillies have been tough to watch over the last few years. You can’t deny it. They had a historically terrible bullpen in 2020 before leading the majors in blown saves last season. And for two years running, they handled the ball like a bar of soap in the shower, ranking among the worst defensive teams in baseball by every metric.

Even the Phanatic covered his eyes from time to time.

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“Inside the ranks at times you’d hear it,” Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson said this week. “Other teammates whispered stuff. I’d hear in spring training about, ‘Oh, we might be real good if we had a good defense.’”

Go ahead, then, and be offended by Hernandez’s comment during a Mets telecast on Sportsnet New York this week that he detests watching the Phillies — and even asks for time off during series against them — because they “fundamentally and defensively have always been not up to it.” Just concede that it wasn’t false.

Until the last two months.

The Phillies are in New York to face the Mets for the first time since May 27-29, and if Hernandez was there (he’s in St. Louis for the 40th anniversary of the Cardinals’ 1982 World Series triumph), he may not recognize them. Not only has the bullpen guarded leads like Fort Knox, but the defense is actually making plays, routine and otherwise.

Consider this about-face: In April and May, the Phillies ranked last in the National League in runs prevented (minus-18) and outs above average (minus-22), according to Statcast. Since June 1, they’ve been slightly better than average in runs prevented (plus-1) and outs above average (plus-1).

In particular, the infield is less of a sieve. Third baseman Alec Bohm improved from eight outs below average in April and May to one out above average in June, July, and August. First baseman Rhys Hoskins went from four outs below average to two outs above. Despite bouncing from shortstop to second base and back to short, rookie Bryson Stott went from one out below average on May 31 to two outs above average entering the weekend.

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“I’m not surprised at all,” Bohm said. “I think the whole time, the guys knew we could do it, right? But collectively, as a team, we weren’t where we wanted to be. Knowing that we weren’t that great, it was a mentality thing. And when you get punched in the mouth, you want to punch back.”

Here’s how they’ve done it. Hernandez may want to take notes.

When Dickerson was hired back by the Phillies last fall after two seasons with the San Diego Padres, all he heard about were each infielder’s shortcomings.

“It was talked about Bohm being slow, and Stott may not have enough range at short, and Didi [Gregorius] is going backwards, and [Jean] Segura’s range was bad the second half of last year, and Rhys, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” Dickerson said. “I heard all of it. But all I said to the guys in spring training was, ‘If we catch the ball within our own range, who can ask for more than that? That’s who each guy is. And the more we control the environment, the better off we’ll be.’”

So, rather than focusing on the mostly futile exercise of trying to turn, say, Bohm into the second coming of Scott Rolen, Dickerson went to work on making the 26-year-old former No. 3 overall pick better within the limits of his ability.

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The Phillies take infield practice before almost every game. Not every team adheres to that routine. Some days are more rigorous than others, but they all typically involve Dickerson’s standing at home plate and hitting fungos around the infield.

Dickerson, 56, is a talker. And in his Mississippi drawl, he shouts a roux of advice, encouragement, and even sarcasm. He’s been known to issue challenges, too. Anything to keep it interesting.

“I tell them all the time, if the ball touches the ground, they owe me a little something,” Dickerson said. “Bottle of vodka? Not good for my liver. But I try to tell them in all the practice sessions, ‘The ball is your baby. Don’t let your baby hit the ground.’”

One phrase Dickerson will rarely use: “field the ball.” He thinks it comes off as too mechanical. While other infield coaches may stress the “six F’s of fielding” — feet, field, funnel, footwork, fire, and follow-through — Dickerson has imparted a simpler message to the Phillies infielders.

“Catch the ball and throw it to your buddy,” Stott said.

But that sounds so ... easy?

“It does sound easy, and obviously it’s not easy,” Stott said. “But when you try to look like a fielder, in a sense, it’s kind of when you get messed up.”

Said Bohm: “It takes a lot of the thought out of being an infielder. Making a play, you think it’s supposed to look a certain way, or I’m supposed to do this and that. No. It’s just catch it, now get it to your guy.”

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Dickerson doesn’t care much for aesthetics. At 6-foot-5, with long arms and legs, Bohm is taller than almost every active third baseman and faces unique physical challenges. He doesn’t make many plays look pretty or even fluid. But Dickerson has worked with him on finding better hops that are easier to handle.

“Once they catch it, I don’t care if it’s one-handed, two-handed, it’s basically you and your dad in your backyard playing catch when you’re 5,” Dickerson said. “It’s just an advanced version of it. And it’s happening a lot faster.”

This much is clear: The Phillies are turning more balls into outs.

Last season, opponents batted .255 on grounders against the Phillies, well above the leaguewide average of .241. This year, they’re batting .249 on grounders against the Phillies — and only .226 since June 1.

Dickerson leaves it to the research and development staff to provide information on where the infielders should be positioned against specific hitters in various situations. After shifting less than any team last season (17.2% of the time), the Phillies are closer to the middle of the pack this year (31.4%).

But Dickerson met with interim manager Rob Thomson in June about changing where they put Bohm in their shifts. Rather than shallow right field, the Phillies have left him on the left side of the infield in the shortstop’s spot unless there’s a runner on first base. In that case, Bohm moves across the field.

Dickerson also likes the infielders to have a say in where they stand. They now have the latitude to move 5 feet to the right or left depending on their reading of a hitter’s swing. The Phillies also have changed how they shift when ace Zack Wheeler is pitching, according to Dickerson, based on feedback they received from him and their level of trust in his stuff.

“Everyone’s gotten a lot more comfortable knowing that we’re the ones playing,” Stott said. “We’re in a set position to start, and if you see a guy trying to do something, you can move.”

The players heard the criticism long before Hernandez opened his mouth.

It’s no secret that teams that play defense as poorly as the Phillies did last year don’t usually make the playoffs. But the personnel didn’t change in the offseason, so Dickerson, who replaced Juan Castro, set about changing the mentality.

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“The passion that he has about infield has started to rub off coming into June and July and August,” Bohm said. “That’s why I think you’re seeing those numbers and metrics go up.”

It took time. There were potholes along the way. And it’s still far from perfect.

Bohm made three errors April 11 at Citizens Bank Park and infamously got caught on camera saying, “I [expletive] hate this place.” Hoskins committed two gaffes in a three-game span in May. Stott moved to second base when Segura broke his right index finger and admits it has taken time to ease back into shortstop, where he’s playing every day after the Phillies released Gregorius.

“In spring, people were saying we need to get better at certain things,” Stott said. “We’re human. We realize we need to get better at stuff. You don’t really need to be told.”

Mistakes happen. Hoskins booted a grounder and Segura lost a pop-up in the sun Thursday, leading to a run in a 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins.

But Dickerson believes the Phillies are “a more engaged infield.” He thinks they’re playing looser, with a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.

And they appear to be motivated to prove that they’re better than Hernandez — and maybe even some people within the organization — thought they could be.

“We’ve seen some good things for a month, but we’ve got a long way to go to keep it going,” Dickerson said. “We’ve seen the good and the bad in guys, and hopefully we can keep that scary monster, that bad guy, at bay.

“It does put a chip on your shoulders. If we’ve got to use that as a motivator, we will.”

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