Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Phillies Star Calls Realmuto 'Freak Athlete' After Historic Cycle
To one Philadelphia Phillies player, there is no one like catcher J.T. Realmuto.
In Monday’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Realmuto became the first Phillies hitter since David Bell on June 28, 2004, to hit for the cycle.
It was a welcome game for Realmuto, and not just because it’s a personal milestone. It’s been a struggle this season for the veteran catcher at the plate.
This season he’s slashing .256/.304/.460/.764 with six home runs and 24 RBI. This comes less than a season after he finished seventh in MVP voting in the National League after slashing .276/.342/.478/.820 with 22 home runs, 84 RBI and a career-high 21 stolen bases.
But even if the bat isn’t quite firing the way the three-time All-Star wants, his work behind the plate is unwavering. To pitcher Matt Strahm, he may mix those two things to better than anyone he’s pitched to.
"I don’t know if anyone catches as many innings as he does,” Strahm told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And to be able to do what he does in the box and on the base paths, he’s a base stealer. He’s a freak athlete.”
By hitting for the cycle, Realmuto also did something that only one other player in the entire history of Major League Baseball has done.
Per Optastats, he homered in the 2021 All-Star game, hit an inside-the-park home run in the 2022 postseason and then hit for the cycle in 2023.
The only other player to accomplish all three of those things in a career is Yankees Hall-of-Famer Lou Gehrig.
Rare air, indeed, for Realmuto.
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