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2022 World Series: Phillies’ JT Realmuto shows why he’s MLB’s best catcher


HOUSTON – Between the two biggest changes in his life, JT Realmuto drilled in the face.

Fortunately, Phillies catcher, you know, wearing a mask at the time. But when that sixth inning foul occurred Chas McCormickThe bat, it made Realmuto’s jaw so square that the front part of his two-piece helmet split on its own and fell to the dust behind the house board.

Realmuto, whose fifth-round double RBI had just finished the game, completing Philly’s boisterous five-round comeback, took a moment to convince himself. As he bent his head towards his chest to catch his breath, the referee went out onto the mound to let Realmuto breathe. But almost immediately, captain Rob Thomson and the club’s sports coach rushed out of the visitors’ fence to check their fulcrum. At that point, bench coach Mike Calitri exclaimed towards the backup catcher Garrett Stubbslet Stubbs know he might need to be ready.

But while Calitri and thousands of Philadelphians feared the worst, Stubbs did not move.

“Yeah, I knew JT wouldn’t come out of that game.” Stubbs said after the game. “That guy’s arm would have to fall off for him to get out of that game”

Thankfully, it turned out that Realmuto’s nib was just a rough blow to the chin and not a potential concussion situation. After being evaluated by medical staff, he continued to compete.

Two hours later, he unleashed a field-of-field laser homer in the 10th inning to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead and perhaps their most inevitable October win.

“That ball made me hit pretty well.” Realmuto admitted after the game. “It probably won’t be easy for me to eat dinner tonight.”

“It was a Phillies win right there.”

Phillies catcher JT Realmuto breaks his home game win in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series.

While bumps and bruises and bumps to the chin are normal for any setback, what’s unusual is Realmuto’s ability at the sign. No other catcher has as good a defense as Realmuto saves. And Game 1 showcased his full talent – 10 rounds captured, three innings, a revolving door of expertly handled painkillers.

That’s the life of the best catcher on earth.

Minutes after last Friday night, Realmuto arrived at the guest’s weight room at Minute Maid Park. And as is the case with every game he plays, home or away, win or lose, April or October, Realmuto succeeds. Three sets of three different exercises. About 15 to 20 minutes in total. Sometimes the upper body, sometimes the lower body, but always something, without exception.

While his teammates are popping cold drinks or talking to the media or showering, the 31-year-old is in the gym, making sure his body can handle the extra 9 sets of squats the next day.

The post-game scene after Game 1 was no different. Four and a half hours of that stressful, expensive baseball lying in the rearview mirror, old news. The preparations for Game 2 had to begin, and begin immediately.

The glory of his headshot-like moment in Game 1 began hours, weeks, months before. The way before the lights came on and the camera was spinning.

“He’s an absolute specimen.” Stubbs talking about his countryman. “But he’s in the gym every day, in the gym getting his treatment every day, to make sure he’s ready to go.”

Realmuto himself gives a much more realistic assessment of his situation.

“I’m using a lot of adrenaline that makes me feel pretty great every night.”

Fishing is a strange business; it’s part trainer, part advanced-boy Scout, part therapy, part three-hour yoga class, oh and you have to get it too. But for Realmuto, who has so far captured every inning for the Phils, that’s even more important.

According to one group, big league catchers reach 0.226/.295/.367 in 2022.

RealmutoOtherwise, press .276 / .342 / .478 simultaneously to lead all catchers in the start game and post-dish games. The man was a unicorn, an anomaly, a muscular specimen. He squatted for three hours and then hit like an All-Star. That’s why he’s such an important, unannounced part of this Phillies team. That’s why they became so confident in his reliability.

David Robertson, right, and JT Realmuto of the Phillies celebrate after their Game 1 win in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey / Getty Images)

And though he hasn’t collected a single special moment before his Game 1 performance, Realmuto has been lurking in the shadows. Without his lead single in NLCS Game 5, Harper’s historic frontrunner would be solo. But sooner or later the October spotlight comes on everyone, and on Friday night, Realmuto was the reluctant star.

And by the early hours of Saturday morning, as his peers joked around, listening to raw music in the dressing room, Realmuto was back where he felt most comfortable, the practice room, preparing for the day’s final annoyances. roof.

That’s the life of a catcher and no one, as he proved in Game 1, is better than Realmuto.

Jake Mintz, the bigger half of @CespedesBBQ is a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and as such, he leads a lonely existence most of October. If he doesn’t watch baseball, he’s almost certain. cycling. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.


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