Clearwater Happenings
Bohm and the “hitting professor”
(Steve Potter, a longtime Phillies fan now living in Clearwater, is a baseball enthusiast who files news and notes from time to time for the Phillies Insider blog).
The final week of the FIL got underway today. Part of the camp roster took the long bus ride over to Orlando to play the Braves at noon. The rest of the fellas worked out at Carpenter Complex, a typical schedule.
There was focus on fly balls as Clearwater skipper Shawn Williams used the launch machine to shoot baseballs high into the sky. BP followed and select pitchers threw side sessions on the seven mounds in front of the David P. Montgomery Baseball Performance Center. A traditional infield/outfield session then took place on the Roberts field. Practice concluded with guys breaking into groups on Ashburn and Schmidt fields for practice bunting.
One of the neat things 3B Alec Bohm got to experience in Instructs is to work with Charlie Manuel, the “hitting professor”. I’m a huge Charlie fan and think it’s great that these young fellas get the chance to learn from a Phillies legend. It can do nothing but help them. Charlie is here just about every day. He studies the guys as they take their swings, pulls them aside afterwards and often demonstrates the point he wants to get across. Most times it’s dialogue and encouragement. Having a mentor around like Charlie in his early years of development is a tremendous asset as well.
Alec’s family is here from Nebraska. That’s pretty much the norm when a minor leaguer is in his first Instructs or spring training. Always enjoy meeting the families.
I also got to chat with Meghan Montemurro from The Athletic. She’s here to do a feature on some of the minor leaguers. I enjoy reading her articles and look forward to the story.
Tomorrow the Yankees come to Spectrum Field for a noon game. There’s a tropical storm warning out for midweek. Hopefully it stays north and doesn’t wash out the finals days of Instructs. Last day is Friday.
