Phillies' Galvis: From pushing golf carts to 20 HRs
Freddy Galvis' strength was deemed so little six years ago that the Phillies had him push and pull a golf cart around their ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. He was 20 years old and weighed 165 pounds.
Freddy Galvis' strength was deemed so little six years ago that the Phillies had him push and pull a golf cart around their ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. He was 20 years old and weighed 165 pounds.
There were concerns that he would struggle to ever hit the ball out of the infield.
Galvis strapped on a weight belt that was hooked to the cart by a metal chain. He would run the warning track at Bright House Field with the cart kicking up dust as he pulled it behind him. Galvis would get behind the cart and push and then use the chain to pull it. The Phillies, Galvis said, wanted Galvis to train like an "old-school guy." It was his version of a Strongman competitor pulling a jumbo jet.
Galvis hit his 20th homer of the season on Sunday, putting away any doubts that still lingered about the shortstop's strength. The 5-foot-10 Galvis is the ninth Phillies player to ever hit 20 homers in a season and be 5-10 or shorter.
"I think everyone can hit homers," Galvis said. "The thing is if you put a good swing to the ball and you hit it good, you can hit homers. I've been having good at-bats and don't think it's crazy."
Home runs are being hit more this season by shorter players than ever before. Galvis is the eighth player this season to be 5-10 or shorter and hit 20 homers. It is the highest rate in history, according to Baseball Reference. Just six players reached that mark last season.
More players listed at 5-10 or shorter have hit 20 homers in the last five seasons (26) then they did in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s. Home runs from shorter players have spiked behind players such as Yoenis Cespedes, Andrew McCutchen, Khris Davis, and Jose Altuve.
"When I was playing in the '70s and '80s, if someone hit a home run to center field it was a big deal, let alone an opposite-field home run," manager Pete Mackanin said. "You watch batting practice and guys like Freddy, Roman Quinn, they have pop. Little guys are hitting opposite field, dead center, you see so many home runs to dead center field like it's nothing. I don't know why. Nobody knows."
Galvis changed his swing six weeks ago before a game in Los Angeles. Hitting coach Steve Henderson instructed Galvis to keep his weight on his back foot. It felt strange at first, Galvis said. But that feeling quickly went away when he homered in the next two games. He has since hit 11 homers in 36 games.
Galvis has the same number of homers this year as he did combined in his first four major-league seasons. He is batting .239 with a .274 on-base percentage, which is the lowest mark in all of baseball. But those numbers have improved with his new approach at the plate. Galvis is batting .279 with a .329 on-base percentage since that day in L.A.
"We talked about controlling the strike zone and getting on base, which ultimately leads to run production. We like to have players who can control the strike zone and get on base," general manager Matt Klentak said. "Now realistically, we know every player's not going to be able to do that. We know that. There are playoff teams that hit a lot of homers but don't work counts especially well and there are teams that grind out at-bats and don't hit a lot of homers. There's a lot of ways to win in this game. But in the aggregate, we have to look at Freddy Galvis' season as a very, very positive one this year."
Galvis will have to prove that he can parlay the last six weeks into a prolonged stretch of production. That, combined with his elite defense (Galvis may win the Gold Glove), would make him a valuable commodity. The Phillies will promote J.P. Crawford to the majors next season, which means Galvis is simply holding down the left side of the infield for a few more months.
He will likely compete with Cesar Hernandez to be the team's second baseman when Crawford arrives. Galvis will return home to Venezuela this winter. He's unsure whether he will play winter ball or just relax as he prepares for what should be a crucial season to determine his future role with the Phillies. And he certainly will not be pushing golf carts in Clearwater as those doubts have been extinguished.
@matt_breen philly.com/philliesblog