The Philadelphia Phillies enjoyed some initial success after the front office made a dramatic change to try and save the season.
On Tuesday, the team announced that it had replaced manager Rob Thomson with bench coach Don Mattingly and, later that day, the team earned a win against the San Francisco Giants.
And as the Phillies look to keep that momentum going, Mattingly has already instituted at least one notable change in how the team prepares.
Philadelphia Phillies’ New Manager Don Mattingly Changes Team Preparation After Rob Thomson Criticism
On Wednesday, shortly before a postponement was announced, members of the media noticed that the Phillies were doing bunt-specific drills in the middle of batting practice, and Mattingly explained that he will be looking to work in more of that and more pitcher fielding practice (PFP) following some poor offensive results and defensive lapses to open the season.
“Bunting’s really going to be part of the process,” Mattingly said, per a video posted on X by Crossing Broad’s Luke Arcaini. “It’s like making that a regular thing, I mean that’s not me, I think our thoughts were the whole staff, is to do that regularly, be semi-regularly with PFPs.”
Though some additional bunting and defensive work is unlikely to transform the Phillies overnight, it does point to significant changes that Mattingly would like to see from the team following some criticism of his predecessor.
Philadelphia Phillies Former Manager Rob Thomson Criticized After Bunt, PFP Mistakes
As the Phillies’ offense struggles, revisiting bunting fundamentals could do some good for the hitters. A poorly executed bunt under Thomson against the Los Angeles Dodgers was a focus of the Phillies’ early playoff exit last year.
And former reliever Matt Strahm was openly critical about the lack of PFP work that the team engaged in last year before he was traded away to the Kansas City Royals.
“As soon as it left his hand, my initial thought was, ‘Why didn’t I, as a veteran guy, bring up the fact that we need to do PFPs?’” Strahm said shortly after reliever Orion Kerkering made a critical defensive error in last year’s playoff series against the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “It’s something that you can’t expect to do right every time if you don’t practice it enough. Or at all.”
By bringing in a renewed focus on some fundamental preparation, Mattingly could be looking to address some of the most apparent shortcomings that the team suffered under Thomson. It might not be the flashiest change in his first days as the new skipper, but it has been a new focus that some fans and at least one former player have called for.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
