Bohm and Turner join Harper as NL All-Star starters

Bohm and Turner join Harper as NL All-Star starters originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CHICAGO — The Phillies knew they’d have one, were almost certain to have two and felt confident in sending three starters to the All-Star Game.

That’s exactly what happened. Bryce Harper was already locked in as the National League’s starting first baseman after he and Aaron Judge received the most votes in their respective leagues during Phase 1, and it was announced Wednesday night that Trea Turner and Alec Bohm will join Harper in the starting infield in Texas on July 16.

Bohm comfortably beat out the other finalist at third base, Manny Machado, with 70% of the votes.

Turner was in a tight race with Mookie Betts at shortstop but won out 51% to 49%. He would have drawn the starting assignment either way because Betts is sidelined until mid-to-late August with a fractured hand.

It’s the first time the Phillies have had three starters elected to the All-Star Game since 1982 with Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose and Manny Trillo. They had three starters in 2009 as well but Shane Victorino filled in for Carlos Beltran.

“It’s great for the organization, it’s great for all these guys who are now on the national stage,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We have been for a couple of years. Hopefully, (Bryson) Stott makes it as well. I don’t know what the chances are of that but it would be kinda cool.”

Bohm is quite a story. He could have played himself off the field and out of favor in Philadelphia early in 2022 after his infamous three-error, “I hate this place,” game against the Mets. But he took accountability that night, continued to grind pregame every day with infield coach Bobby Dickerson and has become a far more reliable fielder.

Bohm leads the majors with 28 doubles and leads the NL with 68 RBI.

“It means a lot because I saw where he started,” Thomson said. “I saw his first spring training out of the draft. To see him at that point, to see him now, it’s a completely different guy, completely different player, completely different person. I’ve been a development guy all my life and to see those things happen, it really perks you up.”

Turner has had a far different first half in 2024 than he did in ’23, his first year with the Phillies. He enters Wednesday night hitting .338/.386/.487. He was hitting .249/.304/.383 through this date a year ago.

“Any time you can get teammates together in the All-Star Game, it’s cool,” he said. “I think for me personally, I think just the way I started last year it was an impossibility, so being in this situation is a win for me.”

Four other Phillies — J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh — made it to Phase 2 as finalists. William Contreras garnered more votes than Realmuto. Shohei Ohtani advanced past Schwarber.

The Phillies will find out Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET how many pitchers and reserve players they’ll have aside from their starting three. They have a slew of worthy candidates in Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Realmuto and perhaps Stott in a thin National League field at second base.