Team success is all that matters to this group, but the individual accolades have already been stacked up for Philadelphia with 11 games remaining before the All-Star break.
Major League Baseball (MLB) announced Wednesday morning that the two National League Player of the Month awards have gone to the Philadelphia Phillies — Bryce Harper is the Player of the Month, and Christopher Sanchez is the Ram of the Month.
This marks two consecutive months for Harper, who has never won the award before.
It’s also the second time in three months that Philadelphia has won the MVP award. The award went to the Rangers’ Suarez in April. That’s pretty amazing considering they’re essentially the team’s No. 3 and No. 4 starters behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.
“Harb has had a great month and winning back-to-back is rare,” said manager Rob Thompson. “But for Sanchi to win the Ram of the Month award is really great because he has come a long way. He is a great guy. He has worked hard. He has definitely earned it.”
Thompson gathered the team before the game Tuesday afternoon to tell them the news. Their reaction to what Sanchez said sounded like something out of a TV show.
“Obviously there was a standing ovation for Harp, it started with Harp, then it went to Sanchi and the place exploded,” he said. “They know how far he’s come and the work he’s put in. They appreciate it.”
Sanchez pitched in five games in June, going 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 0.82 slugging percentage. He allowed no home runs, but he had just one hit all season in 93⅓ innings. Philadelphia signed him to a four-year, $22.5 million deal less than two weeks ago, and he responded with a seven-strikeout shutout to beat the Diamondbacks and a three-strikeout shutout to beat the Marlins.
“His humility is what really sets him apart,” Thompson said. “For example, the guy who worked in the CBP guard shack, when I would stop and talk to him, he told me one time that Chris Sanchez would come in every day and stop by and say hi and talk to me. That definitely says a lot about him.”
Sanchez’s main rival for the monthly award was Pirates rookie Paul Skinis, who posted a 1.78 earned run average in June with 40 strikeouts in 30⅓ innings.
Harper beat Shohei Otani. Harper hit .374 with an OPS of 1.166, 10 doubles, seven home runs and 16 RBI. Otani hit .293 with an OPS of 1.110, four doubles, 12 home runs and 24 RBI. There was no wrong answer.
Harper also knows he will start at first base for the National League in the All-Star Game. He has already secured his spot as the National League’s top-ranked player in the first phase of fan voting. He looks likely to be joined in the starting lineup by teammates Trea Turner and Alec Bohm. The starting lineups for the All-Star Game will be announced Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
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