JT Realmuto
HOPEWELL VALLEY STUDENT PODCASTING NETWORK
SHOW NAME: I-95 RUNDOWN
EPISODE TITLE: THE PHILLIES
You are listening to I-95 Rundown with your host Charlie Mott
In this episode of I-95 Rundown we discuss:The Phillies.
SEGMENT 1: EARLY CAREER
* Although he primarily served as the team's shortstop, Realmuto would occasionally catch for Carl Albert when their starting catcher was asked to pitch [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcher].
* Steve Taylor, a scout [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_(sport)] for the Miami Marlins [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Marlins] of Major League Baseball [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball] (MLB), attended a game where Realmuto was catching and told the player that he was more likely to play in MLB as a catcher than as a shortstop.
* The Marlins went on to select Realmuto in the third round, 104th overall, of the 2010 MLB Draft [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_MLB_Draft].
* attended a game where Realmuto was catching and told the player that he was more likely to play in MLB as a catcher than as a shortstop.
* The Marlins went on to select Realmuto in the third round, 104th overall, of the 2010 MLB Draft [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_MLB_Draft].
* Although he had previously committed to play college baseball at Oklahoma State on an athletic scholarship, Realmuto chose to accept the Marlins' offer, which included a $700,000 signing bonus [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signing_bonus].
* He was assigned to the GCL Marlins [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCL_Marlins] of the Rookie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookie_League] Gulf Coast League [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Coast_League], where he batted .175 in 40 at-bats [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-bat], including two runs and four RBIs.
* Prior to the 2011 season [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_in_baseball], Marlins farm director [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_system] Jim Fleming and scouting director Stan Meek pushed Andy Haines [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Haines], then the manager of the Class A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_A_(baseball)] Greensboro Grasshoppers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro_Grasshoppers], to promote Realmuto to the team.
* He spent spring training [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_training] working with Marlins catching instructor Tim Cossins [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Cossins] and was assigned to the Grasshoppers to start the season.
* Realmuto split time behind the plate with Wilfredo Gimenez, and when he was not catching, he would appear as a designated hitter [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_hitter].
* He excelled both offensively and defensively in his 96 games with Greensboro; in addition to batting .287 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs, Realmuto successfully picked off [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickoff] 42 percent of attempted base stealers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_base].
* Realmuto also helped take the Grasshoppers to a South Atlantic League [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Atlantic_League] championship title, recording a critical RBI in the final round against the Savannah Sand Gnats [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_Sand_Gnats].
* The following season, both Realmuto and Haines were promoted to the Class A-Advanced [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_A-Advanced] Jupiter Hammerheads [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Hammerheads] of the Florida State League [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_State_League].
* There, Realmuto was paired with up-and-coming pitcher José Fernández [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Fern%C3%A1ndez_(right-handed_pitcher)], a partnership that the Marlins envisioned would form the backbone of their future major league roster.
* Realmuto was one of three Hammerheads named to the 2012 Florida State League All-Star Game, alongside outfielders Christian Yelich [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Yelich] and Marcell Ozuna [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcell_Ozuna].
SEGMENT 2: RISE TO THE MAJORS
* Realmuto received his first major league call-up on June 1, 2014, when Saltalamacchia was placed on the 7-day disabled list [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disabled_list] with a concussion [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concussion].
* Marlins manager Mike Redmond [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Redmond] told reporters that Realmuto was "the guy who, in the short term, we think [...] can come up and do a good job".
* Realmuto made his major league debut on June 5, recording three RBIs against Jake Odorizzi [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Odorizzi] in an 11–6 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rays].
* He was sent back down to Jacksonville after only seven games, in which he had collected one run and five RBIs.
* Realmuto was briefly called back up to the Marlins for three days at the end of July, but he did not play a game
* recording three RBIs against Jake Odorizzi [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Odorizzi] in an 11–6 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rays].
* He was sent back down to Jacksonville after only seven games, in which he had collected one run and five RBIs.
* Realmuto was briefly called back up to the Marlins for three days at the end of July, but he did not play a game.
* following Jacksonville's Southern League championship victory, Realmuto was recalled to the Marlins' expanded roster.
* He appeared in 11 total major league games that season, batting .241 with nine RBIs and four runs.
* Realmuto joined the Marlins for spring training in 2015 but was assigned to the Triple A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_A_(baseball)] New Orleans Zephyrs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_Zephyrs] to start the season.
* He spent three games there before being called up to replace an injured Jeff Mathis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Mathis].
* Realmuto was meant to serve as a backup catcher to Saltalamacchia, with several opportunities to start behind the plate as Mathis waited four to six weeks for his fractured finger to heal.
* Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_for_assignment] on April 27, following an extended offensive and defensive slump, and Realmuto was named the Marlins' starting catcher.
* He hit his first major league home run the following month, a two-run shot against Rubby De La Rosa [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubby_De_La_Rosa] in the seventh inning of a 3–2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Diamondbacks] on May 18, 2015.
SEGMENT 3: CAREER WITH THE PHILLIES
* At the arbitration deadline on January 11, 2019, Realmuto agreed to a $5.9 million contract with the Marlins, including bonuses for each All-Star selection, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove Award [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Glove_Award].
* However, in the fall of 2018, Realmuto and his agent had informed the Marlins that he would not sign a long-term contract with the team, and that he anticipated a trade.
* On February 7, 2019, the Marlins traded Realmuto to the Phillies in exchange for catcher Jorge Alfaro [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Alfaro], pitching prospects Sixto Sánchez [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixto_S%C3%A1nchez] and Will Stewart [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Stewart_(baseball)], and $250,000 in international bonus slot money.
* Realmuto replaced Alfaro as the Phillies' starting catcher, with veteran Andrew Knapp [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Knapp] serving in the backup role.
* Realmuto received his second All-Star Game selection that year, again the only member of his team selected.
* He was shut down during the last week of the season for a minor meniscus [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meniscus_(anatomy)] surgery after sustaining a knee injury during a game against the Cleveland Indians [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Indians].
* In 2019, Realmuto hit .275 with a career-high 25 home runs in a career-high 532 at bats.
* He also led all major league catchers with 83 RBIs, 90 runs, 144 hits, and 36 doubles.
* Defensively, he threw out 37 attempted base stealers, the most among major league catchers that season and the most of any Phillies catcher since Darren Daulton [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Daulton] in 1993.
* When the COVID-19 pandemic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_sports] shortened the 2020 MLB season [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_MLB_season] to 60 games, Phillies management wanted to ensure that Realmuto remained healthy throughout the abbreviated season.
* Realmuto himself told reporters that he wanted to play in all 60 regular-season games that year and catch in at least 50.
* He was an early star in the Phillies' disappointing season; although the team posted a 5–9 record in their first 14 games, Realmuto collected eight home runs within the same span.
* It was the second time that an MLB catcher had collected eight home runs in the first 15 games of the season, following Gabby Hartnett [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabby_Hartnett]'s 1925 run with the Chicago Cubs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Cubs].
* Realmuto remained healthy until September 12, when he exited a game against the Miami Marlins with hip discomfort.
* The timing of the injury left the Phillies without their primary catcher just before a stretch of 14 games in 11 days.[64] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Realmuto#cite_note-64] He was diagnosed with a strained hip flexor, and he missed 10 games with the injury before returning on September 22 for a game against the Nationals.
* Realmuto batted .266 in 47 games that season, with 11 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 33 runs scored in 195 at-bats.
* With the knowledge that Realmuto was on track to become a free agent [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_agent] at the end of the 2020 season, both Phillies fans and teammates began using the phrase "Sign J. T." to pressure managers into offering him a new contract.
* After Realmuto hit a two-run home run during a scrimmage [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhibition_game], outfielder Bryce Harper [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Harper] yelled "sign him" to the front office.[68] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Realmuto#cite_note-68] Harper continued to push the Phillies to re-sign Realmuto throughout the season; after the final game of the season, he told reporters that, "Realmuto needs to be our catcher next year – plain and simple."
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MUSIC CREDITS: LIST THE ARTIST AND SONG NAME
* Big Rock - Take the Lead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]
* Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100305 [http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100305]
* Artist: http://incompetech.com/
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