NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 10, 2022

Rhys Hoskins

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. What's your reaction about Rob Thomson getting the interim tag removed?

RHYS HOSKINS: It's great news to start our time here in Atlanta. Not really a whole lot to say about it other than it's incredibly well-deserved. I think you can see the way we respond to him and I think the rest of the organization has seen that.

We've obviously played some pretty good baseball since he's taken over. Elated for him. He's a baseball man. We're more than happy to go to war for him, as you can tell. And I'm excited to be a part of it, at least for another year.

Q. What can that do for you guys heading into this NLDS? Do you think it can provide some kind of peace of mind?

RHYS HOSKINS: Sure. I don't know if the bulk of us, that's something that we were really focused on right now. I would be willing to bet that even Thomper would say the same thing, kind of just makes him who he is.

It's nice that -- I think today I know he was worried about being a distraction because, of course, he doesn't want it to be about him. But I'm sure he's happy to go through the process he is today. And we'll celebrate with him I'm sure at some point throughout the day as a group. But take it for what it is and get to work for the rest of the time here.

Q. How was it announced to you guys? And what was the reaction?

RHYS HOSKINS: I was actually getting some treatment when I got the notification on my phone. Again, I'm sure he's been a busy man and didn't want to be a distraction from the series.

So I didn't find out -- we didn't find out as a group, not to my knowledge, true Thomper fashion.

Q. The other day Zack Wheeler had a quote he described Rob as human.

RHYS HOSKINS: Fair.

Q. Do you find that's becoming a rare quality in the game?

RHYS HOSKINS: I'm assuming Wheels is just touching on the people aspect of him. Right? He's such a people person. He can have a conversation with anybody about anything, and he's definitely on anything baseball, as you have learned.

It's nice that -- I think he just feels relatable. I don't know if that's just his demeanor, the way that he speaks to you as a person and genuinely listens.

There's just a lot of genuine feeling there, I think, when you're around him, and it's incredible to have in the manager's office, for sure.

Q. After the season Bohm has had, what would you say is the biggest area of growth -- whether that be mentally, defensively, offensively -- that you've seen?

RHYS HOSKINS: Yeah, I would say it's mentally, really. This guy was a high draft pick. He was a stud in college. I'm sure he was a stud in high school. Ran through the minor leagues, just hit everywhere he went.

He got to the big leagues and did the same thing. Kind of got slapped in the face like a lot of us do. That's what this game does.

But to see him grow and figure out how to get on the other side of some of those valleys that we encounter often in this game is something that he never had to do before and had to learn kind of on the fly.

Unfortunately, for him, he had to do it under the brightest lights and in a market that we play in, which is honest. It's just an honest market.

I'm proud of him for that. Obviously the stuff on the field, he's come along way with, too, but that just comes with reps. I don't think anybody is surprised by that because of the staff that we have and the work ethic that he has.

Q. You've been around Eflin and Nola a lot. Do you see the same similarities away from the field that we see on the field? And why do you think they're so slow heartbeat/cold blooded?

RHYS HOSKINS: I like that. And man, they have, in these past couple of weeks, right? Both been put in positions they've never been in. Obviously with Nols, pitched a ton and pitched really well throughout his career. But never been in a position to clinch.

And Eflin, just stepping out to the bullpen and assuming the role, a fireman, really.

It's been really cool. It's just a testament to their work ethic. Eflin obviously has had a ton of setbacks with his injuries throughout his career. And that's something that grinds on you. It does, obviously physically, but more mentally than anything when you're not allowed -- not allowed -- but not able, physically not able to do the things you're so used to doing.

It's been amazing to watch Eflin come out on top here towards the end of the year. And, Nols, a testament to the consistency he's shown behind closed doors and in the clubhouse through the last five, six years I've known him.

Q. You and Aaron, I know at least, have had four managers since you've been in the majors. What do you think what we anticipate to be stability with a manager who is sort of had an audition, what do you think that's going to do for this team going forward at least for the next two years and the length of a contract that we know?

RHYS HOSKINS: We haven't had that here, really, at least in my time in the big leagues. And it's tough to create something that's long lasting.

We've had obviously some months where we've been what we had all hoped to be in these last five years that I've been here. But haven't really been able to hold onto that for a whole year. I think basically since we've taken over, we've been one of the more consistent teams in really the whole league.

Sure, maddening at times, but over the long hall, the 110 games that he was the manager, pretty consistent on all sides of the ball.

So there's just a comfort there when we know who is going to be at the helm, the coaches, the rest of the staff that's going to be around as well. There's not a period of time where you have to kind of get to know each other. The coaches have to learn how each of us tick, what we respond to.

So that stability on the staff, I think, is just going to lead to more comfort amongst us players, should lead to better work. Quality should uptick, and I think we'll get better results as a result of that.

Q. You had a lot of different twists and turns in the season. As a team, maybe a lot of other teams would have folded under those circumstances. What have you learned about this group over the last three or four months since the turn happened that you guys can take in this postseason?

RHYS HOSKINS: Yeah, we're definitely not afraid of a challenge. We've obviously had two huge injuries, three -- multiple, really. But losing Jean the end of may and Bryce a couple of weeks later, and Eflin not able to come back, and Wheeler at the end of the year for a month, we've been faced with a few obstacles.

But I think with just us coming together, putting our heads together, and trying to become closer as a group I think is something that shows out on the field. We care about the success that each other are having.

And that's something that could become contagious on a team especially as you get closer to goals that you set out to strive for throughout the year.

And it just makes it sweeter. Makes you want to do it more. Fight for the guy that's next to you, the guy that's behind you, with those injuries. That's the type of thing I think that has to happen throughout a year. And I think that's been a really, really big reason of why we got over this hump this year as opposed to years past.

Q. You a lot of your teammates got to experience the postseason. Ranger hasn't yet. What do you think will allow him to handle this moment? I know you've talked in the past about how cool he is out there.

RHYS HOSKINS: I mean, just watch. Right? Like, I'm not sure he'll sweat tomorrow. That's just the slow heartbeat that he has. He's never in a hurry. It just seems like the game is going in slow motion for him, which I can tell you that the first time I stepped on a field in St. Louis it was not going in slow motion. It's just the reality of, I think, the playoffs. Right?

Every moment is intense. I think as soon as you wake up in the morning. But that intensity, I think, is something that we crave as athletes. I know Ranger's a heck of a competitor as well under that cool, calm and collected that he shows throughout the game. So I'm excited to see what that competitor brings out in him in this situation.

Q. Seems like that Kyle Schwarber has a loud voice in your room. How long did that take for him to establish himself, especially, there's a lot of established respect guys? And just what has he meant to you and the team in that role?

RHYS HOSKINS: Schwarber is a guy, a dude, not a baseball player. Obviously what he does on the field speaks volumes, speaks for itself. I think it gives him a little bit of credibility for when he does speak up. But just the type of guy that he is, the way he cares about us as individuals, not as ball players.

Even the staff, too. This is a guy that knew he was going to be here for four years. Had a goal of winning a championship. Saw, I think, the talent and the knowledge and experience that was here in the clubhouse between players and staff. And made it a point to be the guy that he's been for us, the voice, the heartbeat.

And it's not always with his voice, right? It's something that I think he carries. Although maybe he's not speaking, he is setting the tone just by the way that he goes about his work, and that's something that I think you find on every winning team.

Q. As an offense in St. Louis you guys went 9-for-57. Do you feel you put a lot of stress on the pitching staff? How important is it to do more offensively as a club? And is there anything that you guys could do to help that offense come alive?

RHYS HOSKINS: Yeah, 9-for-57, you said? So nine hits. I actually was speaking with K Long. I think we had 10 guys reach base by walk or hit by pitch throughout the series too.

Spoke about this all year. We have opportunities and there's traffic on the bases, the more stressful those pitches are for the other side. Eventually we're going to get a mistake, and that's kind of of what we've done all year. We've had big innings like you saw in St. Louis.

But I think just the quality of bats is something that we're going to try to continue on for the rest of the time that we're playing.

We're facing the studs, right? It's hard to get hits off these guys. It's hard to string hits together. But I think if we continue to have quality at-bats, take our walks when they're presented to us, take the extra base, have opportunities to score with less than two outs, eventually we'll push runs across. And I think that's kind of what you saw in the ninth inning there in St. Louis.

More hits is better, usually. But I've learned quickly that it's hard to get hits in the postseason. Just getting guys on is where we're trying to be.

Q. You guys have seen Max Fried a lot over the years. What makes him so tough to hit, and how much of a challenge is this Braves pitching staff going to be?

RHYS HOSKINS: Really the whole staff. It starts with Max tomorrow. I think the biggest thing I've seen from Max over my years facing him is just the growth in his pitch arsenal and the confidence he has really in throwing any pitch in any zone.

Incredible stuff. A high-octane fastball that gets on you even though it's already 95, 96. Obviously the big breaking curveball. But he's added a slider, a change-up. He sinks the ball a little bit now instead of it just being a riding four-seamer.

That's tough. When a guy can do multiple things with the fastball keep you off balance in multiple ways it can be tough.

We'll try to keep him in the zone tomorrow. Usually attacks you pretty well but just with the multitude of the stuff that he has, many different layers to it, we'll have to be disciplined getting him in the zone tomorrow.