This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Don’t forget, Sunday is Mother’s Day.
In an “Ask the Phillies” segment on Phanavision a couple years ago, Alec Bohm said his mom is his superhero.
But maybe nothing can beat a player calling his mother and telling her that he made the big leagues.
Bryson Stott remembers calling his mother Shana to tell her the good news on April 4, 2022. Stott entered camp competing with Didi Gregorius to be the team’s shortstop. But as camp progressed, he found himself competing with Bohm to be the third baseman.
Both Stott and Bohm made the team.
“I called her and said, ‘I think I got called up to the big leagues, but I’m not sure,’” Stott said.
“I remember I was eating,” Stott said. “Joe [Girardi] said, ‘You’re coming with us to Philly,’ and then he left. And then he came back and said, ‘Don’t say anything.’ I went up to Bryce [Harper] and I said, ‘Well, obviously I’m going to Philly. Lehigh [Valley] also opens at home, so I was flying to Philly no matter what.’”
So, Stott told his mom he though he made it. His mom got emotional, knowing that her son had fulfilled a lifelong dream.
They chatted a few more minutes. Stott called her back 20 minutes later, once Harper confirmed he really, truly made the Phillies’ Opening Day roster.
“She was super excited,” he said. “She knew that was my dream forever. She remembered the tee-ball games and stuff like that and said it made it even crazier. Probably bad timing on my part. She was going into work. But it was weird because I couldn’t tell anybody. But when the Phillies tweeted the roster and I was on it, I got a thousand texts so then the emotions kind of hit.”
