The Philadelphia Phillies made a drastic move on Tuesday as they battle to remain relevant in the National League Playoff race.
Philadelphia fired hitting coach John Mallee and replaced him with former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. It was a surprising late-summer move from the organization.
In talking about the moves, star Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper decided to place some of the blame on himself.
Technically, Harper is not wrong. He heads into Tuesday’s action hitting just .250 with a .372 on-base percentage. Harper also leads the National League with a whopping 137 strikeouts.
As a team, the Phillies rank 12th in batting average, 10th in on-base percentage and ninth in the NL in runs scored.
Something had to be done with Philadelphia boasting a 60-58 record and having lost seven of its past 10 games. Mallee ultimately became the fall guy. Harper appears to recognize this.