Rhys Hoskins sat at a picnic table one morning in March 2021 and agreed to spend 30 minutes speaking about perception. That was a touchy subject then – and now – because everyone in Philadelphia has an opinion about Hoskins. He is the most studied Phillies player as of 2017. He had thoughts he wanted to share. But he was never sure if sharing them was productive.
What, he was asked in the middle of the interview, is this how you want the picture of Rhys Hoskins to be?
“I don’t think I want that to change,” he said. “I want to be known as a good person. First. Someone who cares about people. Obviously I love this game. I want to be respected in this clubhouse. I want to know that I came here every single day and did the work that I know I have to do the way it has to be done.
“There’s a quote from ‘The Last Dance’ where (Michael) Jordan says, ‘I wanted to work as hard as I could because I wanted to be able to ask people around me to do the same .’ And that’s different for everyone, isn’t it? But that kind of stuck with me. I was never really a singing guy. So if I can lead in some way through what I do, how much I care and the things that I think need to be done for us to be successful – I think that’s a pretty good thing to think of one remembers. I also want to be known as a winner before this is all done. I think we’re on the way there.”
There are people who think they have a picture of Rhys Hoskins. Or they want a picture of Rhys Hoskins.
“What do you think it is?” he asked.
The image of him as a player?
“No,” Hoskins said. “Why do you think I’ve been under more scrutiny than anyone else?”
That’s how he got into the majors. He was so good, so fast. He was the brightest beacon of hope for a franchise that craved it. It was the time. Before Aaron Nola became a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. Before JT Realmuto. Before “dumb money”. Before Bryce Harper. Before… everything.
“We weren’t good,” Hoskins said.
And he was streaky. There were so many ups and downs. Too many. People tend to remember the lows – not the highs.
“Me too,” he said. “So do we. That’s how we work. I definitely understand that.”
More than anything, people wanted Rhys Hoskins to be good. You saw it when it was really, really good. They wanted this guy – all the time. But that’s not how it works. Sometimes they overlook what it actually was. The good, the bad, and everything in between.
“I’ll take it,” he said that day.
Rhys Hoskins will be a free agent after the season. It’s his seventh year with the Phillies. (Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA Today)
By Thursday afternoon, about 150 feet from that picnic table, Rhys Hoskins’ Phillies career could be over. Maybe he should have caught the ball that hit him more cleanly. Perhaps his spike wouldn’t have hit the grass at an awkward angle and his left leg wouldn’t have twisted, torn the anterior cruciate ligament and necessitated surgery that – miraculously enough – ended his 2023 season before it even started.
He was always the tragic figure of this franchise. Out of place as the best player on terrible teams. Installed as the club’s de facto spokesman for one meltdown after another. Finally, a solid player in a star-studded team with such high expectations. This was the best Phillies team ever to rally around Rhys Hoskins, and now he won’t be a part of it.
Hoskins made his debut in a 10-0 loss to the Mets. It was August 2017. Vince Velasquez was torn after allowing three runs in a 32-pitch first inning. Only one other player from the Phillies’ roster that day, César Hernández, is still active in the majors — and that’s as a non-roster invitee trying to make it to the Detroit Tigers. Hoskins played at left field — a position he learned on the fly — because the Phillies didn’t want to oust Tommy Joseph, who never played in the majors again after 2017.
Hoskins and his teammates celebrate one of his home runs in 2017. (Mathew Sumner/Associated Press)
Hoskins scored twice in his fifth game. He then scored 16 times in his next 29 games. He started a triple play from left field. He finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year poll. Then, in 2018, he misplayed a fly ball, resulting in six unearned runs in a 20-run loss that was only broadcast on Facebook. He hit 34 home runs. He took that September — an epic Phillies meltdown — hard. He never played left field again.
He wondered if he would ever have his moment in Philadelphia. Everyone around him signed an extension. His friend, Scott Kingery, signed one before he even played a big league game. Hoskins bought a Philadelphia row house with his wife Jayme. They gave time to the community. He watched one teammate after another – guys he thought would be at Citizens Bank Park when the clouds lifted – leave. He answered the questions. He took the blame. He recorded a career 125 OPS+ – 25 percent better than the league average.
Last October, just hours before the Phillies clinched to win his first postseason, Hoskins took some time to reflect. “One of my favorite things is whenever something pops up on Twitter, like the September 25, 2018 lineup,” Hoskins said. “You know? It’s like, wow. Where we’ve been as an organization, where we’re at now. Just the names. It’s crazy. It’s crazy different.”
He lost millions of dollars Thursday afternoon when the ligament in his left knee ruptured. It’s not out of the question for Hoskins, a post-season free agent, to return. Perhaps this injury increases the chances of a short-term deal with the Phillies. The first year after ACL surgery is a difficult year. He could be the designated hitter in 2024 if Harper is back in right field. Perhaps. Maybe not.
But he had his moment.
Hoskins bat goad against the Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS. (Bill Streicher / USA today)
A few weeks ago, Bobby Dickerson shook his head. The veteran infield coach saw it all in this game. He knew Hoskins’ game had limits. There was no dodging. But that wasn’t the sometimes jaded perception of him.
“I can never be mad at Rhys Hoskins,” Dickerson said. “Always. Because his will, his work ethic, his concern for the Phillies, his concern for the city of Philadelphia, his concern for where we’re going as an organization — all of those things are off the charts. They’re the highest of the highest of the highest. “
Perhaps the Phillies will look back to Game 3 of last year’s National League Division Series – the day baseball returned to Citizens Bank Park after the season – as the beginning of the next great era. Maybe not. But Hoskin’s swing and stick spike will forever be part of the fabric of the stadium. The moment was dripping with symbolism.
“I don’t think anyone on this team deserves this moment more than him,” said Nick Castellanos afterwards.
He was right.
In a few weeks, the Phillies will receive their rings to commemorate a National League championship. There will be an extravagant ceremony before the game. The players are introduced and perhaps Hoskins can join them on the pitch with his crutches. Perhaps there are louder cheers for some of his teammates. That’s OK.
“It’s interesting that you asked that,” Hoskins said that March morning two years ago. “I get asked that a lot.”
asked what?
“Just how, why?” said Hoskins. “Why is the perception like this? So it’s interesting.”
Perhaps it’s best to remember the highs instead.
(Top Photo: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)