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We heard the same thing over and over for the last few years. We heard it so many times, you wonder how many people stopped listening and started doubting the message.
This is what we heard: Domonic Brown will be a big-time big leaguer one day. He just needs to stay healthy. He’s still young. The only thing standing in his way is a chance to play regularly.
That is what we heard. We heard it a lot, and from a lot of people. Brown included.
"When I get that opportunity,” Brown said during spring training, “when they give me that sink-or-swim opportunity like they did last year at the end of the year, [then] see what I'm capable of for four, five hundred at-bats.”
He is getting that opportunity. We are currently seeing his capabilities.
On Wednesday, Brown went 2 for 4 in a 4-3 win against the Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park (see game recap). About those two hits: They were both home runs -- his 12th and 13th of the season. He is tied for second in the National League in that category. He also leads the Phillies in RBIs (32).
“I’m seeing the ball pretty well,” Brown admitted after the game. He has crushed five home runs in the last five games, three of which came in back-to-back nights against the Red Sox.
The Phillies have played 53 games this year. Brown -- who has never played more than 56 major league games in a single season -- has appeared in 52 of those outings.
Last year, Brown had a career-high 187 at-bats with the big club. This year, he already has that same number. Every day (save one) his name has been in the lineup. And every day (save one) that has made Brown awfully pleased. It is what he said he needed all along.
“It’s good to see my name in the lineup every day,” Brown said. “That’s really about it for me. It’s a great feeling to know you’re in the lineup every day, to go out and do your same routine and know you don’t have to get off it. It’s just a really good feeling, especially at the major-league level.
“Especially when, in the minor leagues, [I] didn’t have to go through that. Once you get up here and you have to go through that at the highest stage of baseball, it’s tough.”
Yes, the opportunity has arrived. Now about his capabilities:
Brown is having a monster May. He is hitting .262/.298/.519. He has also bashed 10 home runs and 21 RBIs this month. Only Miguel Cabrera has more home runs in May. It has been a good month -- such a good month for an offensively challenged team (as of Wednesday, only the White Sox, Dodgers and Marlins had scored fewer runs) that some people have questioned whether Charlie Manuel should move Brown higher in the lineup. Brown has hit fifth a handful of times this year, but for the most part he’s been cemented in the six-hole.
Manuel talked about how Brown has looked at ease at the plate, about how “tension kills a lot of good swings and at-bats” and “comfort is everything.” He didn’t sound like a manager who’s in a hurry to mess with what’s working right now. The last two words of the last sentence are important. Because while Brown is hitting well right now, it has only been a month. In April, Brown didn’t perform nearly as well. He hit .233/.309/.372 with three home runs and 11 RBIs to begin the season.
He has done some good things this season (as evidenced by his slugging percentage in May). He has also done some not-so-good things (as evidenced by his meager on-base percentage and the fact that he has just nine walks all season, none of which have come in May. He also botched a fly ball in the ninth inning on Wednesday when he dove and missed badly.)
“He’s getting to play every day and he’s showing why he had a good spring,” Manuel said. “He’s getting used to playing in the big leagues, and he’s learning more about it each day. It goes back to that consistency. He’s starting to get consistent in his hitting, and he can even get better. I’d like to leave him alone and let him play. I don’t want him to get caught up in all the hoopla and people patting him on the back and telling him how good he is. I want him to show me how good he is.”
Brown is only 25. He’s playing consistently and playing well. But you are forgiven if, like Manuel, you want to see a little more before buying in completely. Because we’ve heard a lot about Brown in the past, but there’s never been a prolonged stretch (say an entire year rather than an entire month) to make everyone believe the sales pitch. Maybe that will happen this season. Maybe that’s exactly what’s happening right now.