Philadelphia Phillies: Don’t Be so Quick to Throw Freddy Galvis Under the Bus

To anyone who might be freaking out about Freddy Galvis: calm down!

It’s not that big of a deal that Galvis hit into two double plays in his Major League debut, couldn’t get an RBI in a couple of big spots on Saturday night and is hitless through his first two games.

Is it really that big a concern that the Phillies‘ number eight hitter has 0 hits, when (besides Carlos Ruiz) no other player has more than two?  

Little things are bound to get blown out of proportion early in the year due to the excitement and anxiety that the beginning of the season brings, but we have to remember to keep things in perspective.  

Freddy Galvis is an 8-hole hitter, Freddy Galvis should not have to win games with his bat. Hunter Pence, who is both way more offensively talented and way better paid than Freddy Galvis, also had a chance to win Saturday’s game. Jim Thome had a chance to win the game too. In fact, anyone who came to the plate had a chance to win the game because even one solo home run would have been the difference.

A lot of this has to do with first impressions. Let’s face it, if Galvis started off hitting .400 in the first two games of the season, it’d be a whole different story. We’d already be crowning him rookie of the year, even though he might struggle the next couple games and see his average dip to .250.

Now, even if he hits well his next two games and gets his average up to around .250, everyone will still have a sour taste in their mouths and view that .250 differently based on his first couple games. Nevermind that the law of averages dictates he’ll probably be at .250 one way or another soon enough.

Even if that is an oversimplification, I’m sure you understand what I mean.  Regardless of where a player’s average ends up, initial hot or cold streaks carry a lot of weight perception-wise.

Also, don’t start to clamor for Mike Fontenot or any other utility infielder just yet.  Ruben Amaro Jr. and Charlie Manuel know what players are free agents or available via trade better than we do, and the fact that they haven’t made any type of move yet is more telling than Galvis’ first two games ever could be.

If Rube and Charlie thought there was a better move to be made, or a better player to plug in there, then that move would be made and that player would be playing; if this team struggles, it affects them way more than it affects any of us fans and armchair GMs.

The point is, give the young man some time. Two games is a laughably small window to base judgments of a player’s ability and worth. He’s not going to hit like Chase Utley, nor should we expect him to. As long as he plays solid defense until Chase returns, hits around .250, and steals some bases, he has done his job.

Anything more is just gravy.

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