Phillies: Bowker Hoping to Contribute Down the Stretch
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Many times in a pennant race it's the little moves that can make a big difference.
The Phillies know all about this. Acquisitions like Matt Stairs and Scott Eyre, picked up with little fanfare, proved to be huge contributors to October success.
The Phillies hope that John Bowker can be another quiet find.
Bowker came over to the Phillies in a trade with the Pirates on August 31st (see related story). He had spent most of the season with the Pirates AAA team in Indianapolis.
Because he was acquired before September 1st, he is eligible to be on the Phillies' postseason roster, and he is pumped to be in Philadelphia.
"I just want to contribute at some type of level," Bowker tells KYW Newsradio. "Coming to a team like this, I couldn't be more excited."
Hear Matt Leon's full interview with John Bowker in this CBS Philly SportsPod…
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Bowker, 28, says he had no idea that the Pirates were going to move him -- let alone move him to the best team in baseball:
"Yeah, it was a surprise. I really had no idea that they were going to do that. Yeah, I was real surprised."
If Bowker, who can play first base and the outfield, is going to contribute, it's going to be as a pinch-hitter.
Bowker was playing every day at AAA. He talks about adjusting to getting just a couple of at-bats a week, as opposed to four or five a game.
"It's a different type of mindset," he says. "You know, when you are pinch-hitting, you really have to be aggressive. You can't really take pitches -- you just have to be aggressive."
Bowker, who has spent parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues, does have a pretty good résumé when it comes to pinch-hitting in the bigs (22 for 75, with a .293 average).
This year for AAA Indianapolis, Bowker hit .306 with 15 home runs and 76 runs batted in.
So far for the Phillies, he has gotten just two pinch-hit at-bats, striking out both times.
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060
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