Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson hit a home run during his first at-bat in the big leagues. Between 2020 and 2021, Stephenson was the pinch-hitter that manager David Bell trusted to enter the game off the bench, stay calm and deliver season-changing hits.
Stephenson’s consistency was the first trait that he showed when he made it to the big leagues. But this season, particularly during a stretch in June, Stephenson wasn’t feeling like himself on the field.
“I was at a place early in the year, it was one of the tougher things mentally that I’ve had to go through,” Stephenson said.