CLEARWATER, Fla. - Brock Stassi - prospective Phillies first baseman, 2015 Eastern League most valuable player, former substitute teacher - took batting practice Sunday morning and made everyone in the ballpark stop to watch.
Once, twice, and then a third time, bench coach Larry Bowa grooved a pitch to Stassi hours before the Phillies' 6-5 victory over the Yankees at Bright House Field, and Stassi lined each one over the right-field fence. That he hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches demanded that, at least for a moment, people pay him attention. That's his entire aim this spring.