Kepler makes strong first impression on Philly faithful

PHILADELPHIA -- Max Kepler got his first Phillies experience on Monday.

He crushed a home run to right field in the eighth inning of a 6-1 victory over the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. It was his third hit and fourth hard-hit ball of the game, confirming to fans the reports from Clearwater, Fla., that he had been hitting the ball hard and having quality at-bats throughout the spring.

The new guy celebrated his first Phillies homer with teammates, then jogged to left field for the top of the ninth.

The fans in left stood and cheered.

“I gave them a little wave, and they kept cheering for a good bit,” Kepler said. “So, I had to give them a salute.”

Kepler said he didn’t remember much from his first home opener in Philly. He said he would watch the highlights later that night.

“Going into today, I wanted to make a good impression with my team obviously, with the fans, with the whole organization,” he said. “So when I was in the game … sometimes you just kind of black out. You just let your ability take over. … There’s plenty of times when your mind is tinkering, and that speeds up the game and it makes things harder. But today … my mind was at peace for whatever reason.”

Kepler’s double in the second inning left his bat at 109.3 mph. It was the hardest-hit ball of the game. Then there was the homer (100.2 mph), a single in the seventh (95.4 mph) and a flyout in the fourth (95.9 mph).

It is a small sample size, of course, but Kepler’s average exit velocity through four games is 93.3 mph. It was 88.9 mph last season, when injuries ended his season in September.

Kepler made well-documented adjustments to his swing before Spring Training. Before he got to Clearwater, he visited Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long in Arizona. Kepler adjusted how he held the bat in the batter’s box. Instead of holding it straight up, he tipped it slightly toward the dugout. He also moved closer to the plate.

Tipping his bat provides a more direct path to the zone.

Moving closer to the plate should make outside pitches look more middle. It should allow him to better pull pitches middle and middle-in. Kepler said in the spring that he has “made my bread and butter in baseball on the pull side. So, just finding my pull swing again, just driving the ball to the pull side and center. And if I catch a ball late -- deep in the zone -- I’ll go oppo.”

Kepler hit fifth on Monday. It might be the highest he hits in the lineup this season, if everybody stays healthy. That’s a good thing. Kepler doesn’t have to be the man in Philly, like he might have felt he needed to be in Minnesota. He hit 36 homers as a 26-year-old in 2019. It became the expectation.

But as a 32-year-old on a one-year, $10 million contract in a lineup with Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto and others, he just needs to be one of the guys.

This year, he is the New Guy.

“It’s definitely a different dynamic when it comes to the offense,” Kepler said. “Anyone can carry the team here, as you see. It is kind of relieving when you don’t feel as much weight on your shoulders, because you look around and these guys have track records that prove they can do anything in this game.”

Kepler is enjoying his swing. He is enjoying his new teammates. Monday, he realized how much he might enjoy his new home.

“It’s exactly what I expected,” he said. “Vibrant, just thriving with energy. Even when we weren’t putting balls in play those first five, six innings, you could tell that there was something building. I always prefer to play in a place that is buzzing like this than in a place that is just crickets.

“It’s awesome. You know? It’s a feeling of that acceptance when you’re seeking to make that good impression on a new team. But I know we have a lot of work ahead of us. There’s going to be ups and downs. So for me, the most important times are when we’re grinding through tough times and the team comes together. Because all this stuff is fun, but those times -- the tough times -- really make a group grow.”