PHILADELPHIA — When you think of the Philadelphia Phillies, it's easy to focus on the big names in their lineup.
Bryce Harper. Trea Turner. Kyle Schwarber. Nick Castellanos. JT Realmuto. That quintet alone accounts for more than $118.6 million out of the team's $217 million payroll.
And by most accounts, the group has been worth the money. The Phillies won 90 games this season, are back in the playoffs for a second straight year as the top-seeded wild card team, and are looking to that group to lead them back to the World Series.
The Phillies host the Miami Marlins in Game 1 of the National League Wild-Card Tuesday night. All three games in the best-of-three series will be played in Citizens Bank Ballpark in front of a rabid Red October crowd.
While Harper, Turner, and the others deserve their due for getting the Phillies back in the postseason, it's safe to say Philly wouldn't be here without "The Daycare."
"The Daycare" is a group of younger, less-heralded players who have made key contributions to the Phillies' back-to-back playoff runs. Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh are inaugural members dating back to last season, when their group first got its nickname.
All three have taken turns providing a much-needed spark for the Phils this year.
"The Daycare" is most famous for its postgame antics during interviews. Whomever winds up being interviewed as the Phillies' star of the game can anticipate getting soaked by water by one or more members of the Daycare.
But the Daycare's members aren't just about post-game pranks.
In fact, early in the year, when Harper was still out of line lineup during his recovery from offseason Tommy John surgery, Turner was mired in the longest slump of his stellar career, and Schwarber, Castellanos and Realmuto were scuffling off and on, it's safe to say that The Daycare were collectively the team's most-consistent contributors.
Bohm, 27, is in his fourth season with the Phillies, where he plays third base. He had an encouraging rookie campaign in 2020, but his average dropped in .247 in his second season. He got off to a rough start last year, and was in danger of permanently falling out of favor with the Philly faithful when he committed three errors in one game and was caught on-camera muttering "I (bleeping) hate it here."
But Bohm's willingness to acknowledge and own the moment wound up endearing him to the fans -- as did his steady contributions at the plate and in the field. Bohm became a key part of last year's playoff push and performed well in the postseason -- much to the fans' delight.
This year, Bohm enters the postseason with a .274 batting average, 20 home runs and 97 RBIs. His home run count and RBI totals are both career highs.
Like Bohm, Stott is a homegrown product who worked his way through the Phillies' farm system to join the big-league club last year as a second baseman. After batting .234 as a rookie, Stott got hot this season. His .280 batting average is second only to Harper this season, and he's second on the team in hits (164).
Marsh, 25, joined the Phillies in August 2022 in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels, filling a need in center field. While he was primarily envisioned as a defensive addition, Marsh showed a penchant for delivering in the clutch at the plate. He had a clutch RBI single against the Cardinals in the wild-card round, a three-run home run against the Braves in the National League Division Series, and other big homer in Game 3 of the World Series.
This year, Marsh hit .277 with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs while consistently batting near the bottom of the order for the Phillies.