Unique journeys, special clubhouse helped Phillies’ Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman reach All-Star Game

PHILADELPHIA — As phone calls between Jeff Hoffman and his wife, Marissa, go, last Sunday’s registered as one of the more joyous baseball-related ones in the last 18 months.

Some had been downright painful, like after being released in March 2023 by Minnesota.

Some had been hopeful if daunting — planning logistics around a deal to pitch in Japan in June 2023, which would’ve required uprooting four kids under the age of four. And some were just straight up mysteries: Hey, the Phillies want me to head to the ballpark to throw a live batting practice to Bryce Harper this week.

Marissa was Hoffman’s first call when he was selected to the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.

Many of the baseball decisions Jeff has made along the line were, down deep, family decisions, from how to handle the impermanence of changing teams to how Whistle, the family’s aging Siberian husky, fit into an intercontinental relocation.

The baseball honor of a career was thus a family accomplishment, too.

“It was one of those things where we talked about doing stuff like this, when my career was first starting,” Hoffman said. “And obviously it didn’t go as smoothly as you would have wanted to or hoped. But that whole journey is what makes it as special as. I’m so thankful for all the bumps in the road.”

Hoffman and Matt Strahm comprise a quarter of the Phillies’ record-tying eight All-Stars, including a record-setting five pitchers.

They are a rare breed among their All-Star brethren, and not just as typically overlooked middle relievers. For each, their particular pro journeys and the unique alchemy of the Phillies clubhouse have elevated them to All-Star status.

Hoffman’s is, well, it’s just unprecedented. A first-round pick out of East Carolina by Toronto, he foundered in Colorado, where pitching goes to die. He was released after two so-so years in Cincinnati, allowed to walk after a spring with the Twins and then signed to a minor-league deal by the Phils.

As a veteran of seven major league seasons, he had an opt-out clause if he remained in the minors through May, with a contract in Japan awaiting. The plan was to head East, have his family join once he’d settled and spend six or so months on an international adventure, maybe resuscitating his career.

Instead, the Phillies brought Hoffman to Citizens Bank Park to throw BP to Harper, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Harper was so impressed with Hoffman’s stuff that he urged the Phillies to sign him, and after dominating in low-leverage situations, Hoffman became a key member of the back end of the bullpen.

“We knew that there was a sliver of chance that like this does something for me,” Hoffman said of the BP session, his choice of a plural subject telling. “And at the time, you’re like, all we need is a chance. Just go, put your best foot forward and make a good first impression. And we knew that in all of the possible outcomes, this was one of them, just like it not working out was one of them.”

This year, Hoffman is 3-1 with a 1.12 ERA, nine saves and a WHIP of 0.893, his elite slider vital to the Phillies’ closer-by-committee approach.

Strahm’s road

Strahm, whose locker is next to Hoffman’s, has seen the work he’s put in. He’s not surprised a first-round talent has finally flourished. But he’s impressed by the dedication to get there.

“Are you willing to travel that road that lies ahead of you?” Strahm said. “We all have different ones. But for him to do what he’s done over the last year and a half speaks volumes on his character and how he works.”

Strahm knows what work can do.

A year and two draft classes older than Hoffman, both are in their ninth big league seasons. Drafted in the 21st round by Kansas City out of Neosho County Community College in Kansas, Strahm wasn’t quite the can’t-miss talent.

But his road through the bigs — KC, San Diego, Boston — has been about as winding. He was signed by the Phillies in 2023 with an eye toward a variable role, as a high-leverage, multi-inning guy who could start occasionally.

He’s blossomed this year as a high-leverage reliever: a 4-1 record, 1.49 ERA and a WHIP of 0.798.

An All-Star Game was always an aspiration. He grew up in North Dakota watching the Midsummer Classic every year, a consummate student of the game who, perplexingly for his profession, most looks forward to the Home Run Derby. He’s savvy enough to know that middle relievers don’t often get that recognition, so his goals shifted in the bigs, making that dream’s realization even sweeter.

Strahm contextualizes it numerically.

There have been somewhere around 23,000 big leaguers, barely enough to fill Citizens Bank Park halfway.

Take the 1 or 2 percent named All-Stars — maybe a few sections’ worth — then winnow it further to the row or two of middle relievers. And consider that the guy 20 feet to your left is another of that select fraternity?

“It’s not something that you set out to obtain every year,” Strahm said. “Sitting in my role, the one thing I want to do is win and be playing baseball in October. But for it to happen, I’m still at a loss.”

A group success

Both Hoffman and Strahm know that the room plays a role in attaining their best.

They’ll be joined by Cristopher Sanchez in Arlington, Texas, with Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez voted to the game but missing out with back spasms. Alec Bohm, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner will start the game, representing a team whose 62 wins at the break are best in baseball and the most in franchise history.

“It reminds me a lot of travel ball,” Strahm said. “It feels like we’re showing up on Saturday with a chance to go to the final day on Sunday every day. It’s the group of people that Dave (Dombrowski has) brought together that brings that out and everyone.”

“I just think that this clubhouse has a way of bringing guys close and everybody really, genuinely believes in each other, which is hard to come across for a whole group of people,” Hoffman said. “This is a big group from a lot of different places, a lot of different backgrounds and it feels like a family. … We get close quick, and it’s a testament to the culture that they’ve built here.”

Hoffman will share the week in Texas with his family, the six of them packed together on the Phillies’ private jet to Texas. His dreams of an All-Star Game fall into the category of things to tell your kids and grandkids, about how Dad didn’t just make it to the big leagues but made a mark there.

Strahm will have family with him, too. But the avid card collector will also get to chase that passion. His inner collector and his fiery competitiveness are in constant conflict during the season, the competitor always with the upper hand.

“I don’t want to send over Mike Trout a card and then I have to face him four hours later,” he explained. “It just feels weird to me.”

In Arlington, though, he’s going to “card nerd out.” He’s got a box of cards prepped to autograph hunt, with fellow enthusiast Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals at the top of the list.

One thing neither will have to worry about is who they’ll be playing catch with at Globe Life Field. Having a mate there to refract their rare experience through heightens the joy.

“Just to sit back and realize, Holy crap, how special it is just to be a big leaguer, and then to even get into a smaller pond with All-Stars,” Strahm said. “It’s just, I don’t even have the words for it.”