IronPigs there for each other through celebrations and conversations

Aramis Garcia found IronPigs teammate Weston Wilson in the clubhouse moments after Sunday’s series finale in Durham against the Bulls.

It was no coincidence that the Lehigh Valley player in the most prolonged slump approached the team’s hottest hitter. It was only seven weeks earlier when Wilson’s batting average was nowhere near the Mendoza Line. His slugging percentage was all of .248 as late as May 11.

Since then, however, Wilson has been on a tear. He’s hit 15 home runs and has a 1.242 OPS in the 27 games entering Wednesday’s doubleheader against visiting Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Garcia, meanwhile, has never had his average above .180 in 54 games.

Wilson is a confident, proud player and a man of faith. He was confident he would emerge from his slump, but baseball can be a cruel game and he was well aware of what Garcia, who also has major league time, was going through.

“I was able to share what helped me get through that [slump],” Wilson said. “I think that’s what teammates are for, not just playing the game together but helping each other mentally with the experiences that we had.

“Sometimes, it could be just a few words of encouragement. Sometimes, it could be a conversation like that. I just think when I’m struggling it can be overwhelming when you’ve got so many voices in your head.”

The IronPigs started out the 2024 season in a collective funk. They were 11-14 in March/April followed by a 10-18 record in May. An 18-9 mark followed for the talented collection of veterans, many with major league time.

It took time, but manager Anthony Contreras’ club is playing up to the expectations it set for itself.

The IronPigs are having fun. They have a series of four animal hats they wear after hitting a home run. Starting with Tuesday’s series opener against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the bullpen celebrates each round tripper with the banging of a gong.

Tyler Gilbert, who pitched a no-hitter in his first MLB start with the Diamondbacks, tested the gong and mallet made up of a baseball bat stump with a baseball taped to the end ahead of Tuesday’s game.

It was put into use on the first IronPigs batter that night — Wilson, who homered to center field on the second pitch he saw.

Lehigh Valley has the most home runs (87) in the International League since May 13, so there figures to be many more celebrations this summer.

The players also keep things loose several hours before each first pitch. Shirtless and shoeless pitchers have been seen throwing footballs and frisbees and kicking a soccer ball around. There also are card games in the clubhouse and hacky sack in the outfield.

Contreras has cultivated the cohesive clubhouse. He also is responsible for policing the shenanigans.

“They are creating this [atmosphere],” he said. “I’m just allowing this to happen. They ask me and I put my parameters on it. That [camaraderie], you can’t teach it. It just comes naturally from the guys in the clubhouse and how their relationships are developing.”

The IronPigs clubhouse has a large cast of high-character individuals, from Wilson, Garcia, Darick Hall, Cal Stevenson, Jim Haley, David Buchanan and Buddy Kennedy to Ruben Cardenas.

None of them want to be here. None of them treat each other like the cut-throat business baseball is.

Instead, they are doing everything they can to make the 150-game grind as enjoyable as possible.

Kennedy, who came to the Phillies system less than a month ago from the Tigers, referenced backyard whiffleball games when talking about the team’s fun attitude and love for the game.

Wilson, however, brought up a crucial aspect at the core of the IronPigs’ turnaround.

“Nobody likes losing,” he said, “and we were losing a lot of games. We were in a dark spot trying to figure out what was going on.

“I just think we really started having fun, really bought into this is going to be a long season if we’re going to [keep losing]. I’ve never experienced being on a losing team, so that was new to me. Everybody loves winning, so that’s why we were able to get out of that.”

The winning continued in Game 1 of Wednesday’s day-night doubleheader when Kennedy hit a two-out, two-run home run to walk off a 4-2 victory over the RailRiders. Wilson singled to keep the inning alive for the IronPigs.

It was Lehigh Valley’s fourth walk-off win this season. It was its fifth consecutive victory overall to get to 20-21 at home this season.

The IronPigs are 40-41 overall, 6-2 in the second half. They have not been at .500 since starting the year 9-9.

Roster moves

OF A.J. Shaver was called up from FCL for Wednesday’s doubleheader. He was a 2023 17th-round pick out of Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Fla. His father, Tony, was the Astros’ 25th-round pick out of Jacksonville State in 1994.

Up next

RHP Mick Abel (2-7, 6.79) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre LHP Edgar Barclay (3-6, 7.46) in a 6:35 p.m. start at PNC Field. It is the first of a three-game road series. Lehigh Valley returns home Tuesday for the first of a six-game series against Buffalo at 11 a.m.

Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com