George Andrew Phillips (born April 6, 1977) is an American baseball coach and former

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

for coach Jim Wells from 1996 to 1999 and played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Phillips was raised in

Demopolis, Alabama Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, in west-central Alabama. The population was 7,162 at the time of the 2020 United States census, down from 7,483 at the 2010 census. The city lies at the confluence of the Black Warrior River and T ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

for the Demopolis Academy Generals. Phillips was an All-American for the Tide.

Playing career

New York Yankees

Phillips was drafted by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

in the 41st round of the draft as a

high school senior Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

and again by the New York Yankees in the 7th round of the 1999 draft as a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

graduate of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. He signed with the Yankees, but did not reach the Major Leagues until a call-up session towards the end of the 2004 season; he made his Major League debut on September 14, 2004. In his first Major League AB, he hit a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

over the

Green Monster The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters. Overview The wall was part ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

off Terry Adams of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. Phillips is one of ten players to homer in his first at bat as a Yankee, along with

Marcus Thames Marcus Markley Thames ( ; born March 6, 1977) is an American former baseball left fielder, designated hitter, and current coach. He played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball ...

Bubba Crosby Richard Stephen "Bubba" Crosby (born August 11, 1976) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. He is best known for his tenure as a backup outfielder for the Yankees, when hi ...

Todd Zeile Todd Edward Zeile (; born September 9, 1965) is an American former professional baseball third baseman, catcher, and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played sixteen seasons, from 1989 to 2004, for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago ...

Wilson Betemit Wilson Betemit (pronounced BAY-ta-mee) (born November 2, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He is 6'2" and weighs 220 pounds. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New ...

Cody Ransom Bryan Cody Ransom (born February 17, 1976) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

, Mark Reynolds,

Curtis Granderson Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed the "Grandyman", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Ang ...

Tyler Austin Christopher Tyler Austin (born September 6, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, ...

, and

Aaron Judge Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Judge was unanimously selected as the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017, and finishe ...

. He became the 21st player in Major League history to hit a home run on the first pitch of his Major League career. Also, in 2004, Phillips received the Yankees' Kevin Long "Minor-League Player of the Year" Award in a season where he led all Yankees minor leaguers in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.321) and RBI (101), ranked second in home runs (30), and was voted the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

All Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or di ...

after hitting a 10th inning

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

. In , Phillips earned the James P. Dawson Award as the Yankees' most outstanding rookie during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. Phillips's time previous to at the Major League level had been limited to defensive replacement and late season call-up. In 2006, Phillips started the year as the primary backup at first base, behind

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

. This changed, however, when

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played right ...

went on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. Primary

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

Bernie Williams Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and a musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. ...

took over the starting right field job, leaving the DH spot open. With Giambi's bad knees and his sub-par defense in the field, he became the primary DH. Phillips took over at first base and played well. This proved manager

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

correct when he said all that Phillips needed was more at bats. He led the team with a .333 batting average in June and continued with his .333 average for the first 22 games of July. His average on July 26 was .300, with 30

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 100 at bats. Earlier, his light hitting triggered GM

Brian Cashman Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He has served as the General manager (baseball), General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Yankees since 1998. D ...

to go out and trade for Craig Wilson of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Phillips was kept on the roster mostly because of his versatility to play second base or third base. Also, he could play first if Wilson was forced to play the outfield or catch. A family emergency (his mother Linda was hurt in a car crash) caused Phillips to miss much of his 2007 spring training with the Yankees. In the end, he only played in 15 games, saw 26 at bats, and had a .192 average. Due to his inability to make up for lost time and

Josh Phelps Joshua Lee Phelps (born May 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and ...

's (Phillips opponent for a roster spot on the Yankees) outstanding performance (spring training stats include 3 home runs, 14 hits, a .667

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

, and .389 batting average), Phillips was passed over for a roster spot on the 2007 team. When informed of manager

's decision to go with Phelps over Phillips, Phillips reportedly thanked Torre for the opportunity and asked if Phelps had been informed of the decision yet so he could congratulate him. Phillips was called up to the Yankees on June 19, 2007, after Phelps was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. Throughout the 2007 season, Phillips became an important part of the team as a result of injuries to first baseman Jason Giambi and

Doug Mientkiewicz Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz ( ; born June 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1998 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Minnesota Twins wher ...

. Due to these injuries, Phillips found himself used in the role of primary first baseman for the Yankees. He enjoyed great success through the months of July (hitting .320 with 16 RBI) and August (hitting .273 with 7 RBI). On September 2, while batting in the 5th inning against Devil Rays starter

Jason Hammel Jason Aaron Hammel (born September 2, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, ...

, Phillips was hit on the wrist by a pitch. He would later leave the game and get an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

and an X-Ray taken. It was announced on September 3 that Phillips had a fractured wrist and surgery would be required, needing 4–6 weeks, ending his season. Phillips was designated for assignment on December 3, 2007, to make room for Jose Molina. He cleared waivers on December 7, was offered an outright assignment to Triple-A

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

, but declined the assignment and opted to become a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. In 2013, Andy appeared in the Old Timers Day game at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

Cincinnati Reds

On January 4, 2008, Phillips signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. On March 28, after hitting .277 in 2008 spring training, he was reassigned to minor-league camp, and he began the season with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate, the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

. On May 28, the Reds purchased his contract, and he was added to the active roster. On June 22, 2008, Phillips was designated for assignment to make room for

Jeff Keppinger Jeffrey Scott Keppinger (born April 21, 1980) is an American retired Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago White So ...

, who was coming off of the disabled list. Three days later, Phillips was claimed by the New York Mets and added to their 25-man roster. He was then designated for assignment by the Mets on July 1, 2008. He was reclaimed by the

off waivers on July 3.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On December 22, 2008, he signed to a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was invited to Spring Training as a "non-roster invitee", the same status in which he was invited to Spring Training with the Reds in 2008. He played so well early in spring training that he was considered a lock to make the opening day roster, but a back injury sidelined him for three weeks, and he ended up assigned to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

instead.

Chicago White Sox

On April 17, 2009, Phillips was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in exchange for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Michael Dubee, and assigned to the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

of the

. He filed for free agency on June 15, 2009.

Nippon Professional Baseball

On June 23, 2009 Phillips signed with the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. Following the 2009 season, the Carp did not pick up Phillips' option for the 2010 season and he signed with the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

in January 2010.

Coaching career

Alabama

On December 22, 2010 Phillips was introduced as the

Alabama Crimson Tide baseball The Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team represents the University of Alabama in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Alabama athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. ...

team's hitting coach beginning in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

.http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20101223/NEWS/101229875/1011?p=1&tc=pg Phillips 'back home' with Crimson Tide

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Andy 1977 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide baseball players New York Yankees players Cincinnati Reds players New York Mets players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Alabama Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball third basemen People from Demopolis, Alabama Staten Island Yankees players Norwich Navigators players Tampa Yankees players Columbus Clippers players Trenton Thunder players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Louisville Bats players Charlotte Knights players Indianapolis Indians players Alabama Crimson Tide baseball coaches