David Robert Phillips (born October 8, 1943) is a retired

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

, first with the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

from 1971 to 1999, then with both leagues from 2001 to 2002. Phillips wore uniform number 7 when the American League adopted uniform numbers for its umpires in 1980, and retained the number when the staffs merged in 2000.

Umpiring career

Phillips umpired in three

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

(

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

), six

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

(

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

—crew chief,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

—crew chief, and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

—crew chief), four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

(

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

—crew chief, and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

—crew chief) and two All-Star Games (

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

). In 1975, Phillips became one of the first three American League umpires to switch to the inside chest protector along with

Don Denkinger Donald Anton Denkinger (; born August 28, 1936) is a former Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1998. Denkinger wore uniform number 11, when the AL adopted uniform numbers in 1980. He is best remembered ...

and

Merle Anthony George Merlyn Anthony (April 26, 1926 – February 2, 1993) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1975. Anthony umpired the 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the 1973 American League ...

Notable games

Phillips served during six no-hitters (

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

's second no-hitter (July 15, 1973, first base),

Jim Bibby James Blair Bibby (October 29, 1944 – February 16, 2010)Morris, Chri"Former Major League pitcher Jim Bibby dies at 65" ''The News & Advance'' (Lynchburg, Virginia), Wednesday, February 17, 2010 was an American Major League Baseball right-han ...

(July 30, 1973, first base), the combined no-hitter of

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

Glenn Abbott William Glenn Abbott (born February 16, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and former pitching coach for the Syracuse Mets. During an 11-year baseball career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics (1973–76), Seattle Mariners ...

Paul Lindblad Paul Aaron Lindblad (August 9, 1941 – January 1, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball left-handed middle-relief pitcher. During his career, he pitched primarily for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics. At the time of his retirement in 1 ...

and

Rollie Fingers Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985, when his effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseba ...

(September 28, 1975, first base),

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

(June 2, 1990, second base),

Bret Saberhagen Bret William Saberhagen (; born April 11, 1964) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox fro ...

(August 26, 1991, second base), and

Scott Erickson Scott Gavin Erickson (born February 2, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees over 15 seasons. He was a membe ...

(April 27, 1994, first base)). He was the crew chief during the 1979

Disco Demolition Night Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field ...

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

, ordering 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 ...

to forfeit the second game of a scheduled doubleheader to the visiting

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. In August , Phillips ejected

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

pitcher

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...

for throwing an illegal pitch, the first such ejection of Perry's career. On August 18, , Phillips was one of the umpires who worked the continuation of a game between 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 ...

and the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

which originally ended when

George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are second-mos ...

was called out for excessive pine tar on his bat. Following a successful protest by the Royals, the game was resumed to the point of Brett's home run. Phillips provided an affidavit to Yankee manager

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

stating that the runners who scored on that home run touched all the bases. On July 15, , Phillips was the plate umpire when he decided to take

Albert Belle Albert Jojuan Belle (born August 25, 1966), known until 1990 as Joey Belle, is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1989 to 2000, most notably for the Cleveland Indians. Known for his fierce, competitive temperament ...

's bat and have it placed in the umpire's locker room, after

manager

Gene Lamont Gene William Lamont (born December 25, 1946) is an American special assistant to the general manager of the Kansas City Royals. He was a catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who managed the Chicago White Sox (1992–1995) and Pittsburgh P ...

alleged that the bat was corked. As the Indians were aware that Belle's bat was corked, Cleveland pitcher

Jason Grimsley Jason Alan Grimsley (born August 7, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for seven teams during a 15-year career. He was a member of both the 1999 and 2000 World Series champion New York Yankees. Major League career J ...

managed to get into the umpire's locker room and put a different bat in place of Belle's. However, the trick did not work as the new bat had

Paul Sorrento Paul Anthony Sorrento (born November 17, 1965) is the Los Angeles Angels assistant hitting coach. He is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1989 through 1999, Sorrento played for the Minnesota Twins (1989–1991), Cleveland Indi ...

's name on it, and Belle received a seven-game suspension.

Post career

In 2004, Phillips wrote a book with

Rob Rains Rob Rains is the editor of STLSportsPage.com and former National League beat writer for ''USA Today''s ''Baseball Weekly'' and for three years covered the St. Louis Cardinals for the '' St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' until its collapse in the 1980s. ...

titled ''Center Field on Fire'' (after Disco Demolition Night), which chronicled his over thirty-year career in major and minor league baseball.Phillips, Dave and Rob Rains. ''Center Field on Fire''. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2004.

References

External links

Retrosheet.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Dave 1943 births Living people Major League Baseball umpires Sportspeople from St. Louis

Umpiring career

Notable games

Post career

See also

References

External links