Phillip Arden Lombardi (February 20, 1963 – May 20, 2021) was an American baseball catcher who played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Yankees and New York Mets from 1986 to 1989. Although his primary position was catcher, Lombardi played left field as well.

Early life

Lombardi was born in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

, on February 20, 1963. He attended John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Los Angeles. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 3rd round of the

1981 MLB draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs *Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...

Professional career

Lombardi played five seasons in the minor leagues from 1981 to 1985. He made his MLB debut on April 26, 1986, at the age of 23, entering as a

defensive replacement A defensive substitution in the game of baseball occurs when a currently non-playing player is placed into the field in place of another player, typically due either to injury or the appearance of a pinch hitter. In the American League, a pinch ...

for Ron Hassey behind the plate in the fifth inning. On his first fielding chance, he committed a throwing error on a

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

attempt by Brett Butler, and went hitless in his first two

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s in a 3–2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. In his first season, Lombardi posted a .278 batting average with two home runs and six runs batted in (RBI), and did not commit any more errors behind the plate (though he did have two in left field). He played just five major league games the following year, hitting one

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in eight at bats for a .125 average. Lombardi was traded to the New York Mets with

Steve Frey ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

and

Darren Reed Darren A Douglass Reed (born October 16, 1965) is a former professional outfielder. He played with the New York Mets in 1990 and with both the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins in 1992. He played a total of 82 Major League games, 26 for the Met ...

on December 11, 1987, for Rafael Santana and Victor Garcia. He spent two seasons with their Triple-A affiliate, the Tidewater Tides. He made only eighteen appearances with the major league team in 1989, batting .229 with one home run and three RBIs. He played his final major league game on October 1 that same year, at the age of 26. Lombardi was claimed on waivers by the Atlanta Braves on April 4, 1990, before announcing his retirement five days later."BASEBALL; The Big Break" (''New York Times'', July 9, 1990)
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Later life

After retiring from baseball, Lombardi worked as a real estate agent and helped establish the Valencia office of Pinnacle Estate Properties. He also coached Little League in Santa Clarita, California. Lombardi was married to Marilyn until his death. Together, they had three daughters. He died from complications related to brain cancer on May 20, 2021, in

Stevenson Ranch Stevenson Ranch is an unincorporated community in the Santa Clarita Valley of Los Angeles County, California. Stevenson Ranch is set in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains and lies west of Interstate 5 and the city of Santa Clarita. Steve ...

, California. He was 58.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lombardi, Phil 1963 births 2021 deaths Major League Baseball catchers New York Yankees players New York Mets players Gulf Coast Yankees players Paintsville Yankees players Greensboro Hornets players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Albany-Colonie Yankees players Columbus Clippers players Tidewater Tides players Baseball players from Texas Sportspeople from Abilene, Texas Deaths from cancer in California