Phillip Roger Bickford (born July 10, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for 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 ...

Amateur career

Bickford attended

Oaks Christian School Oaks Christian School (OCS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational Christian school serving grades 5–12. Oaks Christian School is located on in Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California. The school was established i ...

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...

. He was drafted by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

10th overall in the

2013 Major League Baseball Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

but did not sign with the team. He attended

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

for his freshman year. After his freshman season in 2014, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play thei ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, where he posted a 1.63

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

with 44

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

over 27.2 innings pitched, helped lead the Red Sox to the league championship, and was named the league's Outstanding Pro Prospect. Prior to his sophomore year, he transferred to the

College of Southern Nevada The College of Southern Nevada (CSN) is a public community college in Clark County, Nevada. The college has more than 2,500 teaching and non-teaching staff and is the largest public college or university in Nevada. It is part of the Nevada Syst ...

in order to be eligible for the 2015 draft. He was selected by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

as the 18th overall pick in that draft.

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Bickford signed with the Giants for $2,333,800 and was assigned to the

AZL Giants The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in S ...

, where he spent the whole season, pitching to a 0-1 record and 2.01 ERA in ten games started. He began the 2016 season with the

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previous ...

and was promoted to the

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants ga ...

in June.

Milwaukee Brewers

On August 1, 2016, the Giants traded Bickford and

Andrew Susac Andrew John Susac (born March 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Pit ...

to the

for

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

. Milwaukee assigned him to the

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County afte ...

where he finished the season. In 23 total games (22 started) between Augusta, San Jose and Brevard County, Bickford posted a 7-7 record and 2.93 ERA as well as striking out 135 batters in 120 combined innings between the three clubs. He pitched only 17 innings in 2017 (with the AZL Brewers) due to a 50 game suspension for testing positive for banned substances and a broken hand. Bickford spent 2018 and 2019 with the Advanced Single-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

. Over 21 games in 2018 he carried a 4.60 ERA and turned it into a 2.48 ERA over 20 games in 2019. On September 1, 2020, Bickford was selected to the major leagues for the first time and made his MLB debut that night. On April 28, 2021, Bickford was designated for assignment to clear roster space for the recently selected

Zack Godley Zachary Thomas Godley (born April 21, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbac ...

. He had allowed two earned runs in one inning of work up to that point in the year.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On May 3, 2021, Bickford was claimed off waivers by the

. On June 10, Bickford picked up his first career save against 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 ...

. On July 25, Bickford recorded his first career

MLB 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), ...

win against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. He pitched in 56 games for the Dodgers in 2021, posting a 4–2 record with a 2.50 ERA and 59 strikeouts in innings. Bickford pitched in three games in each of the 2021 NLDS and 2021 NLCS, he allowed four hits but no runs in six total innings. During the 2022 season, Bickford pitched in 60 games for the Dodgers, with a 2–1 record and 4.72 ERA. On September 23, Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run off of him.

Personal

Bickford was born in Newbury Park, California. He has one brother and four sisters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickford, Phil 1995 births Living people People from Ventura, California Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Southern Nevada Coyotes baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Arizona League Giants players Augusta GreenJackets players San Jose Giants players Brevard County Manatees players Arizona League Brewers players Carolina Mudcats players Oklahoma City Dodgers players