JAWS and the 2024 Hall of Fame Ballot: Brandon Phillips

The following article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2024 Hall of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this 12 months’s poll, and different candidates within the sequence, use the device above; an introduction to JAWS might be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures seek advice from the Baseball-Reference model until in any other case indicated.

Though he carried himself with a decidedly fashionable swagger, Brandon Phillips styled himself as a throwback, a lot in order that he wound up on the middle of a battle over old-fashioned/new faculty considering inside baseball’s tradition conflict, pitted towards teammate Joey Votto. If the flashy, free-swinging Phillips wasn’t all people’s thought of the best second baseman of the post-Moneyball period, his mixture of energy and above-average baserunning and protection made him a invaluable and entertaining participant. In a 17-year main league profession that took some time to get off the bottom, Phillips gained 4 Gold Gloves, made three All-Star groups and — together with Votto and Hall of Famer Scott Rolen — helped the Reds to a few playoff appearances in a four-season span.

Brandon Emil Phillips was born on June 28, 1981 in Raleigh, North Carolina, into a really aggressive household. His dad and mom, James and Lue Phillips, had been each athletes at Shaw University, a Raleigh-based traditionally Black college. James performed soccer and baseball earlier than happening to work as a gross sales consultant for the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, whereas his mom performed basketball. Jamil Phillips (b. 1975), the oldest of James and Lue’s 4 kids, performed collegiate baseball at Johnson County (Kansas) Community College and Southern University earlier than being drafted by the Rangers as an outfielder within the thirty fourth spherical in 1993. P.J. Phillips (b. 1986) was a second-round decide by the Angels out of Redan High School in 2005 and spent 5 seasons within the Angels’ group, one within the Reds’ group, and 4 in unbiased leagues earlier than changing into an indy-league supervisor. Porsha Phillips (b. 1988) performed basketball at Louisiana State and the University of Georgia earlier than spending the 2011 season with the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars.

The Phillips kids had been raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Growing up, Brandon rooted for the Braves, served as a batboy through the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and starred in baseball, soccer, and basketball at Redan High School. He signed a letter of intent to pursue the diamond/gridiron combo on the University of Georgia, however when the Expos picked him within the second spherical of the 1999 draft, he selected to signal for a $607,00 bonus. He started his skilled profession with the crew’s Gulf Coast League affiliate that summer season, taking part in shortstop and hitting .290/.358/.408 with one homer and 12 steals in 47 video games. Moving as much as A-level Cape Fear in 2000, he hit a modest .242/.306/.378 with 11 homers and 23 steals; Baseball America referred to as him, “A superior athlete who makes dazzling plays… the most dynamic infield prospect in the league by a wide margin.” The publication famous his pop and his being named the circuit’s greatest defensive shortstop in a midseason ballot of managers, but additionally expressed concern about his propensity to strike out (97 instances, an 18.1% charge).

Phillips break up his 2001 season between High-A Jupiter and Double-A Harrisburg, hitting a mixed .292/.372/.440 with 11 homer and 30 steals. He drew raves from Baseball America for his improved strike zone judgment, arm energy, and drive to enhance, and cracked the publication’s Top 100 Prospects record at no. 20 the next spring. He had simply moved up from Harrisburg to Triple-A Ottawa when on June 27, 2002, he was traded to Cleveland within the Bartolo Colon blockbuster, together with lefty Cliff Lee, outfielder Grady Sizemore, and first baseman Lee Stevens. He completed his minor league season at Triple-A Buffalo, hitting a mixed .302/.348/.479 with 18 homers and 14 steals at his three stops. He performed 11 video games at second base in Buffalo in deference to Omar Vizquel’s presence at shortstop.

Cleveland referred to as up the 21-year-old Phillips as soon as the minor league season ended. On September 13, he made his main league debut, getting into a recreation towards the Twins within the sixth inning to interchange Vizquel, with second baseman John McDonald shifting to shortstop. He struck out towards Tony Fiore in his lone plate look that night time. Three days later, in his third recreation, he collected his first hit, a single off the Red Sox’s Frank Castillo. In all, he batted .258/.343/.419 in 36 plate appearances.

Moving as much as no. 7 on BA’s Top 100 for 2003, Phillips drew comparisons to a trio of future Hall of Famers:

“Phillips is a premier athlete who projects as an all-star at either middle-infield position. As a shortstop, Phillips has drawn comparisons to a young Barry Larkin or Derek Jeter. Hitting out of a Jeff Bagwell-style crouch, Phillips has the bat speed and athletic skill to be a top-of-the-order hitter… Phillips also has a charisma that stamps him as a special player. His confidence and flair sometimes annoy opponents. But he enjoys playing the game and doesn’t hide it.”

He opened the 2003 season as Cleveland’s second baseman, however whereas he linked for his first main league homer off the White Sox’s Jon Garland on April 9, he struggled mightily. He was despatched again to Buffalo on the All-Star break, didn’t return till late August, and completed the season batting an abysmal .208/.242/.311 (48 OPS+) with six homers in 393 PA. “He went from can’t miss to did, and nobody knows if the spatula has yet been made that can scrape him up from last season’s epic tumble from the heights of prospectdom,” wrote Baseball Prospectus in its 2004 annual. “His failures were worsened by Phillips’s reputation as a showboat; there’s a thin line between being charismatic and being a nuisance.” Ouch.

Phillips spent practically the entire 2004 and ’05 seasons in Buffalo, taking part in primarily shortstop whereas Ronnie Belliard earned All-Star honors as Cleveland’s second baseman alongside Vizquel. Phillips performed simply 12 main league video games in these two seasons, throughout which he went simply 4-for-31. His second stint was in July 2005, as Cleveland showcased him as a possible commerce candidate, however no one was keen to satisfy normal supervisor Mark Shapiro’s excessive asking value. Out of choices within the spring of 2006, he was traded to the Reds for a participant to be named later (righty reliever Jeff Stevens, a 2005 draftee) on April 7. The Reds already had Rich Aurilia, Ryan Freel, and Tony Womack vying for time at second base, however to GM Wayne Krivsky, the 25-year-old Phillips was too large a expertise to cross up. “My scouting instincts kicked in a little bit… we didn’t have this kind of athletic guy,” Krivsky instructed MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon in 2020. “[Phillips] was more defensive-oriented at the time, and they weren’t sure how much he was going to hit. But he had Gold Glove potential at second base.”

In Cincinnati, Phillips obtained to play day-after-day. His .276/.324/.427 line equated to simply an 88 OPS+, and with -8 DRS, he completed with simply 0.5 WAR, however his 17 homers and 25 steals in 27 makes an attempt hinted on the degree of pleasure he might present. In 2007, he broke out, not solely hitting .288/.331/.485 (105 OPS+) however changing into simply the second second baseman to succeed in 30 homers and 30 steals in the identical season (he had 32 of the latter) after Alfonso Soriano, who had carried out it 3 times. He completed with 4.0 WAR, tops among the many crew’s place gamers. That identical 12 months, his father opened the Phillips Baseball Center in Pine Lake, Georgia.

Just earlier than the 2008 season started, Phillips signed a four-year, $27 million extension. That 12 months, Dusty Baker took over because the supervisor, inheriting a 72-90 crew. The Reds didn’t do a lot better in both 2008 (74-88) or ’09 (78-84), and Phillips backslid a bit from his breakout, with 21 homers, 23 steals, a 94 OPS+ and three.0 WAR within the former 12 months and 20 homers, 25 steals, a 103 OPS+ and a pair of.8 WAR within the latter. He did win his first Gold Glove in 2008, although his 13 DRS and 12.2 UZR each trailed Chase Utley (30 DRS, 18.3 UZR). His season ended on September 10 when within the eleventh inning of a recreation towards the Brewers, he fractured his proper index finger whereas making an attempt to bunt, simply earlier than driving in what would show to be the successful run.

Bolstered by an MVP-winning season from Votto, a full season from 2009 deadline acquisition Rolen, and the emergence of starters Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, the Reds jumped to 91-71 and gained the NL Central. Phillips parlayed sturdy protection (10 DRS) and strong offense (18 HR 16 SB, 102 OPS+) into 3.9 WAR in addition to his first All-Star marketing campaign and his second Gold Glove, although once more his metrics had been a beat or two behind Utley’s. In the Division Series towards the Phillies, Phillips went 4-for-12, with three of his hits (a single, double and homer) coming off Roy Oswalt, however the Reds had been swept.

Though he totaled simply 18 homers and 14 steals, the 30-year-old Phillips had one of the best offensive season of his profession in 2011, hitting .300/.353/.457 for a 118 OPS+. All however the slugging share would endure as profession highs, as would his 4.9 WAR. He made his second All-Star crew and gained his third Gold Glove, this time with metrics pretty much as good or higher than Utley’s. The Reds, nevertheless, sank to 79-83.

The Reds picked up Phillips’ $12 million choice for 2012, then in April reworked it into the primary 12 months of a six-year, $72.5 million extension with a few of the cash deferred. With the rotation’s entrance 5 — Cueto, Mat Latos, Homer Bailey, Bronson Arroyo, and Leake — accounting for all however one of many crew’s begins, the Reds rebounded to 97-75 with one other NL Central title in 2012. Phillips turned in a 4.0 WAR season regardless of slipping to .281/.321/.429 (99 OPS+) and lacking out on each the All-Star crew and the Gold Glove. In the Division Series opener towards the Giants, he drove in three of the Reds’ 5 runs through a two-run homer off Matt Cain and a ninth-inning single off Santiago Casilla, and he collected two doubles and drove in a single run within the crew’s 9-0 rout in Game 2. But whereas he collected hits in every of the following three video games whereas driving in three of the Reds’ eight runs, they dropped all three and had been eradicated.

Phillips gained his remaining Gold Glove and was elected to begin the All-Star Game for the one time in his profession in 2013. He hit .261/.310/.396 (94 OPS+) with 18 homers (his fourth straight season with precisely that many) and a career-high 103 RBI. In doing so, he turned the uncommon post-1960 enlargement period participant to complete with a sub-100 OPS+ whereas driving in 100 runs and was simply the fourth inside that timeframe to drive in 100 runs whereas slugging beneath .400; just one participant has carried out it since:

Regularly batting cleanup, Phillips’s whole was helped immensely by leadoff hitter Shin-Soo Choo strolling 112 instances and posting a .423 OPB, and third hitter Votto strolling a league-high 135 instances with a .435 OBP; to his credit score, Phillips did hit a career-best .338/.404/.469 (133 wRC+) with runners in scoring place. That Votto was so selective however was a lot much less prolific in driving in runs than Phillips opened the primary baseman up for criticism in some quarters, and never for the final time. As for Phillips, along with his protection descending to about common, he completed with 1.7 WAR, his lowest whole since his first season as a Red. Even so, he helped the Reds win 90 video games and declare a Wild Card berth, however he went 0-for-4 because the crew misplaced the NL Wild Card Game to the Pirates.

Phillips spent three extra seasons in Cincinnati, with typically diminishing returns, hitting a mixed .285/.319/.396 (94 OPS+) whereas averaging 10 homers, 13 steals, -7 DRS, and 1.1 WAR. After avoiding the injured record from 2009–13, he missed 39 days in ’14 on account of surgical procedure to restore a torn ligament in his left thumb, suffered whereas diving for a ball. As his manufacturing waned, the contrasts between his strategy and that of Votto (who was on his strategy to a 143-walk, 174 OPS+ season) resurfaced in a reactionary 2015 USA Today piece by Bob Nightengale:

“I don’t do that MLB Network on-base percentage (stuff),” Phillips instructed USA TODAY Sports. “I feel that’s messing up baseball. I feel individuals now are simply anxious about getting paid and worrying about on-base share as an alternative of simply successful the sport.

“That’s the new thing now. I feel like all of these stats and all of these geeks upstairs, they’re messing up baseball, they’re just changing the game. It’s all about on-base percentage. If you don’t get on base, then you suck. That’s basically what they’re saying. People don’t care about RBI or scoring runs, it’s all about getting on base.”

All that was lacking from Phillips’ prolonged rant was a GIF of Abe Simpson yelling at a cloud.

After the 2015 season — at 2.2 WAR and a 97 OPS+, one of the best of these three — the Reds and Nationals agreed on a commerce that might reunite Phillips with Baker in Washington. Phillips used the leverage of his 10-and-5 rights to request an extension past the 2 years and $27 million remaining on his contract, however the Nationals wouldn’t chunk, so he blocked the commerce. With Phillips coming off a a lot much less productive 2016 (94 OPS+, -15 DRS, 0.1 WAR) and the Reds pushing into rebuilding mode, the crew tried to deal him to Atlanta — the place Phillips owned a house — in November of that 12 months. Again he used his 10-and-5 rights to block a deal, however in February, he relented and accepted a commerce to the rebuilding Braves, who felt better urgency after free agent acquisition Sean Rodríguez was injured in a automobile crash. The Reds despatched $13 million of Phillips’ $14 million remaining wage to Atlanta whereas the Braves parted with pitching prospects Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo and (as a participant to be named later) infielder Kevin Franklin. The Braves facilitated the commerce by agreeing to honor Phillips’ 12-team restricted no-trade clause that had been outmoded by his 10-and-5 rights, and by including a $500,000 project bonus if he was traded once more.

Phillips hit a strong .291/.329/.423 (96 OPS) with 1.0 WAR for the Braves, who coincidentally had signed Colon as a free agent. Phillips reached a few key milestones whereas suiting up for Atlanta. On April 11 towards the Marlins, he stole the 2 hundredth base of his profession, and on May 22 towards the Pirates, he hit his 2 hundredth profession homer, a solo shot off Gerrit Cole.

At the beginning of August, Phillips moved to 3rd base, a place he’d by no means performed within the majors, when the crew recalled 20-year-old prospect Ozzie Albies to play second. In a waiver deal on the finish of the month, Phillips was traded to the Angels in alternate for catcher Tony Sanchez. He hit for only a 74 OPS+ in September whereas the Angels, who had been only one recreation out of a Wild Card spot when he was acquired, went simply 11-17 the remainder of the way in which and missed the playoffs.

A free agent for the primary time after the 2017 season, the 36-year-old Phillips didn’t discover a deal to his liking in time for the season to begin, however on June 27, 2018, he signed with the Red Sox. He performed 44 video games for the crew’s minor league associates and hit properly, however didn’t get recalled till September 5. He homered off the Braves’ A.J. Minter in his first recreation again, and whereas he went simply 3-for-23 in 9 video games, he did get a World Series ring for his bother.

That was Phillips’ final main league stint, however he stored the candle burning. He performed 4 video games for the Vallejo Admirals of the unbiased Pacific Association, managed by youthful brother P.J. Phillips, then signed with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Mexican League, for whom he performed 36 video games. During the 2020 season, he performed eight video games for the Baseball Brilliance of the Yinzer Baseball Confederacy, one of many pop-up unbiased leagues that proliferated when the COVID-19 pandemic worn out the minor league season, then joined the Lexington Legends for his or her Battle of the Bourbon Trail exhibition sequence. That winter, the 40-year-old Phillips turned a co-owner of the Legends as they joined the Atlantic League, and in 2021 he made historical past as “the first ever Atlantic League player to be on the roster for a team that he co-owns.” He performed 54 video games for the Legends in 2021 and one other 40 in ’22.

The press launch touting Phillips’ participant/proprietor function additionally referred to him as a “future MLB Hall of Famer,” however he gained’t be going to Cooperstown in that capability; at this writing he has but to obtain a single vote from among the many 160 revealed within the Ballot Tracker. He has left his mark on the sport, nevertheless, as certainly one of 9 gamers to document 2,000 hits, 200 homers, and 200 steals:

Six of these gamers are within the Hall of Fame, and a seventh, Rollins, is on the poll. Even because the low man of the bunch when it comes to OPS+ and WAR, Phillips is in spectacular firm, testifying to the abilities and aptitude that he dropped at the sport.