Brandon Emil Phillips (born June 28, 1981) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox. At 6 feet (1.8 m) and 211 pounds (96 kg), Phillips batted and threw right-handed.
Phillips was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1999. In 2002, while in the minor leagues of the Montreal organization, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. After making his major league debut that same year for the Indians, he spent several years moving back and forth between the Indians and the minor leagues. Phillips was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 2006. After joining the Reds, Phillips developed into one of the best second basemen in baseball. In Cincinnati, he won four Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, one Silver Slugger Award, and was selected to three National League All-Star teams.
Contents
Early life
Phillips' father, James Phillips, runs the Phillips Baseball Center in Pine Lake, Georgia. His sister is former WNBA player Porsha Phillips and his younger brother PJ Phillips is a former manager of the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. His oldest brother, and first Phillips drafted to MLB, Jamil Phillips, currently owns and operates, Legacy Arena Baseballin Snellville, Georgia.
Phillips attended Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where he played basketball and baseball. His #7 at Redan was retired by the school in December 2003. He was the star baseball player at his high school. Phillips' favorite baseball player growing up was Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin.
Phillips was selected in the second round of the 1999 MLB draft by the Montreal Expos as a shortstop after signing a letter of intent to play both baseball and football at the University of Georgia. He instead signed with the Expos on June 21, 1999.
Professional career
Cleveland Indians
After several years in the Expos farm system, Phillips was part of a six-player trade that sent him from the Montreal Expos to the Cleveland Indians on June 27, 2002. Phillips was dealt with Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Lee Stevens in exchange for Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew.
In 2003, Phillips won the starting job at second base for the Indians. During the season, he had a season-high six-game hitting streak. Against the Detroit Tigers on May 20, he hit the first three-run walk-off home run of his career. After that he went 0-for-29 and was sent down to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons after the All-Star break. He was recalled soon after that due to an injury to one of his teammates and finished the season with a .208 average, six homers, 33 RBIs and four stolen bases. Phillips also totaled a .981 fielding percentage.
In 2004, he started the season in Buffalo. He hit .303 with 14 stolen bases on the season and recorded 18-game and 16-game hitting streaks. In the minor league play-offs, Phillips hit .308. He joined the Indians at the end of the season and played six games for them.
Phillips remained with the Bisons for most of 2005. He appeared in six games for the Indians in July but was sent back down following the stint.
In his four seasons with the Indians, Phillips appeared in 135 major league games, batting .206 with six home runs and 38 RBIs.
Cincinnati Reds
On April 7, 2006, Cleveland's frustration with Phillips' slow progress peaked and he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later (pitcher Jeff Stevens). He made an immediate impact, starting the season by being named NL Player of the Week the same month he was acquired by the Reds, hitting .452 (14–31) with three home runs and 17 runs batted in for the week of April 17–23. Phillips' 17 RBI were the most for an NL Player of the Week since Sammy Sosa had 19 RBI the week of August 4–10, 2002. Phillips had his first career grand slam that month and 16 straight stolen bases. leading the Reds in hits (148) and multi-hit games (36). He also led all National League second basemen in stolen bases with 25. Phillips produced two nine-game hitting streaks over the season and finished with a batting average of .276, 17 home runs and 75 RBI.
In 2007, Phillips hit 30 home runs and stole 32 bases to become the first Reds second baseman to join the 30–30 club and just the third 30–30 Red, joining Eric Davis (37 HR, 50 SB in 1987) and Barry Larkin (33 HR, 36 SB in 1996). He also joined Alfonso Soriano as just the second second baseman in the 30–30 club.
In the fourth inning on August 1, against John Lannan of the Washington Nationals, Phillips stole two bases on one pitch while the Nationals had a shift on Adam Dunn. On August 30, Phillips made the play of the month to win the game for the Reds against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the Reds winning 5–4 in the bottom of the ninth, Nate McLouth of the Pirates hit a single into right field. The runner from second, Josh Phelps, appeared likely to score, but Phillips grabbed the ball in shallow right field bare-handed and threw Phelps out at home plate to win the game. On September 5, he hit his 28th home run of the season, breaking the Reds' single-season record for home runs by a second baseman, formerly held by Joe Morgan. On September 26, 2007, Phillips hit his 30th home run of the season.
In addition to the home runs and steals, Phillips ended the 2007 season with 187 hits, 107 runs, 26 doubles, six triples, 94 RBIs, and a .288 batting average. He led the Reds in runs, hits, triples, and stolen bases and was second on the team in doubles and home runs.
Phillips received a four-year, $27 million contract extension on February 15, 2008, instead of going to arbitration.
Atlanta Braves
On February 12, 2017, Phillips waived his no-trade clause and was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor league pitchers Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo. The Reds also sent $13 million in the deal, leaving the Braves to pay $1 million of Phillips' remaining salary. He made a late-season position switch to third base to facilitate the promotion of Ozzie Albies to the major leagues. On August 30, Phillips hit a bloop single to drive in Ender Inciarte for his 2,000th career hit. In 120 games for the Braves, Phillips batted .291 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs.
Los Angeles Angels
On August 31, 2017, Phillips was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations and Tony Sanchez. In 24 games played with the Angels, Phillips had a slash line of .255/.269/.382 in 102 at bats.
Boston Red Sox
On June 27, 2018, Phillips signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox, and was assigned to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. Phillips appeared in 38 games with Pawtucket and six games with the Class A Short Season Lowell Spinners, batting a combined .304 with five home runs and 26 RBIs.
Phillips was added to Boston's active roster on September 4. He made his Red Sox debut the following day, hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning to carry the Red Sox to a 9–8 victory over the Atlanta Braves, completing a comeback from Atlanta's 7–1 and 8–7 leads late in the game. Phillips was the first player in Red Sox history to wear uniform number 0. Overall with the 2018 Red Sox, Phillips appeared in nine games, batting 3-for-23 (.130) with one home run and two RBIs. The Red Sox finished the year 108–54, clinching the AL East pennant. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers, although Phillips did not appear in any of their post-season games.
Phillips elected free agency on October 29.
Vallejo Admirals
On June 25, 2019, Phillips signed with the Vallejo Admirals of the independent Pacific Association. The team was managed by his younger brother P.J. Phillips. Phillips played four games for the Admirals before being granted his release.
Diablos Rojos del México
On July 15, 2019, Phillips signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. During the season, he played in 36 games. Phillips batted .267/.327/.420 with 35 hits in 131 at bats. He had three home runs, 11 doubles and 15 RBIs. Phillips elected free agency on October 5, 2019.
Baseball Brilliance
In July 2020, Phillips played in eight games for the Baseball Brilliance of the Yinzer Baseball Confederacy. Phillips had five hits in 35 plate appearances for the Brilliance, with a .152/.200/.333 batting line. One of those five hits included a July 11 home run against the Steel City Slammin' Sammies at Washington Wild Things Park.
Lexington Legends
On August 19, 2020, Phillips joined the Lexington Legends in their Battle of the Bourbon Trail series. On August 22, Phillips hit a walk-off homer for the Legends, his third homer in three games for the team.
In 2021, the Legends moved to the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and Phillips became a co-owner of the club in the offseason. On May 31, 2021, the Legends announced he was officially signed as a player, thus becoming the first Atlantic League player to appear on a roster for a team they co-own. He appeared in 54 games, posting a .276/.335/.507 line with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs, as the Legends went on to win the ALPB Championship. In 2022, Phillips played in 40 games, slashing .250/.320/.391 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. Following the season, the club was sold to a new ownership group and Phillips left the franchise.
Retirement
Phillips signed a one-day ceremonial contract with the Reds on April 25, 2026 in order to retire as a member of the team. He was also inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame on the same day.
Personal life
Phillips has a daughter with his wife, fitness model and professional wrestler Jade Cargill.
In March 2023, Phillips and Cargill were announced as owners of the Texas Smoke, the fourth franchise of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF), based in Austin, Texas.
The Texas Smoke won the 2023 WPF regular season with a record of 22–14 and then swept the USSSA Pride in the inaugural Women's Professional Fastpitch championship series with an impressive 14–2 win.