Brandon Phillips Trivia: 44 interesting facts about the baseball player!

Brandon Phillips is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians.

Let’s see some intriguing facts about him!

1. Brandon Emil Phillips was born June 28, 1981 in Georgia.

2. Phillips father, James Phillips, runs the Phillips Baseball Center in Pine Lake, Georgia.

3. His sister is WNBA player Porsha Phillips of the San Antonio Silver Stars and his younger brother is minor league baseball player PJ Phillips.

4. Phillips attended Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where he played basketball and baseball.

5. 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.

6. Phillips was selected in the second round of the 1999 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.

7. 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.

8. Phillips was dealt with Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Lee Stevens in exchange for Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew.

9. In 2003, Phillips won the starting job at second base for the Indians. During the season, he had a season-high 6-game hitting streak.

10. 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.

11. In the minor league play-offs, Phillips hit .308. He joined the Indians at the end of the season and played 6 games for them.

12. 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.

13. 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).

14. 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.

15. In 2007, Phillips hit 30 home runs and stole 32 bases to become the first Reds second basemen 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).

16. He also joined Alfonso Soriano as just the second second baseman in the 30–30 club.

17. On July 3, 2007, Phillips broke a 3–3 tie with the San Francisco Giants by hitting a grand slam that gave the Reds a 7–3 win.

18. In addition to the home runs and steals, Phillips ended the 2007 season with 187 hits, 107 runs, 26 doubles, 6 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.

19. Phillips received a four-year, $27 million contract extension on February 15, 2008, instead of going to arbitration.

20. On April 2, 2008, Phillips hit his first home run of the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

21. To open up July, Phillips had a 3 for 5 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

22. In the 6–5 loss, Phillips hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game and send it into extra innings. On July 5, 2008, Phillips drove in Jerry Hairston, Jr. for the game-winning single RBI.

23. At the All-Star Break, Phillips was batting .287 with 15 home runs, 58 RBI, 18 stolen bases, and 18 doubles. Shortly after the All-Star Game, Phillips hit his 16th home run of the season against the Chicago Cubs and his 17th against the New York Mets.

24. To open August, Phillips hit triples in back-to-back games against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros, then finished the three-game stint with a home run in the third game against the Astros.

25. Phillips also won his first gold glove in 2008, leading National League 2nd basemen with a .990 fielding percentage having made just 7 errors in 706 chances, in addition to a 78-game error-less streak.

26. In 2009, Phillips hit .276, with 30 doubles, 20 home runs, 98 RBI and 25 stolen bases.

27. In 2010, Phillips had his first All-Star season. He finished the season batting .275, with 18 homers, 59 RBI, and 16 stolen bases.

28. In early August, Phillips made national sports headlines with unflattering remarks about the St. Louis Cardinals, a team the Reds were in a hotly contested race with for lead in the National League Central division.

29. On November 10, 2010, it was announced that Phillips had won the second Gold Glove of his Major League career.

30. On May 3, 2011, against the Houston Astros, Phillips had an amazing play in which he threw out speedy Jason Bourgeois by picking up the ball barehanded as it rolled to him and throwing it to first baseman Joey Votto between his legs to record the out.

31. On November 1, 2011, it was announced that Phillips had won the third Gold Glove of his Major League career. His fielding percentage for the season was .992 in 721 chances.

32. The next day, it was announced that Phillips had won the first Silver Slugger of his Major League career. He hit an even .300 with 183 hits, 38 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homers, and 82 RBI. His on-base percentage was .353.

33. On April 10, 2012, it was announced that Phillips and the Reds had agreed to a 6-year, $72.5 million contract, through the 2017 season.

34. In 2012, Brandon Phillips had a .281 batting average, 18 home runs, and 77 runs batted in. He did not win a Gold Glove for the first time since 2009. He batted an impressive .375 in the NLDS series versus the San Francisco Giants, despite their loss of the series.

35. Phillips was the Reds Opening Day second baseman and number two hitter; however, he became the cleanup hitter after left fielder Ryan Ludwick tore his shoulder on opening day.

36. On August 28, Phillips was moved to the second spot in the lineup, and Jay Bruce became the cleanup hitter.

37. In 151 games in 2013, he hit .261 with 18 HR and 103 RBI. He won a Gold Glove in 2013, having a .987 fielding percentage with 9 errors.

38. Phillips was placed on the disabled list July 11, 2014, after sufferering a torn thumb ligament while diving for a ground ball in a game against the Chicago Cubs. At the time, he was hitting .272 with 7 home runs and 40 RBI, and had only committed one error in 86 games at second base. He was reinstated from the DL on August 18.

39. Phillips finished the season hitting .266 with 8 home runs and 56 RBI.

40. On October 23, 2014, he was nominated for his potential 5th Gold Glove for second base.

41. The 86th All-Star Game was played at Great American Ball Park, and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was selected to play.

42. Phillips finished the season hitting .294 (16th in the National League) with 173 hits (8th in the NL), 12 home runs, 70 RBI and 23 stolen bases (10th in the NL).

43. On October 29, 2015, he was named a finalist for the Gold Glove for second base.

44. On February 12th 2017, Brandon Phillips was traded to the Atlanta Braves.