Brandon Phillips

Brandon Emil Phillips is a professional baseball player from the USA and plays as a second baseman. Phillips was part of the basketball and baseball team at the Redan High School. He had an incredible stint as a high school baseball player and the school retired his number 7 jersey upon graduation.

Phillips, after high school, was intended to play baseball and football at the University of Georgia but in 1999, he decided to sign with the Montreal Expos in the second round of the 1999 MLB Draft. Phillips played for the Jupiter Hammerheads in the 1999 season, in the Expos' farm system. He ended the season with 22 homers and 59 RBIs at an average of .292. He had 3 triples and 30 steals to his name as well. He entered the farm system for the Expos and became one of their top prospects but that didn't stop the Expos from trading him out to the Cleveland Indians in 2002.

The following year, Phillips got the second baseman's position for the Indians and had a 6-game hitting streak – the high point of his year. He had a 3-run walk off home run against the Detroit Tigers following which, he went 0-for-29, resulting in a drop down to the AAA-league. The injury struck Indians were forced to call him back and he ended the season with a .200 batting average. His fielding percentage however was at an incredible .981 in his first season.

Phillips started 2004 in the AAA-league and hit at .303 with 14 steals in the season. He had an 18-game and then another 16-game hitting streak and also had 51 straight games in reaching home plate, setting a new team record. Despite this, his call up to the MLB roster only came at the end of the season after he hit at .308 in the post-season.

In 2005, he stayed with the AAA team again and made the All-Star game for the league. He played for the Indians in just 6 games and returned to the lower division.

In 2006, Phillips' slow progress resulted in a trade out to the Cincinnati Reds. Once at the Reds, it was almost as if a different Phillips had arrived. He led the team in hits with 148 and had 36 multi-hit games and set a National League steals record with 25 bases. He started the season as the National League Player of the Week with a .452 batting average and 3 home runs with 17 RBI in the third week of April. Phillips also hit his first Grand Slam home run that month and also had 16 straight steals. He ended the season with a .276 batting average with 17 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 75 RBI in a year that saw him record two 9-game hitting streaks.

Phillips was the Reds' MVP in the 2007 season and hit over 30 home runs and had over 30 stolen bases to become the first ever 30-30 second baseman for the Reds. He ended the season with 187 hits and 107 runs having hit 26 doubles, 6 triples and 30 homers. Phillips had stolen 32 bases by the end of the season and had 94 RBIs in his .288 batting average. His contract was renewed for 4-years at $27 million.

He started 2008 where he had left off from the previous season. Phillips had a batting average of .283 and had hit 5 home runs with 4 stolen bases and 13 RBIs in April. The following month, he had another 5 home runs and had added 17 more RBIs to his name as well as five more stolen bases.

By the time the All-Star break came, Phillips was hammering away at .287 and had 15 home runs with 18 stolen bases and 58 RBI. Phillips won the Gold Glove award in 2008 after his .990 fielding percentage saw him lead the National League's second baseman race.