Feature Articles I Brandon Phillips Is the Most Entertaining Player in Baseball I Cincinnati Magazine

 

He pulls up to the curb in a matte black, custom Hummer H3T. The interior seats are covered in the same black leather as the glove he wears on the field, a white letter B with red trim stitched on the headrest. Standard H3 logos are replaced with B4 insignias. Phillips hops out of the driver’s side. He’s sporting black Ray-Bans, a white tee, and dark blue jeans. The red bottoms of his customized Louboutin low-top sneakers match the customized red-leather Louboutin backpack slung over his shoulder. His Hummer beeps as he clicks the lock button. His smile shines with the brightness of a thousand suns. “What’s up, boss?”

 

“Brandon has a superstar personality.” That’s how Luckhaupt describes it, back here on Earth. “He has that air about him. He likes having that attention.”

 

“Some people say I’m cocky, but I’m not, I’m not a cocky person,” says Phillips. “I just play with a lot of swag because that’s the only way I know how.”

 

Every word he utters is true despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Nevermind what he’s wearing or the car he drives. Nevermind that he’s only moments away from discussing how everyone says he’s the King of Cincinnati or how much his teammates love him. Nevermind that swag is merely cocky in sheep’s clothing. On a roster lacking panache in a sport that drags on and on, Phillips is exactly what the game, the team, and the city needs. He constantly flirts with the line that separates his swagger from egotism yet is careful never to cross it, even if it’s perceptible only to him.

 

 

 

Because he’s not afraid to be honest. “I thought I was gone. I thought that everything I did for this city—the city that I love—I thought I wasn’t gonna come back.”

 

This is not the Brandon Phillips fans are accustomed to. His voice is quiet, his face void of that ever-present smile. He’s discussing his contract negotiations prior to the start of last season. His then four-year deal was set to expire following the 2012 season, but after the organization proffered a massive 10-year, $225-million extension to Joey Votto, Phillips’s future with the team was in doubt.

 

“I just feel like they didn’t have to sign Joey to that contract. He still had two more years on his,” says Phillips. “And for [the front office] to go out there and sign him before they sign me, and they knew I was going to be a free agent?” Phillips shakes his head. “I understand Joey’s a good player. He’s one of the best players in this game. But I feel like I am too. I told them that this is where I wanted to be. I begged them. I told everybody I want to finish my career here. And then they give someone a contract who didn’t ask for nothing?”

 

With Phillips hoping to garner a deal in the range of the league’s highest paid second basemen, the numbers weren’t adding up. Rumors were beginning to swirl about Phillips being used as a trade asset later in the season. Quietly, the Reds front office offered him six years for $72.5 million. Phillips says that Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty and team owner Bob Castellini—chairman of Castellini Co., the billion-dollar national produce distributor—made clear it was all the team could offer. Phillips swallowed his pride and signed the deal, though he clearly hasn’t forgotten what he perceived as a slight.

 

“To this day, I’m still hurt. Well, I don’t wanna say hurt. I’ll say scarred. I’m still scarred. It just sucks that it happened,” he says. “For [Castellini] to sign somebody for $200 million, there must be a new vegetable or fruit coming out that we don’t know about. For him to do something like that and tell me they didn’t have any more money, that’s a lie. But what can I do? I just feel like it was a slap in my face.”

 

Phillips’s voice trails off as he shakes his head again. It’s not in his nature to be serious for this long. “But how can someone slap you in the face with all that money?” he finally says, the smile returning to its rightful location. “It’s a nice slap in the face.”

In the end, Phillips got more money than is stolen in most heist films and he got to stay in the city he’s made his home.

 

“Number one, the fans love me here. I love it here. It’s a blessing. It shows that [the team] invested a lot of money in me to go out there and do my job, and to keep representing the Reds in a positive way,” he says. “I feel like that’s the only reason I got that deal—if they didn’t feel I was important to the city, then I wouldn’t still be here.”

 

Pause.

 

“That, and I probably would have said some "stuff" on Twitter.”

It would mean something if he was a good baseball player. His entertaining on the field is what gets him thrown out from 2nd to 3rd all the time.

^yeah, he's awful.

It would mean something if he was a good baseball player. His entertaining on the field is what gets him thrown out from 2nd to 3rd all the time.

 

I'm starting to wonder what you're growing in that garden.

That article can't go over well in the clubhouse.

This clubhouse is dead anyway. Maybe this is what they need to stir them up.

That article can't go over well in the clubhouse.

 

I wonder what Votto thinks about that

Entertaining or not he comes across as selfish and ungrateful. He's a very good player on the field but I can't help but feel that the Reds would be better off if someone else were the spokesman and leader of the team.

That article can't go over well in the clubhouse.

 

It's not the first time he's talked about the contract situation like that.

I'm starting to wonder what you're growing in that garden.

 

Why? How many times does he hot dog it in a game and get thrown out running the bases. Its all about brandon, hes nothing more than a baseball chad johnson.

I wonder what Votto thinks about that

 

Who cares what he thinks; as long as he has 42 rbi's and Phillips has 74, Phillips is exactly right with what he says in the article IMO.

Why? How many times does he hot dog it in a game and get thrown out running the bases. Its all about brandon, hes nothing more than a baseball chad johnson.

 

He's batting .404 with RISP this year and with a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs he's hitting .515. Not to mention he's the best fielding 2nd basemen in baseball, but you don't like him because he gets thrown out running bases? I can't remember a single instance when he's been hot dogging and been thrown out. Maybe my vision is clouded with him being the best fielder, run producer and most fan friendly player on the team.

Why? How many times does he hot dog it in a game and get thrown out running the bases. Its all about brandon, hes nothing more than a baseball chad johnson.

 

I guess it is noon somewhere.

 

Does it count that he throws his body around defensively to help his pitchers? Or, is that just him being a showboat too? What about his BA with RISP? Is that just him wanting to drive in runs to pad his stats?

 

How much baseball do you watch outside of the Reds? Baserunning is atrocious in MLB. Is Mesoraco a hot dog? He sucks running bases too.

Who cares what he thinks; as long as he has 42 rbi's and Phillips has 74, Phillips is exactly right with what he says in the article IMO.

 

Not saying he is wrong but it can't help the clubhouse.

Votto should be smart enough to know it's not personal, it's business. Phillips is spot on. Jocketty and Castellini are the only two that should be bothered by it.