Brandon Phillips continues the glorious march
The flawless combination of offensive and defensive capability is no less than a rarity in baseball. It is this reason that those with the aforementioned skills are more often than not remain prominent, and admired.
The annals of history carry the names of the all-time best second basemen: Rogers Hornsby, Eddie Collins, Napoleon Lajoie, Charlie Gehringer, Jackie Robinson, Frankie Frisch, Ryne Sandberg, Joe Morgan, Jeff Kent and Roberto Alomar.
While they are indisputably the greats, dominating the list and being a permanent source of inspiration for the players and fans alike, there are a few second basemen in this era whose distinction and transcendence are equally conspicuous.
Although admirers and detractors tend to exaggerate and underestimate, there is a player who has been a proven winner: Brandon Phillips.
For many, the batting average that he carries might not be an evidence and strong enough argument to put him in the list of aforementioned greats. However, there are a number of things that go to his favour.
Consider.
The Raleigh, North Carolina native has distinguished himself from his contemporaries by his incredible consistency, effectiveness and powerfulness that form an ideal and distinct combination for a player of his calibre.
Anyone who finds the aforementioned laudation an instance of exaggeration, just quickly have a look at the awards he has won so far. From being thrice Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner to being a Silver Slugger to have made it to the National League All-Star
teams twice, Phillips has dominated the game in and out of the field.
Twice in his stint with the Cincinnati Reds, 2010 and 2012, has he enabled the team to win the National League Central title. Not only that, Phillips has consistently performed to keep the Reds up offensively and defensively ever since he became part of
the Reds.
It was in 2007 that he was traded to the Reds. Whatever the reasons that resulted in the trade, Phillips was to look forward to building a career that had solid foundation.
In his first year with the Reds, he produced two 9-game hitting streaks. That was the year when he led the Reds with 148 hits. With his 25 stolen bases, he led the National League second baseman, finishing the season with .288 batting average – 30 homers
which were a single-season record by any Reds second baseman, homers and 94 RBIs.
That was the year when he got four-year contract extension by the Reds.
In 2008, the second baseman – owing to his .900 fielding percentage, and with remarkable batting performance, he won Gold Glove Award. Add to it the 78-game errorless streak that Brandon Phillips had, winning a Fielding Bible Award.
Two years after that, in 2010, Brandon Phillips won the second Gold Glove Award – a year when his team also won the National League Central title. The next year saw his third Gold Glove Award when he had .992 fielding percentage in 721 chances.
That was also the year when he won the first Silver Slugger Award, batting .300 with 183 hits, 18 homers and 82 RBIs.
This year, he batted .281 in 147 appearances with 18 homers and 77 RBIs, having .750 OPS.
In short, Phillips has proven his ascendancy as prolific hitter, and someone dominant on the field. And it will not be long before he books a spot in the history the way his predecessors did.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect the official editorial policy of Bettor.com
Tags: