Jason Phillips (catcher)

1. Early life and family

Jason Phillips' early life was rooted in Southern California, where he began his journey into professional baseball.

1.1. Birth and background

Jason Phillips was born on September 27, 1976, in La Mesa, California, located within San Diego County.

1.2. Family

Jason Phillips has a brother, Kyle Phillips, who was also a professional baseball player and catcher.

Jason Phillips' playing career spanned multiple levels of professional baseball, from his draft by the New York Mets to his Major League tenure and later independent league play, primarily as a catcher and first baseman.

2.1. Draft and minor league career

Phillips was selected by the New York Mets in the 1997 MLB Draft, in the 24th round, as the 720th overall pick, marking his professional entry into baseball. He spent several years playing in the minor leagues, developing his skills before reaching the major league level. Later in his career, after his time in MLB, he would also play in independent leagues.

2.2. New York Mets

Phillips made his major league debut with the New York Mets on September 19, 2001, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2003, the Mets experimented with Phillips at first base to utilize his batting strengths, while he also served as a backup catcher to veteran Mike Piazza. This season marked a breakout for Phillips offensively, as he achieved a batting average of .298, along with 11 home runs and 58 RBI. However, in 2004, his offensive production saw a sharp decline, though he maintained strong defense, committing only one error throughout the entire season.

2.3. Los Angeles Dodgers

On March 20, 2005, Phillips was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii. During his tenure with the Dodgers, Phillips saw a slight improvement in his offensive numbers. He also recorded career highs in both starts and games played as a backstop, solidifying his role as a key backup catcher.

2.4. Toronto Blue Jays

Phillips signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on January 3, 2006. He received an invitation to spring training, where he was slated to compete with Guillermo Quiróz for the backup catching position behind the team's incumbent starter, Gregg Zaun. However, the Blue Jays' subsequent signing of veteran catcher Bengie Molina made it unlikely that either Phillips or Quiróz would secure the backup role. Quiróz was later claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners. Phillips began the 2006 regular season with the Blue Jays after Zaun was placed on the disabled list. Just a few days into the season, on April 7, Phillips was designated for assignment, a day before Zaun was activated from the disabled list. On April 12, Phillips was outrighted to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. He was briefly recalled to the major league roster in July 2006 to fill a void after Shea Hillenbrand was traded to the San Francisco Giants, but he was soon outrighted back to Syracuse in exchange for Francisco Rosario.

Following Bengie Molina's departure via free agency to the San Francisco Giants in the winter of 2007, Phillips once again became the Blue Jays' primary backup catcher and occasionally played as a reserve infielder. However, his performance continued to struggle; he was batting only .208 with one home run and 12 RBI when he was released by the team on July 20, 2007.

2.5. Independent league and retirement

After his release from the Toronto Blue Jays, Phillips spent the 2007 and 2008 seasons playing minor league and independent league baseball. In 2008, he played for the Camden Riversharks, a team in the Atlantic League, an independent professional baseball league. He retired from playing baseball at the end of the 2008 season. He was invited to the Seattle Mariners 2009 spring training camp, but his services as a player were no longer required.

2.6. Playing style and characteristics

Phillips primarily played as a catcher but was also frequently utilized at first base, especially from 2003 onwards, to maximize his offensive contributions. He was a right-handed thrower and right-handed batter. While known for his strong batting, his defensive skills as a catcher were considered a weakness, particularly his arm strength, and he was noted for committing a higher number of errors. Phillips was not known for his speed on the basepaths; in April 2006, The Hardball Times, using a formula based on Bill James' speed scores, identified him as the slowest active ballplayer.

3. Coaching career

After concluding his playing career, Jason Phillips transitioned into baseball coaching, serving various roles for multiple Major League Baseball organizations.

3.1. Seattle Mariners

On April 1, 2009, Phillips accepted a position with the Seattle Mariners as their bullpen catcher. This marked his official entry into a coaching or support staff role within a Major League Baseball organization, following his final playing years in the independent leagues.

Year	Team	Games	Plate Appearances	At Bats	Runs	Hits	Doubles	Home Runs	Total Bases	RBI	Caught Stealing	Sacrifice Hits	Sacrifice Flies	Walks	Intentional Walks	Hit By Pitch	Strikeouts	GIDP	Batting Average	On-base Percentage	Slugging Percentage	OPS
2001	NYM	6	7	7	2	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.143	.143	.286	.429
2002	NYM	11	22	19	4	7	0	1	10	3	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	.368	.409	.526	.935
2003	NYM	119	453	403	45	120	25	11	178	58	1	0	1	39	3	10	50	21	.298	.373	.442	.815
2004	NYM	128	412	362	34	79	18	7	118	34	1	2	5	35	4	8	42	11	.218	.298	.326	.624
2005	LAD	121	434	399	38	95	20	10	145	55	1	2	4	25	4	4	50	16	.238	.287	.363	.650
2006	TOR	25	51	48	4	12	6	0	18	6	1	0	1	1	0	1	5	2	.250	.275	.375	.650
2007	TOR	55	158	144	11	30	7	1	40	12	1	2	0	10	0	2	21	5	.208	.269	.278	.547
MLB: 7 years	465		1537	1382	138	344	77	30	511	168	5	6	12	111	11	26	170	56	.249	.314	.370	.684

5. Jersey numbers

During his Major League Baseball career, Jason Phillips wore the following jersey numbers for each team:

26 (2001) - New York Mets
7 (2002) - New York Mets
23 (2003-2004) - New York Mets
9 (2005) - Los Angeles Dodgers
47 (2006-2007) - Toronto Blue Jays

6. External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080517101307/http://www.riversharks.com/roster.cfm?rosterID=79 Jason Phillips Camden Riversharks Player Page]