William Taylor Phillips (born June 18, 1933), nicknamed "T-Bone", is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, from 1956–60 and 1963. During his playing days, Phillips stood tall, weighing .

Playing career

Early years

Taylor attended Douglas County High School (Douglasville, Georgia) and earned letters in baseball for three years, graduating in 1950. He attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

on a baseball scholarship for one semester.

Milwaukee Braves

Phillips entered pro baseball in 1951 and joined the Braves' organization in 1953. After spending 1954–55 in military service, he was recalled from Triple-A Wichita in June 1956, pitched effectively in

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, and then was added to the Milwaukee

starting rotation This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

in August. In five starts for the contending Braves, Phillips won three, lost two, and threw three

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s. He then moved back into the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

for the stretch drive, which saw the Braves finish just short of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL) pennant, one game behind the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

. Phillips'

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season would be his best: he posted his only over-.500

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

(5–3) and his lowest

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) (2.26). The

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The club was founded in Boston, ...

would bring home Milwaukee's first NL pennant and

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

triumph, but Phillips slumped badly during the year. In 27

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

and 73

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, he allowed 82

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, 40

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, and 45

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

; his ERA jumped to 5.55. Phillips did not pitch in the World Series, won by the Braves in seven games over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Cubs, Phillies, and White Sox

Then, in December 1957, Phillips was part of a five-player trade with the Chicago Cubs that netted the Braves starting pitcher Bob Rush. The deal set the stage for Phillips' two busiest seasons in the major leagues. In , he worked in 39 games for the Cubs, with a career-high 27 starts. Phillips threw five complete games, and in his only MLB

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

, Phillips blanked his old Milwaukee teammates, 1–0, on six hits May 25 at

County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packers fo ...

. But he lost ten of 17 decisions and posted a mediocre 4.76 earned run average. When Phillips got off to a poor start in , with a 7.56 ERA and 0–2 record through seven games, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on May 12, even-up, for another left-hander, Seth Morehead. Pitching largely in relief, Phillips continued to scuffle with the Phils, losing four of five decisions and putting up a 5.00 ERA in 72 innings pitched. As in 1958, he worked in 39 games, but made only five starts, with one complete game, for the two clubs. It would be Phillips‘ last full year in the major leagues. Sent to the minors at the beginning of , Phillips was recalled from Triple-A to make a June 2 start against the Braves at

Connie Mack Stadium Shibe Park ( , rhymes with "vibe"), known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) from 1909 to 1954 and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Natio ...

, but he lasted only two

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

, allowing six hits, four bases on balls, and four earned runs. Phillips was tagged with the 9–8 defeat, in what was his final MLB decision. In ten games and 14 innings through July 8, Phillips struggled to an 8.36 ERA. Phillips then returned to the minor leagues and would pitch at Triple-A for three years before his final big-league audition, which came in July 1963 for the Chicago White Sox. In his

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL) debut on July 23, Phillips surrendered an eighth-inning

grand slam home run In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners ("bases loaded"), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to ''The Dickson Baseball Dictionary'', the term originated in the ...

Norm Cash Norman Dalton Cash (November 10, 1933 – October 11, 1986) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. A power hitter, his 377 career home runs were the fourth most by an Americ ...

of the

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. It was the game-winning blow, although the loss was charged to Phillips’ predecessor on the mound,

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, '' The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress E ...

, who had put the winning run on base before Phillips entered the game. In later appearances against the

(August 18) and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(August 22), Phillips was treated roughly, and he finished his White Sox tenure with a 10.29 earned run average in ten games. He spent 1964 at Triple-A before retiring as an active player. In 147 big league games, 102 in

, Phillips posted a 16–22 record and 4.82 earned run average, allowing 460 hits and 211 bases on balls in 438 innings pitched. He struck out 233, earned six career saves, and threw nine complete games.

References

External links

Taylor Phillips
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Taylor 1933 births Living people American military personnel of the Korean War Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Atlanta Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Dallas Rangers players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen Philadelphia Phillies players Rapiños de Occidente players Waycross Bears players Wichita Braves players