Former Athletics second baseman Tony Phillips dead at 56
Former Oakland Athletics second baseman Tony Phillips died of an apparent heart attack Friday, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
He was 56.
Phillips played in MLB from 1982–1999. After spending the first eight seasons of his career with the A’s, he bounced around the league with the Tigers, Angels, White Sox, Blue Jays and Mets before returning to Oakland for his final season.
Phillips was a member of the 1989 World Series champion Oakland team, throwing the final out of the series between the Athletics and Giants.
Phillips finished his major league career with 2,023 hits. He was still active in baseball during his retirement, having played eight games for the independent-league Pittsburg Diamonds last year.
“You always knew when he was in the house. He was just a little sparkplug, fiery,” Former Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart told Slusser. “Just a good, good friend.”
