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PERSONAL:
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- Jason's father, Clyde Phillips, was drafted by both the Reds and Royals as a shortstop but never signed.
"He taught me about hard work. He and my mom struggled their whole lives, working every day just to make the bills. He worked overtime just to make sure I had a nice bat and some nice equipment. Now, everything I couldn't get, I want my son to have. I'm in a little better position financially. But I learned from my dad that you don't steal the money. You're in there working hard because everything you get has to be earned.
"My dad never knew his real dad," Phillips said. "He never saw him. His mom was 14 when he was born. He never really had a family. He and mom got married young so as soon as they got married, I came a long real soon. I was his whole life. He definitely tried to make up for the parents he didn't have. And we were always close." (Kevin Czerwinski-MLB.com-6/19/04)
- Phillips' Dad used to work on his son's game in the streets near his San Diego home. "I took many, many ground balls out in the street that my Dad would hit me," Jason recalled. "Hundreds and hundreds of ground balls, three or four times a week with a hard rubber ball. We did that constantly, and I think it helps me (now) when I'm catching."
The reason for the street sessions were to soften and quicken his hands so he would become a middle infielder. But on his way there, Phillips realized something was missing. "I started to figure out I couldn't run," Jason said. "I never had the speed, so I wasn't quick enough to be a middle infielder." And he didn't have the power to be a corner infielder. So he became a catcher.
- Phillips was a late bloomer who weighed 150 pounds as a senior at San Diego's El Capitan High School and 175 pounds at San Diego State. "For a guy with no speed," Phillips said, "175's not going to get it done."
- Jason spent a lot of time at Jack Murphy Stadium, watching the Padres when he was a youngster. He hung out near the visitor's dugout, collecting visiting players' autographs. "My Dad's company had season tickets right behind the dugout," Phillips said. "John Franco even signed a card for me when he was with the Reds."
- Jason's younger brother, Kyle, is a prospect in the Twins' organization. He was Minnesota's 10th-round pick in 2002.
"I call him every night," Jason Phillips said. "Sometimes twice a day. As soon as I get out of the park I get in the car with my wife and call Kyle. We're always talking about what he is doing. He's going through everything that I've been through only he's better than I am. I'm just helping him out now, finding out about all the things you have to do now that you're grown up."
And when Jason isn't around, his wife, Kellie calls him. "Him and his wife Kelly are super good people," Kyle Phillips said. "We're all really close. Not only are we brothers, we're more like best friends. He teaches me about baseball but he also teaches me about life and about how to grow up. He knows what goes on because he's been through it and he wants me to have the least amount of complications. I can't say enough good things about him. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be so bright about how to act away from home and how to treat people with respect. That's a big part of life, how to live on your own. The first time I was away last year I had to call him and ask how to turn on the washing machine. You have to grow up pretty fast, but he's only a phone call away and he always has the correct answer."
- Jason says wife Kellie has been a very big influence on his career. "She taught me that baseball isn't the only thing in life. It's not, and that's part of being able to withstand the ups and downs and trying to keep an even keel over a whole season."
- Jason and Kyle's father, Clyde, was a very good baseball player, too. "My Dad was drafted twice, but never signed. He got married and had to make a living because I came along not to far after that," Jason said.
- Jason hit .360-4-43 in 1997, his junior season at San Diego State and was their MVP.
- He says his favorite player is Jeff Bagwell. But that his best friend in baseball is Mets minor league pitcher Jason Roach.
- Phillips' father once told him, "Your worst day in baseball is better than my best day at work, so stay with it until they rip the shirt off your back."
- Jason enjoyed playing baseball in Australia in winter league play. " I wound up meeting my wife there. It was fun playing Winter Ball there. We would play doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday and in the second games I would play right field or first base or third base," Phillips said.
Winter ball in Australia is where he met his wife, Kelly. She was once a professional basketball player there.
- Asked what his favorite movie is, Jason said, "Definitely Braveheart. It was one of the first and only movies I ever saw that I didn't want to end. And it's a three-hour movie. I just sat there and watched and when it was over I was thinking 'Is there more?' I wanted to see something else. I've seen it about 30 times and I still get emotional when I see it."
Phillips also says he likes the movie "Caddyshack."
- "He takes a lot of flack from the guys. He's the fourth Hansen Brother," Art Howe said of Phillips' look during the 2003 season, when he was Mets manager, comparing the goggled one to the manic characters from the cult hockey movie "Slap Shot."
- Jason has glasses because he suffers from astigmatism, which occurs when the ornea of the eye has an irregular curvature and causes blurring and distortion of images. In order to correct teh condition, Phillips takes the field in his specially constructed eyewear: a normal pair of Nike EV1004 TarJ sunglasses. They have a retail value of $90, and have prescription lenses installed. The glasses are less troublesome for Jason than contact lenses.
- Jason and wife Kelly, lived in a nice apartment in Queens during the 2003 season. And they closed on their off-season home in Las Vegas in June 2003. Kelly is a native of Australia. They celebrated the birth of their first child, Jason Phillips Jr., August 4, 2003.
- When fires ravaged Southern California in October 2003, Jason's parents, Clyde and Pam, had to be evacuated from their El Cajon home in the suburbs of San Diego. "They did get evacuated for about 36 hours because the fire came to within 400 or 500 yards of their house. But they did go back. My Dad is in the plumbing business and a lot of his customers lost their homes. It was a blessing that they didn't lose their home," Jason said.
- Phillips is a popular teammate. He is a clubhouse favorite.
- On June 20, 2010: Jason married his finacee Molly Ray. It was an unusual site for a wedding, but it is where the couple met. During the Mariners' 8-7 win against the A's on May 3, 2009, Phillips tossed Ray a baseball with his phone number on it after spotting her in the stands, a connection that led to dating and an eventual marriage proposal.
Phillips told teammates he would only throw Ray the ball if the game went into extra innings, and thanks to a ninth-inning home run from Kenji Johjima, it did. The Mariners went on to win in 15 innings.
TRANSACTIONS
- March 20, 2005: The Dodgers sent P Kaz Ishii to the Mets, acquiring Phillips.
- January 3, 2006: Phillips signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jays.
- July 21, 2007: The Blue Jays released Jason.
- July, 2007: Phillips signed with the Marlins' organization. But the 2nd week of August, the Marlins released Jason.
- February 17, 2009: Jason signed with the Mariners organization.
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BATTING:
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- Phillips is a good contact hitter. He hits line drives to the gaps, but not over the fence very often.
- Jason is a tough out, working the pitcher deep and always seems to get the good part of the bat on the ball.
- Former Mets manager Art Howe said Phillips' ability to look for pitches and not just go to the plate expecting a fastball has been a plus. "He's a hitter and a thinker and can handle almost anything in the strike zone," Howe said. "I think he's cleared his first test. He's confident about himself. He believes he can do something and we believe that."
- Phillips doesn't mind "taking one for the team." You get on base, "and they save you from an 0-for-4," he said through his smile. "When you get hit, you can only go 0-for-3. Right?" He has bruises all over him, but laughs through any pain. Often his laugh is directed at himself. "They throw at my legs because they don't want me to utilize my speed," said one of the slowest Mets. "Getting hit helps your on-base percentage. Right?" Jason said.
"I'm never going to be a 30-stolen base guy and I'm probably never going to hit 30 home runs," Phillips said. "I can't run. I can't jump. So I mean, when you say athletic ability, hitting I think is more of a skill. It's part of baseball, being an athlete, but hitting is a skill where you can work on it. I was blessed with good hand- eye coordination. I should be able to hit."
- No less an authority as 2004 Mets' bench coach Don Baylor said Phillips needs to learn a thing or three about getting hit by a pitch.
"Jason takes direct hits," Baylor said. "The ball hits him and just stops and drops to the ground. I learned how to let them glance off me. I used to bring my elbow in and the ball wouldn't get me flush. It might get the catcher or the umpire. I'd pull my elbow in, get hit and I'd hear 'ugh.' But Jason doesn't do that. He just gets smoked. I haven't seen anyone bruised like that since Brooks Robinson, and his bruises were from ground balls. Jason looks like Brooks from pitches. But he doesn't move. I don't think he can get out of the way."
So it's not courage, just lack of quickness? Said Phillips, "And don't forget stupidity."
- In 2003, Jason hit .308 with 2 home runs in 117 at-bats against lefthanded pitchers, and .294 with 9 homers in 286 at-bats vs. righthanders.
In 2004, Phillips hit .224 off lefties and .217 off righthanders. Jason clearly lost his confidence, causing his poor 2004 season.
In 2005, Jason hit .270 with 4 home runs in 89 at-bats against lefthanded pitching, and .229 with 6 home runs in 310 at-bats vs. righthanders.
In 2007, Phillips only hit .191 vs. leftys, and .216 with his only home run in 97 at-bats against righthanded pitching.
- Entering the 2008 season, Phillips had a .249 career average, with 30 home runs in 1,382 at-bats.
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