CINCINNATI — Brandon Phillips is a man never at a
loss for words — ask him for a drink of water and he gives you Niagara Falls.
Brandon Phillips is a man who displays nothing but positive emotions with a
smile as broad as the Caribbean Sea.
Speechless? Tears? Doesn't happen in a decade of leap years when Brandon's in
the house.
That moment arrived Tuesday when Phillips, All-Star/Gold Glove/Silver Slugger
second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, agreed to a six-year, $72.5 million
contract extension.
He was so happy he cried, "And I never cry," when he told his mother
that he was staying in Cincinnati through 2017 to the end of his career.
"I'm never nervous and never at a loss for words, but
I'm not even going to lie to you, this is probably the first time I've ever
been nervous and the first time I've been at a loss for words," Phillips
said.
Cincinnati is where he wants to be and Cincinnati is where he wants to end his
career. And now it will happen.
Phillips is on the final year of his contract and is making $12 million a year.
Negotiations for an extension began in December and dragged and dragged and
dragged.
Meanwhile, the Reds invested $225 million to extend first baseman Joey Votto's
deal for 10 more years and invested $17 million for a three-year extension to
newly acquired relief pitcher Sean Marshall. Phillips? Talks stalled. The Reds
wanted to sign him to a five-year deal. The Phillips people wanted six and the
Reds relented.
"I begged my agents and general manager Walt Jocketty to get this
done," Phillips said. "I wanted to stay in Cincinnati, finish my
career in Cincinnati. I didn't want to be a free agent, even though I know what
some other guys out there are getting (on the free-agent market).
And it is obvious how much Phillips wanted to remain in Cincinnati. He is
making $12 million this year. His $72.5 million deal is almost $12 million a
year for the next six years. That's no raise, and with inflation the value of
the contract probably decreases as the years roll by.
"I never thought something like this would ever happen for me," Phillips
said. "I cried like a mug with my mom. I told her, 'Mom, I finally made
it.' It's a great day for me. It shows how hard I worked.
“I got designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians
and I came to the Reds and they gave me a second chance to use my talent. I've
come a long way and I thank the Reds organization for giving me this
opportunity."
The man who gave Phillips that opportunity was manager Dusty Baker after then
general manager Wayne Krivsky acquired him from Cleveland for pitcher Jeff
Stevens on April 7, 2006. Actually, the Tribe gave Phillips to the Reds, asking
only for cash or a player to be determined later. Stevens wasn't sent to the
Indians until June 13 and hasn't been heard from since.
Said Baker, another guy whose contract expires after this season, "In all
my years in baseball I've been around a lot of good and great players. None
worked any harder or exerted any more effort or energy than Brandon Phillips.
He is only going to get better and better."
To that Phillips said, "Thank you, Dusty. I love you, too."
But, as Phillips says, that doesn't preclude some butt-kicking or butt-chewing
if Baker feels Phillips needs it. Even the rich kid needs discipline.
For Jocketty and CEO/owner Bob Castellini, the Phillips signing is another
gigantic attention-grabber for a small-market franchise, a franchise that just
invested nearly $300 million in two players within the span of a week.
"This is another big day for the Cincinnati Reds franchise and our great
fans," Jocketty said. "We now have under contract for the next
several years the cornerstone of our All-Star Gold Glove infield. We have
signed a very solid foundation and along with all the young talent we have on
our major league roster and the deep talent in our farm system, we have a
chance to build the franchise into a winner for many years to come, to
revitalize this great franchise."
Said Castellini of his spending spree as part of his endeavor to return the
franchise to the top of heap, "You have your cornerstone signings, and
certainly Joey and Brandon are part of that. You do that to build a foundation
for the franchise for years to come. I don't anticipate to continue to have all
these huge contracts."
Phillips, who found his voice and his smile as Tuesday zipped by, reads into
the sudden money tree as a positive note.
"This shows that we are trying to win and bring some championships to this
city," he said. "I'm glad and I'm thankful that they paid me and Joey
to be here to try to build around us. We're not trying to rebuild, we're trying
to win. You want to win, not just compete."
Phillips may be lesser paid than Votto, but he is probably the face of the
franchise because of his intermingling with fans, a lot of it through his
DatDudeBP Twitter account.
"The fans embrace me and love me and I love 'em back, give 'em back as
much as I can," Phillips said. "I have fun, but I'm all about winning
on the field. Dusty Baker knows that, even though there will be days when he
still has to kick my butt."
Phillips, though, now has a posterior padded with a fat wallet and everybody is
the happier for it.
