Tony Phillips, Former A's And Mets Player, Dead At 56
PHOENIX (CBSNewYork/AP) — Tony Phillips, an infielder and outfielder who made the final defensive play in the Oakland Athletics' sweep of the Giants during the earthquake-interrupted 1989 World Series and later played briefly for the Mets, has died. He was 56.
The A's didn't provide a cause of death Friday in announcing Phillips' passing, which the club said occurred Wednesday in Arizona and was unexpected. The San Francisco Chronicle reported he died of an apparent heart attack.
Phillips played nine of his 18 major league seasons with the A's, and he also spent five years with Detroit, two each with the Angels and White Sox and one year for both the Mets and Toronto. He returned to Oakland for his final season in 1999 and was a career .266 hitter with 160 home runs and 819 RBIs in 2,161 games.
A's President Michael Crowley says, "The Oakland A's lost another member of our family this week with the unexpected passing of Tony Phillips. We all have fond memories of Tony making the final play in the A's 1989 World Series. He was a remarkable player. Our thoughts are with his family."
Tony La Russa, Phillips' manager with the A's and now the Arizona Diamondbacks' chief baseball officer, told the Chronicle: "He had so much energy. He was so feisty. ... Nothing fazed him. And you could play him anywhere.
"He was still in great shape, he was down here at our camp three or four days a week. I'm just in shock."
Phillips, at age 39, played in 52 games for the Mets in 1998, batting .223 with three home runs.
