Brett Phillips, an outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays, became an overnight sensation after becoming a hero in Game 4 of the 2020 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he hit a walk-off single off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen on October 24, 2020, in Arlington, Texas.
The Houston Astros drafted Phillips in the sixth round of the 2012 amateur draft. He was then traded by the Houston Astros in 2015 to the Milwaukee Brewers and made his major league debut with the Brewers in 2017. A year after making his debut with the Milwaukee Brewers, Phillips was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2018. 2018, the outfielder played 36 games and had a batting average of .188. The following year, Phillips played in 30 games and batted .138. During the 2020 campaign, Phillips played 18 games with the Royals and batted .226 before being traded away to his hometown team, Tampa Bay Rays, where he played in just 17 games and held a batting average .196 with two home runs and five RBI’s.
After playing in just seventeen games during 60-game season in 2020, Phillips was tabbed to pinch-hit after not having an at-bat in seventeen days to try and tie the series up at two wins each in the bottom of the 9th inning while trailing the Dodgers by one run. 7 to 6 was the score with two outs in the inning, with runners on first and second base. Phillips stepped into the batter box against the Dodgers closer to Kenley Jansen, who has 312 career saves. Jansen gets ahead in the count with one ball and two strikes. On the next pitch, Phillips connected with a 92mph cutter and drilled the ball into center field as Keven Keirmaier scores from second to tie the game, and Randy Arozarena scores the winning run to win the game 8-6.
A series of events happened as Phillips drilled the ball into center field. Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor retrieving the ball with a reaction to throw home to catch Keirmaier at the plate bobbled the ball in center field, enabling Kerimarier to score. As Dodgers outfielder Taylor recovered the ball and threw to cutoff man and first baseman Max Muncy, Rays winning run, Arozarena was what looked like going to be caught in a run down as he stumbled down the third baseline. As Muncy threw the ball home for the relay to catcher Will Smith, Smith attempted to tag Arozarena at the plate without realizing that he did not catch the ball as the ball got by him, leading to Arozarena scoring the winning and Phillips becoming a walk-off hero. Following the game, Phillips said in his postgame interview, “Man, baseball is fun!… wow!”
As Phillips completed one of the most memorable moments, not only in his career but completed one of the most memorable moments in World Series history. Phillips earned himself the 2020 MLB Legendary Moments Award presented by Budweiser. Brett Phillips, who is known for his laugh around Major league Baseball, will now be known for both his laugh and his heroic walk-off in Game 4 of the 2020 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jason Hochberg 