One the face of it, this is a Lexibell photo of one of the most obscure minor leaguers captured for posterity -- but there's a story worthy of his inclusion here.
Spring training, 1968: Modesto Reds manager Joe Cunningham tries a hat on for size of "rookie" pitcher Darell Phillips. The Reds, actually a Cardinals' farm team, used Phillips in exactly one game -- just as they did in 1969 and 1971. You see, Phillips happened to be the Sports Editor of the Modesto Bee, the hometown paper!
But he was also an amateur pitcher of some skill. At age 32, his 1968 outining wound up being two shutout innings, allowing one hit. The following year, he worked three innings, allowin three runs (two earned). His final outing, in 1971, he started a game, worked five innings, allowing six runs (three earned).
But Phillips' story did not end as George Plimpton wannabe. He moved on to start up a paper in his hometown of Manteca, then two years later was named publisher of the established Manteca Bulletin. He held that job until 1998, and won awards for his editorials in four different years. He was on the verge of buying a paper, the Calaveras Enterprise, when he was swept off a footbridge over a rain-swollen creek and drowned in 1998 at the age of 62.
