Brett Phillips grew up 20 minutes from Tropicana Field. He sold newspapers outside the stadium as a kid to raise money for his travel ball team. He rooted for the Rays, then played for them, then delivered one of the most unforgettable hits in franchise history.
Now he works for them.
The Rays announced this week that Phillips, 31, has been hired as the team’s brand engagement executive, a newly created position under CEO Ken Babby and the ownership group that purchased the franchise in September for a reported $1.7 billion.
“Rays fans, I’ve got some very exciting news to share with you,” Phillips said in a video announcement. “A kid from Seminole, Florida, just 20 minutes away, who grew up rooting for this team and then had the opportunity to play for this team — and now, full circle, I get to work for this team.”
The role is broad by design. Phillips said he plans to build relationships with season ticket holders, corporate sponsors, suite holders and the wider fan base. He described it as an extension of what he did best during his playing days: connecting with people.
“What sticks out most to me is the time I got to spend 15, 20 minutes before the games with the fans,” he said. “And now I’m going to begin to do that full time.”
Phillips made his debut in the new position Feb. 14 at the Rays’ 2026 Fan Fest Block Party outside Tropicana Field — the team’s first event back in St. Petersburg after spending last season at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa while the Trop underwent repairs from Hurricane Milton damage.
He promised a personal touch.
“Do not be surprised when you see a phone call from me or an email,” Phillips said. “It’s not AI. It’s me.”
A Seminole High graduate, Phillips was drafted by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. He reached the majors with Milwaukee in 2017 and played parts of seven seasons for five teams — the Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Rays, Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels — compiling a .187 career batting average with 31 home runs over 393 games.
But it was more than stats. Phillips became one of the most popular players in Rays history through sheer force of personality and a knack for delivering in moments that mattered.
The biggest came Oct. 24, 2020, in Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Rays trailing 7-6, Phillips pinch-hit against All-Star closer Kenley Jansen. Down to his last strike, he lined a single to center that scored the tying run. Randy Arozarena scored the winner on a pair of Dodgers errors, and Phillips celebrated with his signature airplane run across the outfield.
He was the first player since Kirk Gibson in 1988 to deliver a walk-off hit with two outs and his team trailing in the World Series.
In the summer of 2021, Phillips hit three grand slams in 19 plate appearances, a stretch rivaled only by Jim Northrup in 1968. He added an inside-the-park home run in the same span, breaking a record held by Babe Ruth.
Off the field, Phillips forged bonds that made him more than a ballplayer to the fan base. In April 2022, he met 8-year-old Chloe Grimes, a St. Petersburg girl fighting cancer for the second time. Grimes gave Phillips a bracelet before the game and threw him the ceremonial first pitch. That night, while Grimes was being interviewed on the broadcast, Phillips launched a home run. He choked up talking about it afterward, then helped raise money for her medical bills through his Baseball is Fun foundation and Rays charities.
Two days after his own jersey giveaway at Tropicana Field that July, Phillips was designated for assignment. He was traded to Baltimore for cash. He played briefly for the Orioles and Angels before attempting a comeback as a pitcher in the New York Yankees’ minor league system in 2024. He announced his retirement on Oct. 5.
Phillips is married to Brianna Hillman Phillips, daughter of former Royals manager Trey Hillman. They live in Largo.
His hiring fits the vision Babby outlined when the ownership group took over. Babby, who previously owned the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Akron RubberDucks, has emphasized affordable, fan-centered experiences and community engagement as priorities for the franchise.
Phillips said his first order of business is making season ticket holders feel valued.
“You are our day ones,” he said. “You guys are our foundation.”
He acknowledged the moment still felt surreal, the kid who went to his first Fan Fest at the Trop, who hawked newspapers outside the gates, now greeting fans on behalf of the organization.
“I will be the brand engagement executive,” Phillips said, “and it’s going to be all-encompassing.”