There’s a great feature on Brandon Phillips in the latest issue of Cincinnati Magazine, written by Justin Williams. And I’m not saying it’s great just because I’m quoted in it briefly. Though that really does add to it all.
No, seriously, the takeaway here is that Brandon Phillips still harbors bitterness at the Reds owners for giving Joey Votto his $200 million deal before Phillips got his own $75 million extension. A $75 million extension he seems to believe is under market and was limited by Votto’s large deal, which Phillips thinks came too soon:“I just feel like they didn’t have to sign Joey to that contract. He still had two more years on his,” says Phillips. “And for [the front office] to go out there and sign him before they sign me, and they knew I was going to be a free agent?” Phillips shakes his head. “I understand Joey’s a good player. He’s one of the best players in this game. But I feel like I am too. I told them that this is where I wanted to be. I begged them. I told everybody I want to finish my career here. And then they give someone a contract who didn’t ask for nothing?”
“To this day, I’m still hurt. Well, I don’t wanna say hurt. I’ll say scarred. I’m still scarred. It just sucks that it happened,” he says. “For [Castellini] to sign somebody for $200 million, there must be a new vegetable or fruit coming out that we don’t know about. For him to do something like that and tell me they didn’t have any more money, that’s a lie. But what can I do? I just feel like it was a slap in my face.”
He quickly adds that it was “a nice slap in the face” and he does seem grateful for his deal. But it’s clear that it still bothers him.
The entire article is worth reading, by the way, because it explains Phillips’ style, openness, generosity and outspokenness in a way that truly makes him make sense. And, in light of all of that, puts his comments about Votto’s deal in an understandable context, even if you disagree with his take on the matter.