The Oakland Athletics, whom Phillips spent most of his career playing for, announced his death Friday on Twitter.
For the modern MLB crowd who may not be familiar with Phillips, he was basically Ben Zobrist from 1982-1999.
Phillips played every position in his career except pitcher and catcher. He wasn't a tremendous power hitter in his day, breaking the 20-homer barrier once (1995), but he had an outstanding eye at the plate.
The 18-year veteran led the American League in walks twice (1993, 1996), had five seasons with at least 100 walks and 11 seasons with an on-base percentage over .