Fall Kick Off

Following a 12-year professional baseball career, five in Major League Baseball, Andy retired.

In 2011 Phillips returned to Alabama as an assistant coach and stayed for the next 6years with the Crimson Tide.

A four-year Alabama letter winner (1996-99) and 1999 first team All-American, Phillips played for the New York Yankees (2004-07), New York Mets (2008) and Cincinnati Reds (2008) during his MLB career. He also played two years in the Nippon Professional League (Japan) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2009) and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2010).

Phillips received the Yankees' Kevin Long "Minor-League Player of the Year" Award following a 2004 season where he led all Yankees minor leaguers in batting average (.321) and RBI (101) while ranking second in home runs (30). He was voted the Most Valuable Player of the International League All-Star Game, after hitting a 10th-inning walk-off home run. Phillips later earned the James P. Dawson Award as the Yankees' most outstanding rookie during the 2005 spring training.

Andy forever etched his name into the record books of MLB be joining an elite group of players that hit a homerun with the very first pitch they saw as a major leaguer.

In four seasons at Alabama (1996-99), Phillips cemented himself as one of the all-time greats in program history, posting a .356 career batting average with 61 home runs, 224 RBI and 322 hits. He ended his career as the all-time leader in home runs, RBI and hits, and still holds the school records in career home runs and total bases (590). He is one of three players with 50 home runs and 200 RBI, one of four with 300 hits, and is the only player in school history with 50 home runs, 200 RBI and 300 hits for the Tide.

Alabama advanced to the NCAA Tournament in all four years that Phillips played, including three College World Series appearances.

After his senior campaign, Phillips was a first team All-America selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and College Baseball Insider. He garnered third team All-America honors by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. The Southeastern Conference recognized Phillips this past season at the 2015 SEC Tournament as a conference legend for his efforts across four seasons in Tuscaloosa.

Phillips played high school baseball at Demopolis Academy. He completed his bachelor's degree in sports fitness management from The University of Alabama in 1999. Phillips and his wife Bethany, married in 2004, have a daughter, Isaiah.

Leading worship and sharing her story of healing, Bethany Barr Phillips takes eight years of church staff experience to the road with a vision to share the Gospel through worship by way of her new release: Bring This Heart to Life. This full-length worship project birthed a heart in this Mississippi native to dive in head first to what God is laying before she and her team as they share these songs full of Scripture and hope.

Bethany shares, “As the band and I have traveled over the last several years, we have come across so many and were reminded that everyone has their struggles, no matter the age or place in life. So we wanted to address, through Scripture, many of those things we all come against in this world. Fear, insignificance, hopelessness, whatever, the Holy Spirit is the gift from God to walk with us through this life. We want to tell people Jesus is Who he says He is and, through trusting in Him by Holy Spirit, He will bring your heart to life.”

She has opened for artists such as Audio Adrenaline and Toby Mac, as well as led worship on platforms with speakers like Scott Dawson, David Nasser, and Dr. Jay Strack; through these experiences, her heart for leading worship and seeing God move among His people only becomes greater as her opportunities increase.

Visit Bethany's website for more info!