Phil Garner obit

Phil Garner, 3-time All-Star who managed Astros to '05 pennant, dies at 76

 

He was not on the list.

It was Hall of Fame announcer Milo Hamilton who gave infielder Phil Garner the nickname “Scrap Iron” while both were with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the late 1970s. Hamilton saw a young third baseman knocking down balls, always with dirt on his uniform, and noticed that nothing seemed to bother him.

He was as tough as scrap iron. Boy, was he.

The nickname stuck throughout Garner’s career and personified the hard-nosed infielder who made three All-Star Games during his 16-year playing career with the A’s, Pirates, Astros, Dodgers and Giants from 1973-88. He later managed the Brewers, Tigers and Astros with the same fire and brimstone, leading Houston to its first World Series berth in 2005. Garner passed away on Saturday at age 76.

"Phil Garner passed away peacefully last night, April 11, surrounded by family and love after a two-plus-year battle with pancreatic cancer," his family said in a statement. "Phil never lost his signature spark of life he was so well known for or his love for baseball which was with him until the end. Special thanks to the Houston Medical Center, MD Anderson, Baylor St. Lukes and all the Doctors and Nurses for their excellent care and support." Garner was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2024 and underwent numerous radiation and chemotherapy treatments for more than two years. The Astros celebrated him one last time when he threw out the first pitch before a game on April 30, 2025 – his 76th birthday. Several of his former teammates and players that he managed in Houston were in attendance and were united in their respect for Garner.

“On behalf of the Astros, Whitney and I send our heartfelt condolences to Phil’s wife, Carol, their children and to his many friends, fans and admirers," Astros owner and chairman Jim Crane said in a statement released by the team. "Phil Garner’s contributions to the Houston Astros, the city of Houston and to the game of baseball will not be forgotten.”

“He was competitive. He was honest. He told you the truth. He made you accountable -- all the great things that leaders do,” Hall of Fame first baseman Jeff Bagwell said. “I think Gar just did a tremendous job of that. You could see how much he cared about his players, cared about winning and our organization. It was just a pleasure to play for him and be his friend.”

Philip Mason Garner was born on April 30, 1949, in Jefferson City, Tenn., about 30 miles northeast of Knoxville. The son of a Baptist preacher, he grew up in nearby Rutledge and moved to Knoxville after his sophomore year in high school with hopes of getting a baseball scholarship.

He earned a scholarship from the University of Tennessee, where he was a two-time All-SEC performer for the Volunteers. Garner’s jersey, No. 18, was retired by the Volunteers in 2009. Garner was drafted by the Expos in the eighth round in 1970 but didn’t sign. The A’s took him with the third overall pick of the secondary draft in January 1971.

Garner made his debut with the A’s in 1973 – in the midst of Oakland’s run of three consecutive World Series titles from 1972-74. Garner was stuck behind Sal Bando at third base and played in only 39 combined games in ’73-74 but by ’75 was entrenched as a starter at second base. He made his first All-Star team in 1976 and hit .261 with eight homers, 74 RBIs and 36 stolen bases that season for Oakland.

Garner was traded to the Pirates just prior to the 1977 season and played in at least 150 games a season from 1977-80. In 1979, he batted .293 with 11 homers and 59 RBIs for the “We Are Family” Pirates who won the World Series. Garner was 12-for-24 in the Fall Classic against the Orioles.

“Phil Garner was a fierce competitor, a respected leader, and a cherished part of the Pirates family,” said Pirates chairman Bob Nutting in a statement. “His contributions to the 1979 World Series championship team will forever be part of Pirates history. We always appreciated welcoming Phil back to Pittsburgh, and it was evident how deeply this city, this team, his teammates, and our fans meant to him.

“He will be remembered not only for the grit, passion, and heart he brought to the game, but also for the way he carried himself as a devoted family man and respected member of the baseball community.

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Carol, his sons, Eric and Ty, his daughter, Bethany, his six grandchildren, and the entire Garner family during this difficult time. Phil will be deeply missed.”

After making two more All-Star teams with Pittsburgh in 1980 and ’81, Garner was dealt to the Astros at the Trade Deadline in ’81 and found a lifelong home in Houston. He spent the next seven seasons with the Astros, helping them win the NL West title in 1986, before finishing his career with the Dodgers (1987) and Giants (1988).

Garner joined Astros manager Art Howe’s coaching staff as first-base coach immediately after his playing career ended and spent three years (1989-91) on his staff.

“Great teammates, great fun, good players, and a good team, and good guys to be around,” Garner said of his time with the Astros. “As a player it was great fun, and as a coach for three years, I had the wonderful experience of being with Art Howe, and [general manager] Bill Wood was terrific to work with. … We had a great core of players that you just loved being around, that you know you’ve got a chance to win when the season starts. I’m very grateful and very blessed to have been a part of it.”

Garner began his managerial career a year later, guiding the Brewers to a 92-70 record and a second-place finish in the AL East. He went 563-617 in eight years in Milwaukee before being fired during the ’99 season.

"The Brewers are saddened to learn of the passing of former manager Phil Garner," the team said in a statement. "Following a distinguished playing career, Phil served as our manager from 1992-99 and went on to manage the second-most games in franchise history. He was a very highly respected and beloved individual who was known for his caring nature, wisdom and sense of humor. Our deepest condolences go out to Phil's wife, Carol, and all of his family, friends and fans."

“Every young kid, you come up and you need somebody to look up to and Phil was that guy for me,” said second baseman Bill Doran, who played with Garner in Houston and was on one of his Brewers teams. “His personality, he could come in and light up the clubhouse. How he treated people, just the kind of teammate he was, I really looked up to Gar.”

The Tigers hired Garner as manager in 2000 and he was 145-179 in his first two seasons before being fired six games into the ’02 season when the Tigers were 0-6. Garner continued to make his home in Houston, so when the Astros were preparing to fire manager Jimy Williams at the All-Star break in 2004, general manager Gerry Hunsicker called Garner to gauge his interest.

The Astros, having signed Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens in the offseason, were stumbling to an unacceptable 44–44 record at the All-Star break and needed a spark. Garner was the man for the job.

“I knew he was local and I knew he would be warmly received in the Houston market and I knew that some of our players, like Bagwell and [Craig] Biggio, knew him and that he would be a very comfortable fit,” Hunsicker said. “It’s not easy to make a change in midseason, but those characteristics and his easygoing demeanor, his ability to communicate with players, his knowledge of some of the players we had, all made him a very comfortable fit.”

The Astros eventually rallied behind Garner, going 36-10 down the stretch in 2004 to win the National League Wild Card on the final day of the regular season. They beat the Atlanta Braves for their first playoff series win in franchise history before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series.

“Sometimes you take the identity of your manager,” Bagwell said. “I think that’s what we did when he became our manager.”

A year later, the Astros overcame a 15-30 start and again won the NL Wild Card in the final game of the regular season. Houston won its first NL pennant, beating the Cardinals in the NLCS in seven games, before being swept in four games by the White Sox in its first Fall Classic. The Astros went 82-80 in ’06 and Garner was fired in August 2007 with a 58-73 record. He finished his managerial career with a 985-1,054 record.

“I really felt like he did a great job when he came in midseason and just basically asked us, ‘Hey, what do you think is the problem here? What can we do to fix it?’” former Astros slugger Lance Berkman said. “I felt like the way he came in and went about winning the club over was well done. The guys all loved Gar. Gar’s a guy that is fun to play for. He provided that spark that was missing.”

Garner and his wife, Carol (married April 11, 1971), met at the University of Tennessee. They were married 55 years. She graduated in 1972 and Phil came back and earned his degree in business administration in 1973. They have three children – sons Eric and Ty, daughter Bethany – and six grandchildren.

In 1973, he played for the Tucson Toros of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, with a .289 batting average, 14 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 87 runs scored. He came up to the A's for nine games at the end of the year, but was back at Tucson for the majority of the following year in 1974. He was even better at Tucson in 1974, batting .330, but again played sparsely when called up to the A's later in the year. The A's won two World Series in 1973 and 1974, but Garner was not on the World Series roster either year. Garner's problem was the A's had an All-Star third baseman in Sal Bando, and there was no place for Garner to play.

Before the 1977 season, the Athletics traded Garner, Chris Batton, and Tommy Helms to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tony Armas, Rick Langford, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Doc Medich, and Mitchell Page.

He attended the University of Tennessee on a baseball scholarship, playing second and third base on the baseball team from 1968–70. In 1969, he led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in home runs (12), and twice led his team in runs batted in (RBI). He was selected All-Southeastern Conference twice, and was named an All-American in 1970. Two years after being drafted into professional baseball, in 1973, Garner graduated with a Business Administration degree.

On October 30, 1991, Garner was named manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, replacing Tom Trebelhorn. Garner was hired by general manager Sal Bando, his former A’s teammate. The Brewers chose him over Tony Muser, Don Baylor, Gene Tenace (another A's teammate), Mike Cubbage, Tommy Sandt, and Gene Lamont. He was one of several former players at the time named manager of a major league team without previous major league managing experience. He quickly installed a running-focused style of play as every starter that year stole at least 10 bases. Standing out were 1992 AL Rookie of the Year Pat Listach,[29] who stole 54 bases, veteran Paul Molitor stealing 31 (doing so in his final season with the team), and outfielder Darryl Hamilton stealing 41.

He led the team to a nine-game improvement from the previous year and led the Brewers to second place in the American League East Division, losing out by four games to the eventual world champion Toronto Blue Jays. He finished second in voting for American League Manager of the Year. However, it would be the last time until 2007 that the team would finish above .500. Garner would lead them to more than 80 losses in four of his six full seasons spent with the team, which saw icons such as Paul Molitor and Robin Yount leave (the former in free agency and the latter due to retirement). He was fired in the midst of a 1999 season that saw them at 52–60 (Jim Lefebvre would replace him and go 22–27 to close out the year).

A 1993 game saw Garner refer to Chicago White Sox broadcasters Ken Harrelson and Tom Paciorek as "idiots" for their on-air insinuation that Garner was advising his pitcher to hit Frank Thomas. Garner challenged them to a fight, but they eventually resolved their differences.

During a July 22, 1995, game against the Chicago White Sox, Garner was involved in a bench-clearing brawl, exchanging blows with White Sox manager Terry Bevington in a rare skipper-on-skipper fistfight. Garner, along with Bevington, was suspended four games for the fracas. With a record of 563–617 as manager, Garner led the Brewers for most wins and losses as a manager. Craig Counsell passed him in wins in 2022

 

Teams

As player

Burlington Bees

Iowa Oaks

Oakland Athletics (1973–1976)

Pittsburgh Pirates (1977–1981)

Houston Astros (1981–1987)

Los Angeles Dodgers (1987)

San Francisco Giants (1988)

As manager

 

Milwaukee Brewers (1992–1999)

Detroit Tigers (2000–2002)

Houston Astros (2004–2007)