Phil Plantier

Phillip Alan Plantier

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Poway High School
• Debut August 21, 1990
• Final Game September 28, 1997
• Born January 27, 1969 in Manchester, NH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Phil Plantier was signed as an 11th Round pick in the 1987 amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox and scout Ray Boone. Plantier struggled in his first two professional seasons with the Elmira Pioneers and the Winter Haven Red Sox in 1987 and 1988, respectively. In 1989, however, Plantier established himself as a legitimate prospect. He finished 4 hits shy of winning the Carolina League Triple Crown. His 27 home runs and 105 RBI led the league but his .300 batting average was third behind Luis Mercedes (.309) and John Wehner (.301). He was the 6th player from Lynchburg in 7 years, either the Mets or Red Sox, to win the Carolina League MVP, following Lenny Dykstra (1983), Barry Lyons (1984), Shawn Abner (1985), Gregg Jefferies (1986), and Mickey Pina (1988).

In 1990, Plantier led the entire minor leagues with 33 home runs while playing in AAA with the Pawtucket Red Sox. He also led the International League by striking out 148 times. He earned a promotion to the majors and made his Major League debut on August 21st. Plantier had 2 hits, including a double, in 15 at-bats at the Major League level in 1990.

Plantier split the next two seasons, 1991 and 1992, between AAA Pawtucket and Boston. He batted .272 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI in 161 games at the Major League level during that time. He was traded by the Red Sox to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Jose Melendez following the 1992 season.

Phil was an impact player for the Padres. He led the team with 34 home runs, 100 RBI, 61 walks, and 124 strike outs in 1993. He was second in the National League with one home run every 13.6 at-bats, MVP Barry Bonds hit one every 11.7 at-bats. He finished in the top ten in the league in home runs, RBI, and strikeouts.

He was involved in an twelve-player trade, one of the largest in baseball history, in which the Padres traded him with Craig Shipley, Pedro Martinez, Ricky Gutierrez, Doug Brocail and Derek Bell to the Houston Astros for Sean Fesh, Brian Williams, Roberto Petagine, Steve Finley, Andujar Cedeno and Ken Caminiti.

Plantier was the hitting coach at Point Loma Nazarene University in 2006-2007.

In 2007 Plantier managed the Macon Music of the independent South Coast League in their lone season of existence. He led the team to a 58-31 record and a spot in the League championship game. After the league folded, Plantier joined the Seattle Mariners organization for the next three years. He was the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx hitting coach in 2008 and their manager in 2009. Plantier finished his Seattle sojourn in 2010 as a Mariners' minor league hitting coordinator.

Plantier moved to the San Diego Padres organization in 2011 as the hitting coach for the Lake Elsinore Storm. When manager Carlos Lezcano left the team unexpectedly for personal reasons on June 2nd, Plantier was named interim manager for the remainder of the season. In 2012 the Padres promoted Plantier to their major league hitting coach position. He stayed until the end of the 2014 season, being dismissed after the Padres had a particularly difficult season with the bat. Plantier had been the sixth hitting coach since the Padres began playing in spacious Petco Park in 2004. The list of coaches includes Dave Magadan, Merv Rettenmund, Wally Joyner, Jim Lefebvre, and Randy Ready. All were fired except Joyner, who resigned late in the 2008 season before he could be fired.

After three years away from baseball, Plantier returned in 2018-2019 as the hitting coach for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and was scheduled to return in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Plantier was a hitting coach for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2021-2022. In 2023 he was named assistant hitting coach of the Los Angeles Angels, but stayed for only one season.

Plantier's nephew, Kyle Plantier, was a sophomore on the University of California, Santa Barbara squad that made the 2016 College World Series.

Notable Achievements

• 20 Home Runs Seasons: 1 (1993)
• 30 Home Runs Seasons: 1 (1993)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1993)

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
2007	Macon Music	South Coast League	58-31	2nd	Independent Leagues	Lost League Finals
2009	West Tenn Diamond Jaxx	Southern League	62-78	10th	Seattle Mariners
2011	Lake Elsinore Storm	California League	46-40	5th (t)	San Diego Padres	League Champs	replaced Carlos Lezcano (23-31) on June 3