Wood vs Wood #188

 Last time it was '62 with a 6-2 victory. Who will win this time?

Chuck Hiller gives the photographer full effort as he pretends to fire the ball to first. Hiller was a good-field, no-hit second baseman, typical of the era. He played eight seasons in the majors, mostly with the Giants and Mets, and in 704 games he hit .243 with 20 HR and 152 RBI. Despite his light bat, he is best known for a home run - in Game 4 of the 1962 World Series, he became the first NLer to hit a World Series grand slam. It helped the Giants win the game, though they eventually lost the Series to the Yankees. After his playing days he had a long career coaching and managing minor league teams for several organizations. He died of leukemia in 2004.

Topps gets a nice angle of Tony Phillips's distinctive batting stance in a game at Baltimore. This would have to be Sunday, May 18, 1986. Phillips had a double, a single and a walk in four plate appearances, driving in a run and scoring two. It wasn't nearly enough, however, as the A's got pummeled 13-4. The versatile Phillips was capable of playing multiple positions and regularly moved around the infield and outfield, with over 400 games at four different positions. He played for the A's from 1982 to 1989 and was an OK hitter, hitting in the mid-.250s with a little speed and not much power. In 1988 he made the last out of the World Series as a batter; in 1989 he had a much happier outcome, recording the last out as a fielder. After the 1989 season he signed with Detroit and changed dramatically as a hitter. His strikeouts went up significantly but his walks were up even higher, and his batting average and power numbers went up as well. As a leadoff hitter he was a catalyst for one of the most explosive offenses in the league. He led the AL in runs scored in 1992 and in walks in 1993 and again in 1996, by which time he was a White Sox. He also had stints with the Angels, Blue Jays and Mets, returning to the A's in 1999 at the age of 40, for whom he played his last major league game. Overall in 2,161 games he hit .266 with 160 HR and 819 RBI, and he ranks 42nd all-time with 1,319 walks. In his 50s he briefly returned to pro ball. He played in 40 games in the North American League in 2011 and 2012, and in 2015 at the age of 56 he played in eight games for the Pittsburg Mettle of the Pacific Association. He died the following February of a heart attack.