Phil Garner

The former Astros infielder originally joined the club after the 2004 All-Star break when he was named interim manager on July 14, 2004.

Under his guidance, the Astros have reached heights not previously attained in franchise history. In 2004, the club won its first postseason series, defeating the Atlanta Braves in five games in the NL Division Series, and fell one game short of reaching the World Series, falling to St. Louis in seven games.

In 2005 under Garner, the Astros won the first National League Championship in team history, defeating St. Louis in six games in the NL Championship Series. By advancing to the Fall Classic, last years Houston team brought the World Series to the state of Texas for the first time in baseball history, as the Astros battled the Chicago White Sox.

The 2005 season started out with the Astros holding a 15-30 record after 45 games. The improbable finish, in which the Astros earned the National Leagues Wild Card berth, made Garners Astros team the first since the 1914 Boston Braves to make the postseason after being as many as 15 games below .500 during the regular season. Garner tallied 38 points to finish third in the 2005 National League Manager of the Year voting.

By managing in the World Series in October of 2005, Garner became the player with the highest career average in World Series games (.500) to manage in the Fall Classic.

Overall, the Astros are 137-99 under Garner, and his .581 winning percentage is the best of any manager in Houston franchise history. His Houston teams have earned consecutive Wild Card berths in the playoffs, and in the second half the 2004 campaign, he guided Houston to a 48-26 record (.649). The 2004 Astros were 36-10 (.783) in their last 46 games of the 2004 regular season, the best record in baseball during that time period, the best finish in franchise history, and the second-best finish in NL history from Aug. 15 through the end of the season. He finished fourth in NL Manager of the Year voting in 2004.

Garner is in his third managerial stint and has an 845-901 (.484) overall record in 1,746 games as a Major League manager with the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers and Houston. He became the 33rd manager of the Tigers on Oct. 14, 1999, after seven-plus seasons at Milwaukee as the skipper of the Brewers. He spent two-plus seasons with Detroit, guiding the club to a 145-185 record. He is 55 wins away from 900 for his career, and 155 from becoming one of only 53 managers to reach the 1,000-win plateau.

During his tenure with the Tigers, Garner finished sixth in American League Manager of the Year voting in 2000, receiving two third-place votes. He earned his 700th win as a manager on Sept. 16, 2001, with a 6-2 victory at Minnesota, and he picked up his 600th career victory on July 4, 2000, in an 11-0 win at Tampa Bay. He was released by the Tigers in April 2002. Prior to joining the Tigers, Garner served as skipper of the Milwaukee Brewers. He was replaced as the Brewers manager on Aug. 12, 1999, and left as the clubs all-time leader in games managed and victories with a 563-617 mark. He passed Tom Trebelhorn for first place in Brewers history in wins with his 423rd on Aug. 24, 1997, in a 6-0 victory vs. Detroit. He earned his 500th career win on Aug. 26, 1998 at Colorado, and he managed in his 1,000th career game on July 17, 1998 at Atlanta.

Garner finished in the top three in balloting for the AL Manager of the Year award in two seasons, placing third in 1997 and second in 1992. He piloted Milwaukee to a 78-83 record in 1997 as the Brewers finished third in their final season in the AL, eight games out of first place. In 1996, he became the third manager in Brewers history to win 300 games as he led a young team to an 80-82 record and third in the AL Central. The club closed with a 25-16 record down the stretch, the third-best mark in the league.

Garner also finished sixth in AL Manager of the Year voting in 1995 as the Brewers tied a big league record with 10 grand slams and led the Majors in double plays turned. During the 1992 season, he led the Brewers to a 92-70 record and second place in the AL East, his first season as a big league manager. His club was the last to be eliminated from the division chases, finishing four games behind eventual World Champion Toronto. Garner succeeded Trebelhorn as the Brewers ninth manager on Oct. 30, 1991, to begin his first managerial stint.

Following the 1988 season, Garner retired as a player and assumed a coaching role on the staff of Houston manager Art Howe. He coached first base in 1989-90 and third base in 1991 while also serving as the clubs infield and baserunning instructor.

A three-time All-Star, Garner enjoyed an 18-year professional playing career beginning in 1971, when he was the first pick in the secondary phase of the January draft by Oakland. He played primarily second base and third base during his career and spent 14 full seasons, and parts of two others, in the Major Leagues with five clubs. He made his big league debut with the As in 1973 and also played for Pittsburgh, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Garner earned his first career All-Star selection for Oakland in 1976 and he was named to the AL squad in his second full year in the big leagues. He led AL second basemen in total chances that season (865). On March 15, 1977, he was traded to Pittsburgh along with Tommy Helms and Chris Batton in exchange for Tony Armas, Mitchell Page, Doc Medich, Rick Langford, Doug Blair and Dave Giusti.

In 1978, he tied a Major League record for most grand slams in two consecutive games as he hit bases-loaded homers on Sept. 14 and 15. The two grand slams also tied the NL marks for slams in a single month. The following season, he batted a career-best .293 with 32 doubles as he helped the Pirates to the 1979 World Championship. During the postseason, he set a World Series record for most double plays by a second baseman in a seven-game series (nine), and he also tied Series marks for highest batting average (.500) in a seven-game series by collecting at least one hit in each of the seven games.

He cites his manager during his tenure as a player in Pittsburgh, Chuck Tanner, as one of his primary influences during both his playing days and his current role as a manager.

Garner led NL second basemen in assists (499), total chances (869) and double plays (116) in the 1980 season, and he was named to the NL All-Star team in both 1980 and 81 for the Pirates before being dealt to Houston on Aug. 31, 1981. He was acquired by the Astros in exchange for Johnny Ray and two players to be named (Randy Niemann and Kevin Houston). He played a total of six seasons for the Astros, including 1986, when he was the primary third baseman on the Houston club which lost to the Mets in the NLCS. Garner split his final two seasons between the Astros, Dodgers and Giants, and he appeared in 15 games for San Francisco in 1988 to conclude his career.

Garner graduated from the University of Tennessee with a business degree in 1973. He played for the Volunteers from 1968-70 and was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection, the 1969 NCAA home run champion (12) and a 1970 honorable mention All-American. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 1, 2002. He was originally drafted by Montreal in the eighth round of the 1970 June draft but did not sign.

He and his wife, Carol, reside in Kingwood, Texas. His family includes: son Eric, his wife Michelle and their daughter Marilyn; son Ty and his wife, Tammy and their son Gage; and daughter Bethany. Garner was nicknamed Scrap Iron during his playing days in Pittsburgh.

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