Approaching 800
Fort Plain baseball coach Craig Phillips has done things his way since 1974.
Fort Plain baseball coach Craig Phillips often, when his team needs a lift during a critical juncture, utters three simple words, “Find a way.” Over parts of six decades, the Hilltoppers have discovered a wide variety of paths to victory under the tutelage of Phillips, even when the opponent may have possessed more talent.
Phillips’ blue-collar, old-school approach, accompanied by his larger-thanlife personality, has netted 797 victories through games played Wednesday. The win total is more than anyone else in Section II history.
The veteran mentor nearly called it quits about the time he reached 700 wins in 2014 and again after leading his 2016 squad to the Class D state title. The coronavirus pandemic robbed him and his players of a chance to compete last spring, and Phillips believes that team could have competed for a state title. Phillips also considered not returning to coach in 2021. In the end, his passion for the game drew him back to the diamond.
“What really convinced me (to return) were a couple of last year’s seniors,” Phillips said. “They said, ‘We lost our season. Don’t go out this way.’ I thought about it. My wife has Alzheimer’s and I had a terrible winter. I had Lyme disease. I fell on the ice and hit my head and I reached 70. I never thought I would be coaching when I was 70 years old. I am
still enjoying this. It is still fun going to the ballpark.”
“His family is going through a lot. I think Craig knows it is time to turn the corner,” Duanesburg baseball coach Chris Wyanski said. “He just wants to finish out this way.”
Phillips no longer coaches at third during games, throws batting practice or hits fungos to his players. Although those aspects are no longer available to him, Phillips still derives pleasure helping his players grow and learn.
“It is a great life. A lot of people make more money than me, but I don’t think I can ever take back the memories,” Phillips said.
“Craig is a remarkable coach,” Saratoga Central Catholic coach Phonsey Lambert said. “They are the same size as a lot of communities, but the underlining factor is always Craig Phillips.”
After graduating from SUNY Cortland, Phillips went to umpire school and nearly took a job working minorleague games in Florida before learning from Bill Higgins that Fort Plain had an opening for a physical education teacher.
“I chose coaching over umpiring, which was a good move,” Phillips said.
In a career that began when American troops were returning home at the end of the Vietnam War, Phillips has guided his teams to 25 league titles (15 Tri-valley and 10 Western Athletic Conference), 12 sectional championships and state crowns in 2007 (Class C) and 2016 (Class D). He has received two national coaching awards and since the Times Union established a Small School All-area team in 2006, Phillips has been named Coach of the Year five times.
Throughout those decades filled with success and devoid of a losing season, Phillips has become widely known for his pranks and jokes. Each spring at the Section II meeting to determine seeds for the tournaments, Phillips always has his coaching contemporaries laughing. After one such gathering, Phillips snuck into the truck owned by then-shenendehowa coach Jim Carrese and nearly scared him to death upon him entering the vehicle.
When he coached basketball at Fort Plain, the Hilltoppers beat Saratoga Central Catholic and future MLB pitcher Tim Stauffer. After the win and before addressing the media, Phillips peeled away and proceeded to jump head-first into a snow bank.
Thinking Lambert was exaggerating about how poor field conditions were following a rain storm that postponed a game between the Hilltoppers and Saints, Phillips and his team still showed up at the field. After a quick glance at the conditions, Phillips told Lambert, “You are right. We can’t play.”
“He then started running around the bases and dove head-first into the water,” Lambert said.
Phillips has a well-earned reputation as being the clown prince of Section II athletics, yet he has a method to his madness when it comes to games.
“He is that way to get his team up, to convert umpires and try and do whatever he has to do to get an edge,” Wyanski said. “That is just him coaching. In my 38 years now at Duanesburg, I have played him every year. Early in my career, I used to hate the guts out of him, but he is one of my best friends and I respect him a lot.
“He is a great coach and I don’t think everyone knows it. You talk about a teacher in the classroom. You can’t teach some of the things you learn through sports. There is so much learning to be done, and it is not about the sport. He is respected by many. Craig deserves whatever good things come to him.”
“All the clowning and comedic stuff makes some not realize how great of a coach he is,” Lambert said. “He is a brilliant tactician, a brilliant baseball coach and he surrounds himself with good people, but they are people he taught. His assistants all came through his program. It really is remarkable what he has done at Fort Plain.”
One of the current Fort Plain assistants is Bryan Kronkhite. He believes Phillips understands his value and role in maintaining a quality program.
“I think it is his passion for the game. He has always been around student-athletes, and he wants to make men out of them when they graduate from Fort Plain,” Kronkhite said. “He has that desire and drive. He always talks about the ‘it’ factor and he definitely has that. He’s had a great run with everything.”
When asked about Phillips reaching 600 career wins in 2009, Section II executive director Ed Dopp — who was serving as the state baseball chairman at that time — said, “Underneath that (joking) facade, Craig is a very intense and competitive guy. He also gets the most out of his kids. I think the world of him.”
The diamond Fort Plain plays on is named Phillips Field. Even with the changes he has to make, Phillips’ desire to his see players succeed has not waned.
“That feeling of winning sectionals and going to the states, even if you don’t win the states, is just a great feeling inside,” Phillips said. “I’ve had so many of my former players come to me and say, ‘You can’t quit, coach. This was the best part of my life.’ You know what pushes me now? I want to be able to say to myself I never had a losing season.”
Wyanski only has one win against Fort Plain. Monday, the Hilltoppers edged Duanesburg 4-0 in a game that was scoreless entering the fifth inning.
“If you are going to play him, you better be ready,” Wyanski said. “You have to be on top of your game.”
Phillips collected career win No. 797 Wednesday as senior Troy Butler and Manley Baker combined on a no-hitter in a 16-0 decision over Schoharie.
“He does his homework during the offseason,” Lambert said. “Just when one season is done, he is already preparing for the next season. He has his camps lined up, he knows the kids he’ll have and he follows them in their various sports. He has hitting and pitching clinics going, and he does his homework. His championships are won during the offseason through hard work. He outworks everyone he is coaching against. Other towns may have better athletes, but they don’t win like Craig does. That is what separates him.”