Phil hails from the Blue Grass state of Kentucky and was born in Paducah. He was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1959. He made his Major League debut with the Milwaukee Braves on April 29, 1961, and after a 15 year career in the “Bigs”, made his final appearance as a player with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977.
In fifteen seasons he played in 857 games and had 2,151 major league plate appearances. Over that career he collected 463 hits, 43 homeruns, 210 RBIs and scored 190 runs. During his tenure with the Twins, he was frequently the receiver for Twins right handed great, Bert Blyleven. Phil comes from a family rich with a baseball heritage. He is the brother of former Major League outfielder, Gene Roof and cousin of former Major League outfielder and manager, Eddie Haas.
Phil continued his career in baseball following his days as a player. He served as the bullpen coach for the San Diego Padres in 1978, and held the same position for the Seattle Mariners from 1983-1988 and the Chicago Cubs from 1990-91. He returned to the Twins to complete his career in baseball, serving as a manager in the Twins minor league organization for 16 seasons prior to his retirement in 2005. During that time Phil coached many of the Twins currently on the Major League roster.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Born: March 5, 1941—Paducah, Kentucky
Major League Teams:
Milwaukee Braves (1961, 1964)
California Angels (1965) Cleveland Indians (1965)
Kansas City/Oakland A’s (1966-1969)
Milwaukee Brewers (1970-1971)
Minnesota Twins (1971-1976)