Phil Seibel

Phil Seibel was a career minor leaguer, playing eight seasons with eight different teams in six leagues. He had one brief moment in the big leagues, playing two games for the 2004 curse-breaking World Series champion Boston Red Sox and that garnered him a World Series ring.

Philip Matthew Seibel was born on January 28, 1979, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Ronald and Leslie (Woodward) Seibel. They had two sons, Philip and Geoffrey. A job change took Ron and the family to California. For many years the couple ran a family-owned insurance agency.

“I loved baseball from a young age and had a natural gift for it. I also loved the art of it,” Seibel said in a 2023 interview.1 The young boy began taking pitching lessons at 10 years old from former major-league pitcher Frank Pastore. And he started throwing curveballs at 12.

Phil attended Cypress (California) High School. He was the star pitcher on the school’s baseball team in his junior and senior seasons. Seibel finished his junior year with a 10-2 record, a 1.82 ERA, and 93 strikeouts. He threw two no-hitters and was one of Orange County’s strikeout leaders. He was named to the All-County second team by the Los Angeles Times. His first loss of the season was a heartbreaking 2-0 defeat to Katella High School because with a victory Cypress would have won the school’s first-ever Empire League title.

As a senior the 6-foot-1 175-pounder received several baseball scholarship offers and chose the University of Texas. He verbally committed to the Longhorns on November 12, 1996, and signed his official letter of intent in the spring of 1997, prior to the start of his senior season.

Seibel had a solid senior campaign, but the team, having lost some solid players to graduation, was not quite as good as in the previous year. Despite that, Seibel was 6-2 with a 2.30 ERA. His coach, Mark Steinert, said of Seibel after a 13-strikeout performance in Cypress’s opening game of the  season, “He stays in good shape and he knows how to pitch. He’s just a bulldog. You can’t get the ball out of his hand.”2 On May 9 in a two-hit shutout win over Century, Seibel struck out a school-record nine consecutive batters. But the highlight of his senior season was a 2-0 one-hitter he pitched against Empire League champion El Dorado.

Seibel was named first-team All-County Southern Division II. He was also selected to the California Baseball Coaches Association All Star series as a member of the South team and he played for the North in the Kiwanis All-Star game.

As a University of Texas freshman in 1998, Seibel made the varsity baseball squad as a starting pitcher and was given jersey No. 32. But after struggling to a 1-3 record in five starts with a 6.30 ERA, he was relegated to the bullpen. His first four career starts were at the University of Southern California (they won the 1998 National Championship), LSU, Stanford, and at Miami, all college baseball powerhouses. In his Miami start he faced a lineup with future major leaguers Jason Michaels, Pat Burrell, and Audrey Huff. “I throw Huff a really good pitch, down and away, and he hits a laser beam out of the ballpark for a home run. I come into the dugout and pitching coach Burt Hooton says to me, ‘Good pitch. He is just better than you,’” Seibel recalled.3 The left-hander pitched mostly out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season, with a couple of spot starts. He finished with a 3-3 record.

The Longhorns did not have a good season, finishing with the school’s first losing record in 42 years (23-32-1) and an eighth-place finish in the Big-12 Conference (11-18). Seibel said of losing, “Instead of going to sleep, I’ll stay awake, wondering what went wrong during the day.”4 He recalled that he felt overwhelmed at times and struggled with some self-doubt.

To hone his pitching skills, Seibel played in Alaskan summer baseball with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots between his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Texas was much improved in 1999. Early in the season the Longhorns stunned top-ranked USC, sweeping the Trojans in a three-game series. Seibel had become the team’s closer and was the winner in the 8-7 ninth-inning victory that secured the sweep. Afterward he said, “This team is a lot more confident than we were last year. Last year we were pretty good and we knew we had some talent but we weren’t quite sure what to expect. … As far as confidence goes, we weren’t really confident in what we were doing.”5 (Seibel earned saves in the other two victories over USC.)

In one of the Longhorns’ bigger moments of the season, Texas led 10th-ranked Baylor 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth on April 10 and Seibel was summoned with the tying runs on base. He hit a batter to load the bases but retired the final three Bears, striking out Anthony Hensley on a 3-and-2 pitch to end the game. “This is probably the most important game we’ve played all year,” Seibel said in the joyous locker room. “If we lose, it would have put us in a big hole as far as the conference title goes.”6

The Longhorns compiled a 35-24 record and a sixth-place finish in the tough Big-12 (17-13) but their overall record was good enough to garner an NCAA Tournament berth. They were placed in the Houston Regional and won one of three games but were eliminated by the University of Houston in an 8-5 loss. In the Longhorns’ only victory, a 7-5 affair over Southwest Texas State, Seibel pitched two scoreless innings to notch the save.

Seibel improved significantly throughout his sophomore season. He posted a 5-2 record with a team-leading five saves. He was named honorable mention All-Big-12 and was a first team All-Academic Big-12 selection. He was one of two Texas players invited to the US National baseball tryouts in Tucson in June, and was named to the final roster of the 22-player squad. The highlight of their season was a trip to Japan June 22-July 1 to play the Japan Collegiate All Star team.

Seibel got off to a great start in his junior season at Texas. He moved out of the closer role and became the Sunday starter. He compiled a 4-1 record with a 1.99 ERA, highlighted by being named Big-12 player of the week on February 9, 2000. He was honored after pitching 12 innings while allowing only one run for a 0.75 ERA and winning two games. But on March 5 in a start against Missouri, he strained a ligament in his elbow and missed the next 2½ months of the season. Seibel did not realize it at the time but he had torn his ulnar collateral ligament. He followed a very tight exercise and diet regimen that allowed him to recover and pitch effectively. He returned in time for the Big-12 tournament.

Before he was injured, Texas had moved up to the number-2-rated team in the country. Though the team did not keep that pace with Seibel out, they finished with a 40-18 record and received an NCAA tournament bid to the Tempe Regional hosted by Arizona State. The Longhorns won two of their first three games in the regional but faced an elimination game against Arizona State. Seibel was called on to make the start and threw 6⅓ solid innings, allowing five hits and one earned run as the Longhorns defeated the Sun Devils, 6-4. Seibel said he “probably isn’t 100 percent yet, but this is close enough.” He added, “I threw everything … fastball, slider, changeup … and they all worked and there was no pain.”7 The next day Texas again defeated Arizona State and moved onto the Super Regionals for a three-game series with Penn State. Texas coach Augie Garrido paid tribute to Seibel, saying, “In Tempe, the whole pitching staff was awesome, and Phil’s return just highlighted it.”8 Seibel made the All-Regional Tournament Team.

Texas defeated Penn State in back-to-back games in Austin, 7-3 and 10-8, to win the Super Regional and qualify for its first College World Series since 1993. Meanwhile the baseball amateur draft was being held, and Seibel was selected on June 5 in the eighth round by the Montreal Expos with selection No. 225. He was disappointed that he was not drafted higher. “I think my injury had something to do with that,” he said. “I felt a little shortchanged by having to miss as much of the season as I did. But I thought it went well when I was healthy and able to pitch.”9 

The Longhorns opened the World Series on June 10 and lost to eventual national champion LSU, 13-5. Seibel pitched the second game, against Florida State, making only his third start since his injury. He pitched five innings and allowed four runs to keep Texas in the game, but the Longhorns lost 6-2 and were eliminated. It was Seibel’s last college game.

In the postgame locker room, reflecting on his time at Texas, Seibel said, “This is a big step for the program. My first three years here were terrible. Now we finally feel like we did something. We got to the World Series. Now I feel like my career here was worthwhile. We can say we got Texas back on track to be one of the best teams in the nation.”10 Texas finished the season ranked number 7 in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

Seibel, despite missing time, finished his junior season with a 5-2 record and a 2.42 ERA. He lettered all three seasons at Texas and ended his career with an overall 12-7 record. He said his two greatest thrills in baseball before becoming a professional were playing in the College World Series and pitching on the Fourth of July for Team USA. For more than a month, he pondered whether to sign and forgo his senior season. “I thought if I go back to school and I injure myself, I will never forgive myself and I can always go back to school to finish my degree,” he said.11 Seibel signed with the Expos on August 7 and passed up his senior season with the Longhorns.

Seibel began his Expos career in the Class-A Florida State League as a starter with the Jupiter Hammerheads. He had a solid season with a 10-7 record and a 3.95 ERA. His season was punctuated by nine consecutive starts in which he allowed two runs or fewer. His 10 wins led the team.

Seibel’s strengths as a pitcher were his breaking balls. He could throw a curve, slider, and cutter. His 86-88-MPH fastball complemented his arsenal of breaking pitches. He had a good feel with the ball and his location was usually excellent. Seibel was an analytical pitcher, always looking for an edge before that was in vogue.

Seibel was scheduled to play for the Harrisburg Senators in the Double-A Eastern League in 2002. However, on April 5 he and two other players were traded by the Expos to the New York Mets in exchange for four players. Seibel was assigned to the Eastern League’s Binghamton Mets, and put up almost identical numbers to the previous season with a 10-8 record and a 3.97 ERA. He pitched a career-high 149⅔ innings for the North Division third-place Mets and his 10 wins led the team. Seibel flirted with a no-hitter on May 31 against his former Harrisburg mates. He went into the seventh inning without allowing a hit, but a home run ended the bid in a 2-1 loss for Seibel. “It kind of stings losing 2-1, and it really stings losing to those guys,” Seibel said.12 He had a season-high 12 strikeouts in seven innings in a 5-1 win over Trenton later that season.

On November 21 Seibel was added to the Mets’ 40-man roster. He went to spring training with the Mets in the spring of 2003, then was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He enjoyed his first major-league camp, rubbing elbows with Tom Glavine (his childhood idol) and Al Leiter. “It was awesome,” he said, “The first day I was working on my bunting with the other guys, and Glavine was pitching and Mike Piazza was catching. I couldn’t even concentrate. I just kept thinking, ‘Please don’t foul one off and hit Piazza in the head.’”13

Seibel did not last long in Norfolk. New York acquired David Cone and some cascading moves sent Seibel back to Binghamton on April 9. He was with Binghamton for most of the season, but spent a month back in Norfolk as the Mets tried him out as a reliever and spot starter. In Binghamton he had a 5-5 record and 3.59 ERA in 17 starts. But he faltered in Norfolk: In 11 games he had a 6.03 ERA and a 2-3 record. After the season the Mets placed him on waivers.

The Red Sox claimed Seibel on November 20, 2003, and placed him on the 40-man roster. Seibel signed a one-year contract with Boston on March 4 and began spring training with the Red Sox in Winter Haven, Florida. He was optioned to the Pawtucket Red Sox on March 20 and began the season with the Triple-A club. He pitched the Pawsox’ opening game and hurled five scoreless innings.

Shortly after, on April 15, Seibel was called up to Boston. He replaced left-hander Bobby Jones, who had been optioned to Pawtucket. Seibel recalled his call-up: “I get a call on my cell phone, but I did not recognize the number, so I didn’t answer it. My hotel phone then rings and it is manager Buddy Bailey. He says, ‘You have to get to the field (at the time the Pawsox were in Rochester for a series with the Red Wings) to go to Boston,’ and hangs up the phone. I am uncertain if I am getting called up because he was not very clear. I arrive at the ballpark and yes, I am going to the big leagues.”14 He recalled his excitement, but then his flight was delayed over six hours for weather. He was flying to Providence so he could pick up a suit and they had not informed Jones yet of his demotion and did not want Seibel arriving in Boston too soon. Seibel then waited several more hours in Pawtucket before hearing from the Red Sox to finally come to Boston.

Seibel made his major-league debut that night against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. He relieved Bronson Arroyo in the 11th inning with the Red Sox trailing 9-7 and the bases loaded. The first batter Seibel faced was left fielder Larry Bigbee. He induced Bigbee to hit a groundball to first baseman Kevin Millar but Millar misplayed it, resulting in a run scoring and leaving the bases loaded. Seibel then faced Brian Roberts and walked him, allowing another run to score. Seibel was then replaced by Frank Castillo, but the damage was done and the Red Sox lost 12-7.

The New York Yankees were the next opponent to come to Fenway Park for a key early-season four-game series. Seibel was excited to be part of a Yankees vs. Red Sox showdown at Fenway. The Red Sox won the first two games. In the third game, on Sunday, April 18, the Yankees jumped to a quick 7-3 lead over Boston after three innings as Derek Lowe had a bad outing for the Red Sox. Seibel, with the Red Sox still trailing by four runs, entered the game in the sixth inning. He hit the first batter he faced, Jason Giambi. But after his nerves settled down, the young left-hander pitched 3⅔ innings of hitless, scoreless relief. (He walked four batters.) The highlight of his 59-pitch outing was retiring Álex Rodríguez on a groundball with two on and two out in the seventh inning. The Red Sox could not mount a rally and, though Seibel held the Yankees at bay, Boston lost 7-3.

After the game the bright-eyed youngster said, “My parents were here and got to see the game. I’m sure my dad will probably say to me, ‘Do you realize what just happened?’”15 Seibel added, “I’m sitting in Fenway Park about to face the Yankees, and I’m thinking, ‘Holy Cow, that’s Derek Jeter, that’s Álex Rodríguez.’ My first real series was Red Sox-Yankees at Fenway, and being a baseball fan all my life, I couldn’t have imagined being part of that.”16 Asked if the major leagues were everything they were cracked up to be, he responded, “And then some.”17

Seibel then traveled with the Red Sox to Toronto and New York as Boston won two of three from the Blue Jays and swept a three-game series with the Yankees. He did not make an appearance in any of those games but was with the club when they returned home to face the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Red Sox won the first game of the series, but the next day Seibel was optioned to Double-A Portland to make room for Byung-Hyun Kim.

During Seibel’s stay on the roster, the Red Sox were 9-3 and stood atop the AL East Division with a 13-6 record. His final line with Boston was 3⅔ innings pitched, 66 pitches thrown, no hits, no runs, five walks, one hit batter, one strikeout, and a 0.00 ERA. Seibel was a student of the game and commented, “I marveled at how Curt Schilling used video to prepare for a game and used that information to determine how he would pitch to individual hitters.”18 After that, Seibel began using video in his preparation.

Seibel was not in Portland long – one start – before being recalled to Pawtucket on May 4. He landed on the disabled list on June 12 with elbow soreness. Seibel was 1-2 with a 3.02 ERA in eight games with Pawtucket before the injury. He returned in August, pitching three rehab outings in the Gulf Coast League, and then moved to Portland where he finished the season pitching in three games with an 0-1 record and a 7.50 ERA in six innings pitched.

The Red Sox released Seibel on September 28 and then re-signed him on October 12. Seibel did not pitch in 2005 as he underwent Tommy John surgery as the torn UCL had finally caught up to him. While recovering from the surgery, he went back to the University of Texas that fall to finish his degree. “When the Sox made the run to win the World Series, I was home on my couch, studying and staying up late watching the games,” Seibel recalled with a chuckle.19 Though he was on the disabled list throughout 2005, he came to the Opening Day celebration at Fenway Park honoring the 2004 World Series champions and received his World Series ring.

Seibel was back in the Red Sox minor-league system to begin the 2006 season and he started with the Greenville (South Carolina) Drive in the Class-A South Atlantic League. He opened the season for the Drive in their brand-new West End Field in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,700. He made the first pitch in the ballpark’s history, got its first strikeout, and his five innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts earned him its first victory as the Drive won 6-1. “It felt great to be out there opening night in a beautiful ballpark,” said Seibel. “I was excited, the whole city was. But I just tried to concentrate and get ready. None of us have opened a ballpark before. That’s something I’ll always take with me.”20

After four starts in Greenville, Seibel was promoted to Portland, where he made nine starts, and finished the season in Pawtucket coming out of the bullpen. His overall record was 6-3 with a 1.24 ERA in 22 games. He set the team record for the Portland Sea Dogs with 21⅓ consecutive scoreless innings. His Red Sox career appeared to be looking up again, but on December 15 Boston traded him to the California Angels for pitcher Brendan Donnelly.

Seibel made two starts for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees in 2007, compiling an 0-1 record and 11.25 ERA before he received his unconditional release on May 28. His baseball-playing career was over.

Seibel joined the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as an assistant in the scouting and player development departments in June of 2007 and served until January 2009. He then embarked on a career in insurance, beginning as a risk management adviser and then a producer. In 2023, working with his father, he was president of Advanced Benefit Solutions, near Austin, Texas, an insurance brokerage catering to small and medium-sized businesses. Seibel recalled that baseball really helped him build his insurance career. “The World Series ring is a conversation starter and people open up to me because of it. And that really helped open doors early in my insurance career,” he said.21

Seibel and his wife, Charity, were married in 2009 and have two daughters, Madeline, born in 2014, and Shelby, born in 2016.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Ancestry.com, Baseball-Reference.com, LinkedIn, Retrosheet.org, the Boston Red Sox Media Guides for 2004 and 2005, and the Texas 2022 Baseball Fact Book, https://texassports.com/documents/2022/2/14//22_fact_book_full_web.pdf?id=16368

Notes

1 Interview by author with Phil Seibel, February 23, 2023. (Hereafter Seibel interview).

2 “Seibel Leads the Way Again for Cypress,” Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1997: C6.

3 Seibel interview.

4 Rick Cantu, “Bright Spots Can’t Eliminate Dark Cloud of Another UT Loss,” Austin American-Statesman, May 3, 1998: C5.

5 Rick Cantu, “Longhorns Sweep Trojans,” Austin American-Statesman, February 8, 1999: C7.

6 Rick Cantu, “Seibel Seals the Deal as Texas Turns Tables, Beats Baylor,” Austin American-Statesman, April 10, 1999: C1.

7 Whit Canning, “Call to Arms,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 2, 2000: 9D.

8 Canning.

9  Lon Eubanks, “Taipei Hitters Find Titans’ Saarloos Is a Type-A Pitcher,” Los Angeles Times, July 25, 2000: D11.

10 Rick Cantu, “Horns Driven Home,” Austin American-Statesman, June 13, 2000: C1.

11 Seibel interview.

12 Scott Lauber, “A Hard-Luck Loss for B-Mets’ Seibel,” Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York), June 1, 2002: 5D.

13 Scott Lauber, “Seibel Stays Focused Despite Demotion.” Press and Sun-Bulletin, April 10, 2003: 5D.

14 Seibel interview.

15 Gordon Edes, “Thrills for Newcomer Even During a Loss,” Boston Globe, April 19, 2004: D6.

16 Scott Lauber, “Connolly Hopes Numbers Game Adds Up to a Pirates’ promotion,” Press and Sun-Bulletin, April 27, 2004: 4D.

17 “Connolly Hopes Numbers Game Adds Up to a Pirates’ Promotion.”

18 Seibel interview.

19 Seibel interview.

20 Bart Wright, “A Place That Takes You Back in Time,” Greenville (South Carolina) News, April 7, 2006: 5C.

21 Seibel interview.