ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The box scores are not always kind to the Happiest Man in Baseball.
The batting average mocks him, the strikeouts weigh on him, and the doubts follow him from game to game. Think this job is all hosannas and high-fives? Try smiling through an 0-for-28 stretch while your team is fighting to hang on to a playoff spot. Ponder the pressure of a season-long slump that coincides with the first major pay bump of your major-league career.
Look at the ever-present smile on Brett Phillips’ face, and imagine the pain burrowed behind it.
