When Ray Phillips played softball, he wasn’t just another hitter. In fact, he was often called “Softball’s Most Feared Hitter” during his 13-year fast pitch career. Phillips was a pitcher’s worst nightmare, spraying line drives all over the field and hitting for a high average.When Phillips came to the plate, infielders automatically dropped back about five steps and just hoped the line shots he hit weren’t hit at them. No matter where you went in the United States, people in softball circles knew the name of Ray (Razor) Phillips. In all, Phillips played in eight ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championships between 1960-1970, earning All-America honors five times and hitting .320. In 1966 he batted .563 in the national tourney to lead all hitters.When a teammate was unable to play in the Men’s Major Fast Pitch All-Star Series in 1968, Phillips replaced him and ended up leading all hitters with a .500 batting average. That year Ray also helped the Aurora, IL Sealmasters win the International Softball Federation World Championship, beating Canada 4-0 in the finals. Phillips drove in two of the four runs in the gold medal game. Phillips came out of retirement in 1980 to play for Guanella Brothers of Santa Rosa, Calif. He ended his career the way you would figure the Most Feared Hitter in Softball would. Phillips homered in last official at-bat.
