Cincinnati Reds: Brandon Phillips Reaches Team Milestone

Brandon Phillips entered play today with 998 hits as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. In his first two at-bats against Carlos Zambrano, Phillips logged two singles and reached 1,000 hits for his career as a Red.

Phillips' career in Cincinnati has been fantastic, and this milestone is just another impressive addition to his growing resume.

In securing his 1,000th hit, Phillips finds himself one hit shy of 30th on the Reds' all-time list. In addition, Phillips is now just 155 short of Hall of Famer Joe Morgan for 21st on the same list.

Should Phillips pass Morgan, people would have to start putting him in the conversation for best second baseman in Reds team history. I know that Morgan won back-to-back MVP awards with the Reds, but Phillips will definitely be in the conversation.

Assuming his rumored contract extension becomes a reality, Phillips will eventually pass Morgan in games, hits, runs, doubles, triples, home runs and RBI.

Last year, Phillips' first Silver Slugger Award pulled him even with Morgan in that category, and his three Gold Gloves are two shy of Morgan's five. With the way Phillips plays defense, it's not out of the question to think that he could finish his career with six or seven total.

I'm not saying he's already better than Morgan, but he could be in the future.

Congratulations on your 1,000th, BP!