As a former MLB player, Ken Phelps was well-known for the infamous trade that sent Jay Buhner to the Mariners and Phelps to the Yankees. This trade was even referenced in the popular 90’s sitcom Seinfeld! However, Phelps should be known for so much more than that.
As a major leaguer, the first baseman carved out a solid 11 year career, hitting 123 home runs and accomplishing more than many athletes could ever dream of. But Phelps is first and foremost a Sun Devil.
Born in Seattle, Phelps started out his collegiate career at Washington State, but quickly wanted a change of scenery.
“I played there one year and I just really felt like I wanted to be a Sun Devil and come to Arizona,” Phelps said.
Phelps had a lot to prove however before he could play for Arizona State University. He played at Mesa Community College for a year, where he would go on to earn Junior College All-American honors in 1974. The next year, his hard work paid off and he was offered a scholarship to play at ASU under legendary coach Jim Brock.
ASU was a juggernaut of a program that great players wanted to play for, winning three national championships under Bobby Winkles in the late 1960s. The program continually churned out major leaguers and constantly competed under both Winkles and Brock throughout the 60s and 70s.
“We had a lot of great players,” Phelps said. “So you had to perform. You think about Alabama in football, and Saban is running the show, there are four deep at every position. We were almost like that in baseball. In my last year, we had 11 guys that ended up playing in the major leagues on our team. That’s like the best college team ever.”
Once at ASU, Phelps helped lead the team to two College World Series appearances and some memorable moments.
“I was all-WAC and all-College World Series,” Phelps said. “We also beat UofA 11 out of 14 times that we played them.”
Unfortunately, Phelps never won a championship at ASU, losing to Arizona in 1976, a year that they had beaten them seven times during the regular season.
“It was a situation where we’d been ranked number one all year, got to Omaha, and stopped hitting a little bit, and ran into a couple of good pitchers, and we ended up finishing third,” Phelps said. “That was difficult, but it happens.”
While at ASU, Phelps balanced his time both on and off the field well.
“Back then, going to a four-year university wasn’t that difficult,” Phelps said. “They really didn’t put a lot of emphasis on education. You could make the most of it.”
While he wasn’t there for academics primarily, Phelps still valued his education.
“I always chose to go to class,” Phelps said. “And I always did my work. I’m a proud C-plus student. I got my degree.”
With his degree, Phelps went on to do baseball analysis for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Fox Sports, and today does work for Arizona Public Service, as well as youth baseball programs.
He has made his career in Arizona and still lives in the valley, keeping in touch with his Sun Devil roots.
