This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
HOUSTON -- Cancer didn’t know what it was in for when it picked a fight with Phil Garner.
The man, after all, is nicknamed “Scrap Iron,” which is a testament to his hard-nosed style of play during a 16-year career with the A’s, Pirates, Astros, Dodgers and Giants -- and to the same vim and vigor he later carried into his managerial career.
Garner is tough as boot leather, so it should be no surprise he’s battled cancer for the past 15 months with tenacity. Garner was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2024 and has undergone numerous radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He’ll begin another chemo treatment on Thursday, but not before he celebrates his 76th birthday on Wednesday at Daikin Park.
Garner will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the series finale against the Tigers, one of three teams he managed. Several of his former teammates and former players will be in attendance. So will his wife, Carol, their children and their grandchildren -- all six of them.
Those friends include Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who befriended Garner when Hinch was hired by the Astros to be manager in 2015. They’ve become golf partners and confidants and live close to each other in the Houston area.
“He means so much to so many people,” Hinch said. “As he has gone through the things in life that he has, he’s always put other people in front of him. It’s good to be able to share a day that’s about him.”
Those friends also include Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell. Garner was on the coaching staff when Bagwell made his debut in 1991 and found out quickly the right way to play the game. Garner was also Bagwell’s last big league manager with the Astros in 2005.
“He’s just the ultimate competitor,” Bagwell said. “As a manager, too. He was competitive. He was honest. He told you the truth. He made you accountable -- all the great things that leaders do. I think Gar just did a tremendous job of that. You could see how much he cared about his players, cared about winning and our organization. It was just a pleasure to play for him and be his friend.”
And those friends include former Astros second baseman Bill Doran, who respected how hard Garner competed while they were teammates in Houston in the 1980s.
“Every young kid, you come up and you need somebody to look up to and Phil was that guy for me,” Doran said. “His personality, he could come in and light up the clubhouse. How he treated people, just the kind of teammate he was, I really looked up to Gar.”
Battling cancer hasn’t been easy on Garner and his family, but he knows there are always people who have it worse. He said a friend who was diagnosed with the same disease a few weeks before him recently passed away. Garner’s fight continues, though, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.
“It’s a tough deal,” he said. “You certainly enjoy the moments that you’re able to have with your family and friends and not be sick. You enjoy those a little more.”