Their Shifts Are Over but There’s More Yard Work Left : Phillips: West team’s third baseman so consumed by baseball he’s willing to miss his graduation day.

Danny Phillips completed his baseball career at Chatsworth High two weeks ago and already he has all but left the San Fernando Valley behind.

The Chancellors’ senior All-City Section third baseman is taking his finals early this week because the opportunity to play more baseball is beckoning.

Phillips was the only player from the region selected to take part in the Sunbelt high school all-star tournament in Oklahoma. He leaves for Shawnee, Okla., on Monday, two days before his class graduates.

He also will miss playing for the Valley North American Legion team, of which he has been a part the past two seasons.

Phillips instead will play for a Connie Mack team in Orange County with several of his future Cal State Fullerton teammates. He signed a letter of intent with the school in April.

There is, however, one more chance to see Phillips play close to home. He will play third base for the West team in the Bernie Milligan all-star baseball game at 3:30 p.m. today at Cal State Northridge.

“As long as I’m playing baseball I’ll be happy,” Phillips said. “I’m a little upset that I’ll be missing graduation, but I knew it was a choice I had to make.”

Considering the assortment of injuries he has endured the past three seasons, Phillips has good reason to relish every chance he gets to play.

As a sophomore, Phillips was the youngest player to make the Chatsworth varsity. But a shoulder injury prevented him from playing much in the outfield.

“They never did find out what was wrong with it,” Phillips said, “but it healed after rest.”

As a junior, Phillips’ troubles began before the baseball season even started. During a basketball game with a cousin, he punched a wall in frustration and broke his right hand.

“It wasn’t one of the smartest things I’ve ever done,” he said.

When the hand healed, Phillips never found his rhythm at the plate. His batting average stayed below .300 throughout his junior season and the Chancellors, who were expected to contend for a City Section 4-A Division title, were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Complicating matters, Phillips suffered a dislocated rib while swinging at a pitch late in the season, an injury he aggravated during the Legion season last summer.

Fortunately for Phillips, his size (6 feet 3, 185 pounds) and potential kept the attention of college recruiters and major league scouts.

At the beginning of this season, Phillips still wasn’t hitting consistently.

“He was struggling a little because he was trying too hard,” Chatsworth Coach Tom Meusborn said. “He didn’t have the junior year he wanted and he was pressing.”

Fullerton solved that problem, offering Phillips a scholarship just before spring break.

Phillips reacted as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. In a game against San Fernando just before Chatsworth left for a spring break tournament in Las Vegas, he had two doubles.

That was just the beginning.

In four games in Las Vegas, Phillips hit five home runs and raised his batting average more than 100 points.

“It was a classic case of a guy getting away from home, not having to think about anything and just taking off,” Meusborn said.

Phillips maintained his hot hitting for the rest of the season, finishing with eight home runs--second highest among City batters from the region--a .412 average and a slugging percentage of .812.

Phillips was disappointed he was not selected last week in the amateur draft, but he wasn’t too surprised. He said professional scouts stopped calling when he signed with Fullerton.

“It just made my choice easier,” he said. “It would have taken a high pick to get me out of going to school. I really wanted to go to school.”

Just as long as he also could play baseball.