Phil Linz

Who is Phil Linz?

Philip Francis Linz is an American former backup infielder in Major League Baseball. From 1962 through 1968, Linz played for the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-handed, and was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.

Through Jim Bouton's book Ball Four, he may be best known for the so-called "Harmonica Incident," on August 20, 1964. On the team bus, after a Yankee loss to the Chicago White Sox, Linz was in the back playing a plaintive version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on his harmonica. Yankee manager Yogi Berra thought the sad cowboy style mixed with a children's nursery rhyme was mocking the team. He told Linz to pipe down. Linz didn't hear and kept playing. Berra became infuriated and called back from the front of the bus, "If you don't knock that off, I'm going to come back there and kick your ass." Linz couldn't hear the words over the music, so he asked Mickey Mantle, "What he say?" Mantle responded, "He said to play it louder." This led the famous confrontation when Berra stormed to the back of the bus, slapped the harmonica out of Linz' hands, and the instrument hit Joe Pepitone's knee.