- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,200,840
- Reaction score
- 59
DAYTONA BEACH — Bernard Moon is asked where he’s from. Atlanta, he says. Specifically, East Atlanta — Stone Mountain. He’s talking about his years at Redan High School when, without prompting, he brings up a name people around his Cincinnati Reds organization might recognize.
“Brandon Phillips is from there,” he says.
Moon would know.
He grew up training under Phillips’ dad, James. Brandon often popped into James’ facility during the major-league offseason.
At Redan, Brandon set the single-season batting average record of .610, and it stood for more than 20 years. Until Moon ripped .626 as a senior in 2023.
Now, he’s playing in the minor-league system for Phillips’ old franchise while lining up mainly at Phillips’ old second-base position.
And while Moon has a long way to go to join Phillips as a Gold Glover and Silver Slugger at the big-league level, he’s enjoying improved numbers during his second full season with the Daytona Tortugas — and flashing a big personality and bigger love for the game like Phillips became known for.
“He talks to himself a lot,” Daytona manager Ricky Gutierrez says with a smile. “... He’s passionate, and he just wants to win.”
Moon won’t deny it. Sometimes, it shows with a dance move on the field. Sometimes, it’s a scream or just constant chatter.
“I feel like the energy I bring to the game and the team is kind of unmatched,” he says. “I like to have fun. I like to showboat here and there. I play with a lot of emotions, I should say.”
He traces that back to a few spawn points.
Growing up, Moon learned baseball from his dad, William, and his uncle, Lyle. He started playing at age 3.
“My pops was definitely a pretty rowdy guy,” Moon says. “He would get really hyped. I feel like I definitely took on a couple of those traits.”
Moon and a bunch of other kids from his neighborhood frequented Exchange Park. They played baseball there, and the main objective was to have fun.
“Playing with emotions was second nature,” Moon says.
Around age 8, he began working with James Phillips and never stopped. Even last offseason, he returned to Stone Mountain and practiced with James. They talked last week.
“We’ll just go up (to a local field) and get a couple swings in, get some ground balls, and he’ll just kind of coach me up on the mental side of the game as well,” Moon says. “... He’s definitely a special resource to have.”
Moon attended Parkview High School as a freshman before transferring to Redan and breaking records. To go along with that .626 batting average as a senior, he blasted nine home runs, collected 49 RBIs and stole 39 bases.
He committed to Troy and was taking introductory summer classes on campus when he got the call that Cincinnati was selecting him in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. The next day, he drove three hours back home. A few days after that, he was en route to the Reds’ complex in Arizona.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to make it to the highest level,” Moon says. “If you get blessed with this opportunity, you may never come across that again. It was kind of just weighing that in, never knowing where I could have been in the next three years.”
In signing a professional contract, Moon followed multiple other Redan graduates, including his cousin, Lyndon Weaver, whom the Athletics chose in the 40th round in 2018, and current Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley.
And, if you go back a few more years, Brandon Phillips.
At the recommendation of the Phillips family, Moon hired Brandon’s agent.
“It’s just picking their brain, trying to see what it took for them to get to the highest level and kind of just trying to follow in their footsteps,” Moon says of Brandon and his brothers. “They’re a bunch of special guys. Very talented, very smart individuals.”
Moon earned a promotion to Daytona at the end of 2024. He appeared in one game.
Last year, he spent the entire season with the Tortugas, hitting .236 in 108 contests.
Gutierrez, his new skipper, met him in spring training this year.
“A character,” Gutierrez says. “Liked to talk a lot but in a good way. Good kid. Just speaks his mind. I heard things, how he was. Very intense and animated. He reminded me of one of my kids back home. He was very interesting.
“I watched him throughout spring training and how he was, and then we became closer and closer and closer. Now, he’s like a son to me.”
Moon kicked off the season on a heater.
On Opening Day, he homered during a win over the Jupiter Hammerheads. As he rounded second base, he flapped his arms like wings.
“That’s the call to the bullpen,” he says. “That’s what the guys like.”
Moon ended April with a .274 average and four homers. He also collected 10 doubles, putting himself atop the Florida State League leaderboard.
He remains there in early July, having boosted his total to 22 on July 3.
Through the first three months, Moon’s numbers displayed marked improvement over his 2025 campaign. He’s already eclipsed his home run total (eight this season compared to seven last year), and he’s fast approaching his doubles tally. He notched 24 a summer ago.
His batting average is .255, nearly 20 points higher than his first Tortugas go-around.
“My confidence is through the roof,” he says. “I just ultimately feel comfortable in the box.”
That, plus his offseason workout regime. He does pilates, and yes, he’ll tell you it’s more challenging than you’d think.
“All around, he’s having a good year,” Gutierrez says. “Defensively, I think, (is his biggest jump). Last year, he had a lot of struggles defensively. This year, he’s made a lot of improvements. He’s going to make errors. He’s young. He’s still learning. But he’s come a long way from what I saw from spring training to now.”
Gutierrez emphasizes consistency is Moon’s next step. Like many young players, the 21-year-old is up and down. But if he figures out how to maintain those hot streaks and mitigate the slumps, watch out.
Gutierrez says his usual message to Moon is to relax and play his game. But there’s one thing he certainly doesn’t want to mess with.
“You can’t take that competitiveness out of someone,” Gutierrez says.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bernard Moon broke Brandon Phillips' record. Now he stars for Phillips' old organization
Continue reading...
“Brandon Phillips is from there,” he says.
Moon would know.
He grew up training under Phillips’ dad, James. Brandon often popped into James’ facility during the major-league offseason.
At Redan, Brandon set the single-season batting average record of .610, and it stood for more than 20 years. Until Moon ripped .626 as a senior in 2023.
Now, he’s playing in the minor-league system for Phillips’ old franchise while lining up mainly at Phillips’ old second-base position.
And while Moon has a long way to go to join Phillips as a Gold Glover and Silver Slugger at the big-league level, he’s enjoying improved numbers during his second full season with the Daytona Tortugas — and flashing a big personality and bigger love for the game like Phillips became known for.
“He talks to himself a lot,” Daytona manager Ricky Gutierrez says with a smile. “... He’s passionate, and he just wants to win.”
Moon won’t deny it. Sometimes, it shows with a dance move on the field. Sometimes, it’s a scream or just constant chatter.
“I feel like the energy I bring to the game and the team is kind of unmatched,” he says. “I like to have fun. I like to showboat here and there. I play with a lot of emotions, I should say.”
He traces that back to a few spawn points.
Bernard Moon's baseball journey to the 2023 MLB Draft
Growing up, Moon learned baseball from his dad, William, and his uncle, Lyle. He started playing at age 3.
“My pops was definitely a pretty rowdy guy,” Moon says. “He would get really hyped. I feel like I definitely took on a couple of those traits.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Moon and a bunch of other kids from his neighborhood frequented Exchange Park. They played baseball there, and the main objective was to have fun.
“Playing with emotions was second nature,” Moon says.
Around age 8, he began working with James Phillips and never stopped. Even last offseason, he returned to Stone Mountain and practiced with James. They talked last week.
“We’ll just go up (to a local field) and get a couple swings in, get some ground balls, and he’ll just kind of coach me up on the mental side of the game as well,” Moon says. “... He’s definitely a special resource to have.”
Moon attended Parkview High School as a freshman before transferring to Redan and breaking records. To go along with that .626 batting average as a senior, he blasted nine home runs, collected 49 RBIs and stole 39 bases.
He committed to Troy and was taking introductory summer classes on campus when he got the call that Cincinnati was selecting him in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. The next day, he drove three hours back home. A few days after that, he was en route to the Reds’ complex in Arizona.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to make it to the highest level,” Moon says. “If you get blessed with this opportunity, you may never come across that again. It was kind of just weighing that in, never knowing where I could have been in the next three years.”
In signing a professional contract, Moon followed multiple other Redan graduates, including his cousin, Lyndon Weaver, whom the Athletics chose in the 40th round in 2018, and current Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley.
And, if you go back a few more years, Brandon Phillips.
At the recommendation of the Phillips family, Moon hired Brandon’s agent.
“It’s just picking their brain, trying to see what it took for them to get to the highest level and kind of just trying to follow in their footsteps,” Moon says of Brandon and his brothers. “They’re a bunch of special guys. Very talented, very smart individuals.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Bernard Moon is making a jump with the Daytona Tortugas
Moon earned a promotion to Daytona at the end of 2024. He appeared in one game.
Last year, he spent the entire season with the Tortugas, hitting .236 in 108 contests.
Gutierrez, his new skipper, met him in spring training this year.
“A character,” Gutierrez says. “Liked to talk a lot but in a good way. Good kid. Just speaks his mind. I heard things, how he was. Very intense and animated. He reminded me of one of my kids back home. He was very interesting.
“I watched him throughout spring training and how he was, and then we became closer and closer and closer. Now, he’s like a son to me.”
Moon kicked off the season on a heater.
On Opening Day, he homered during a win over the Jupiter Hammerheads. As he rounded second base, he flapped his arms like wings.
“That’s the call to the bullpen,” he says. “That’s what the guys like.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Moon ended April with a .274 average and four homers. He also collected 10 doubles, putting himself atop the Florida State League leaderboard.
He remains there in early July, having boosted his total to 22 on July 3.
Through the first three months, Moon’s numbers displayed marked improvement over his 2025 campaign. He’s already eclipsed his home run total (eight this season compared to seven last year), and he’s fast approaching his doubles tally. He notched 24 a summer ago.
His batting average is .255, nearly 20 points higher than his first Tortugas go-around.
“My confidence is through the roof,” he says. “I just ultimately feel comfortable in the box.”
That, plus his offseason workout regime. He does pilates, and yes, he’ll tell you it’s more challenging than you’d think.
“All around, he’s having a good year,” Gutierrez says. “Defensively, I think, (is his biggest jump). Last year, he had a lot of struggles defensively. This year, he’s made a lot of improvements. He’s going to make errors. He’s young. He’s still learning. But he’s come a long way from what I saw from spring training to now.”
Gutierrez emphasizes consistency is Moon’s next step. Like many young players, the 21-year-old is up and down. But if he figures out how to maintain those hot streaks and mitigate the slumps, watch out.
Gutierrez says his usual message to Moon is to relax and play his game. But there’s one thing he certainly doesn’t want to mess with.
“You can’t take that competitiveness out of someone,” Gutierrez says.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bernard Moon broke Brandon Phillips' record. Now he stars for Phillips' old organization
Continue reading...
