It’s been 5 years since Andy Phillips was drafted by the New York Yankees in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball draft.

But his hard work and dedication to the game of baseball has finally paid off.

“He’s pretty excited,” Andy’s wife, Dethany, said.

“This is his dream. All of his hard work has finally paid off.”

Phillips, a native of Demopolis, was called-up on Sunday to replace the injured and suspended Alex Rodriguez.

“Andy’s wanted to play professional baseball ever since he knew he could,” Dethany said.

“He’s been doing it his whole life.”

The Yankees open a three-game series at Minnesota tonight, and Phillips will finally get a chance to prove he belongs in the majors.

“We were in a fabric store in Columbus for his mom when we got the call,” Dethany said.

“The phone rang and it was the call about being promoted, and we had to quickly leave.

We got the call at 3:00 and he had to leave at 6:00.”

Phillips played college baseball at the University of Alabama under coach Jim Wells from 1996-1999.

The Crimson Tide was runner-up to national champion Louisiana State University in 1997, and also advanced to the College World Series in 1996 and 1999.

Since being drafted, Phillips has belted 87 homers in the minor leagues.

He was named Most Valuable Player in the Triple-A All-Star game last month when his home run in the 10th inning gave the International League a 4-3 victory over the Pacific Coast League.

“I’m just completely excited that everything he has worked for is finally paying off and given him the chance to not only prove himself, but to minister to these guys,” Dethany said.

As a member of the Crimson Tide baseball team, Phillips holds records for games played (244), games started (224), at-bats (904), runs scored (222), total hits (322), home runs (61), runs batted in (226), and total bases (590).

Now he’ll finally get the chance to prove he has the talent to hang in the majors, beginning tonight in Minnesota.

Due to being involved with team meetings and practices in Minnesota, Andy was unavailable for comment on Monday night.

A more in-depth article will be printed in a later edition.

Tomorrow night’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN at 6:00 p.m.