World Series champ Phil Garner dead at 76 after cancer battle

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Phil Garner, a former MLB All-Star and World Series champion, has died, his family said on Sunday. He was 76.

Garner died Saturday after battling pancreatic cancer for more than two years, his family said.

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Tim Foli and Phil Garner, members of the 1979 World Championship Pittsburgh Pirates, attend a pre-game ceremony honoring the team's achievement before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Pittsburgh on July 20, 2019. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

"Phil never lost his signature spark of life," Ty Garner, Phil’s son, said in a statement. "He was so well known for his love for baseball, which was with him until the end."

The Oakland Athletics selected Garner in the first round of the MLB Draft’s secondary phase in 1971. He was called up more than two years later, making his major league debut in September 1973.

Garner played four seasons with the A’s, earning his first All-Star selection in 1976 before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason prior to the 1977 season. He was then traded to the Houston Astros in August 1981.

The versatile infielder earned two more All-Star selections while he was with the Pirates. He helped the team to a World Series title in 1979 against the Baltimore Orioles. He hit .500 in the seven-game series against Baltimore. He had four doubles and five RBI.

Houston Astros' Phil Garner scores the winning run as Luis Pujols greets him in the 11th inning of Game 2 of the National League West playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Houston on Oct. 7, 1981. (F. Carter Smith/AP)

DAVEY JOHNSON, BASEBALL MANAGER WHO WON WORLD SERIES WITH 1986 METS,