Ever since, Phillips put his all into baseball, becoming one of the greatest high school pitchers to grace a mound in York County.

On Tuesday, it all paid off. Phillips’ childhood dreams were realized when he signed a multi-million-dollar contract with the San Diego Padres.

Earlier this month, the Padres made the left-handed pitcher the ninth overall pick in the amateur baseball draft. Tuesday, he made it official by signing on the dotted line. Phillips, 18, is a professional baseball player.

“It’s a big relief,” Phillips said. “After all the hard work for so many years ... I’ve got to think I’m the luckiest kid in the world.”

San Diego Padres scout Rene Mons, who had spent the past season scouting Phillips, sat with the former Hanover High School student at the family’s kitchen table. One by one, Mons handed Phillips papers to sign. With his father, Steve, and A.J., who has been his catcher for several years, looking on, Phillips looked over the papers and signed.

The Padres were eager to get Phillips, a left-handed pitcher with two pitches — fastball and curveball — that are already of major-league caliber. His fastball has been clocked in the mid-90s and his curveball freezes hitters. He was 8-2 with a 0.74 ERA this season for the Nighthawks, who won the Class A district title.

But Phillips has proven to be a complete player who also wielded a strong bat. On one of the papers, Phillips had to list his high-school home runs totals. After conferring with his father, they decided that he had hit 10 home runs in the past two seasons for Hanover. His batting average was also over .500 this past season.

Mons interceded, telling Steve that Mark was the type of pitcher any National League team would covet — one who can hit and pitch.

“You hate to give up the outs,” he said.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Phillips will receive a $2.2 million signing bonus, which he will receive in three installments over the next year. The Padres will also pay $40,000 for Phillips’ college education in increments of $5,000 at a time for eight semesters.

Phillips was committed to play at Louisiana State University, which won the College World Series this weekend. With the signing, he will not be playing collegiate baseball.

Also included in Phillips’ deal are several incentives for advancing within the Padres’ minor-league system. He will receive $1,000 when he is listed on a Class A roster, $1,500 when he is promoted to Class AA and $5,000 when he reaches Class AAA.

“It’s a very, very good contract,” said Mons, who has been a major-league scout since the mid-’70’s. “He has to be pleased. We’re pleased with it.”

Mons drove from his home in New Hampshire on Tuesday to finalize the deal. The contract will have to be approved by Major League Baseball’s commissioner’s office for Phillips to receive his first payment.

After a short vacation in the Bahamas this week, Phillips will report to the Padres’ Class A short-season advanced rookie league team in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Idaho Falls Padres play in the eight-team Pioneer League, which includes teams in Montana, Idaho, Utah and Alberta, Canada.

And despite the fact that Phillips has never traveled to that part of the country, he is eager to begin his professional career.

“Wherever it is, California or Idaho or where ever, it doesn’t matter,” Phillips said, “I’m going to play pro baseball and hopefully I’ll get to the major leagues.”

Phillips will have to quickly adjust to the life of professional baseball. In the Pioneer League, teams play a 72-game schedule from mid-June to early-September — with only a handful of days off.

“We’re anxious to get him there,” Mons said.

“I might be treated a little differently there because there will be some high expectations of me because of being the team’s first pick, but I will still have to produce there.”

While Phillips plays at Idaho Falls, he will also receive a $850 monthly stipend.

“It will be a little different for Mark,” Steve Phillips said, “because he’ll be playing against players who are equal to him or maybe better than him.”

Just moments after Phillips officially signed and Mons left for a long drive to Connecticut to watch a baseball showcase, Steve Phillips and Tina Phillips, Mark’s mother, reflected on what had transpired.

Their son will start his professional baseball career in just a few days, over 2,000 miles away from the family that raised him.

“This is just the beginning,” said Tina, her eyes watering. “It’s opening a whole new career for Mark. I just hope he follows his heart and keeps going.”

Steve and Tina are divorced, but they’ve both remained constants in their sons’ lives, encouraging them to strive toward their goals. They are both blue-collar workers. Steve works at Snyder’s of Hanover and Tina at The Sheridan Press in Hanover.

They both admit having hard times in the past, but call the promise of Mark’s future “a diamond in the rough.”

“Other than hitting the lottery, you never expect something like this to happen to one of your children,” Tina said.

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