Rico Brogna

From SoSH

Rico Joseph Brogna spent just two months with the Red Sox after being selected off waivers from the Phillies on August 3, 2000. He appeared in 43 games for the Red Sox and had 11 hits, 3 walks, and 8 RBI in 56 at-bats. While with the Sox, he wore uniform number 11.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Brogna's Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Rico Brogna, a smooth-fielding left-handed first baseman, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (26th overall) of the 1988 draft. He spent his first four seasons putting up mediocre numbers at each level of Detroit's minor league system. (OPS in each season from 1988-1991: .764, .641, .782, .792) Incidentally, in 1991, Brogna was also diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (a form of spinal arthritis), and would take daily medication to combat this throughout his career. This would be the first of many maladies for the brittle first baseman.

Brogna began the 1992 season in Triple-A Toledo, and a .261/.321/.408 line (.729 OPS) in 121 games was apparently enough production as a first baseman to get him called up to Detroit in August. He made his major league debut on August 8, 1992, going 1 for 4 with a double against the Toronto Blue Jays in Detroit's 8-6 win. He would appear in 9 more games for Detroit that season, and went 5 for 26 with a home run, 3 walks, and 3 RBI. Brogna found himself back in Toledo to start the 1993 season, and he spent the whole season there, playing in 129 games and batting .273/.322/.416 (.738 OPS). (Cecil Fielder was entrenched at first base for Detroit, blocking Brogna's path to the majors.)

Detroit helped Rico's career when they traded him to the New York Mets in March 1994 (in exchange for Alan Zinter), and after half a season in Triple-A Norfolk, Brogna was called up to New York to play first base. He made the most of his opportunity, batting .351/.380/.626 in 39 games, and firmly entrenched himself as the Mets' first baseman against right-handed pitchers. Fans loved the slick-fielding Brogna, dubbing him "Rico Suave". He followed that up with another successful season in 1995, batting .289/.342/.485 in 139 games and providing excellent defense (with just 3 errors in 1208 chances, for a league-leading .998 fielding percentage at first base). Brogna's offensive numbers were undoubtedly improved by platooning with David Segui at first base, as he had always struggled to hit lefties. Brogna had a slow start to the 1996 season, and elbow surgery in July shut him down for the rest of the year.

The Mets, unsure about how quickly Brogna would recover from surgery, traded for John Olerud in the 1996-97 offseason, allowing them to trade Brogna to the Phillies for Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan. Rico's 1997 season appeared to justify the Mets' concerns, as he batted only .252/293/.433 in 148 games (although part of the decline could be explained by his .148 average against lefties). He improved in each of his next two seasons with Philadelphia, batting .265/.319/.446 (in 153 games) in 1998 and .278/.336/.454 (in 157 games) in 1999.

The 1999-2000 offseason was a rather painful one for Rico: he had shoulder surgery in October, knee surgery in January, and surgery to repair a broken left forearm after being hit by a fastball in May. Rico Brogna was waived by the Phillies in August 2000, after appearing in just 38 games with the Phillies that year, and he was immediately picked up by the Red Sox (who had been in discussions with the Phillies about trading for Brogna). Both Brogna and some Boston-area fans were excited, given his excellent defensive reputation and his childhood as a Red Sox fan. Much to Rico's dismay, however, he appeared mainly as a defensive substitute or pinch hitter late in games for the Sox, getting only 56 at-bats in 43 games and managing only a .196/.237/.304 batting line. His Boston highlight was undoubtedly an August 14th pinch-hit walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Sox to a 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Brogna was let go by the Red Sox in November 2000, and he signed with the Atlanta Braves for the 2001 season. After three months of limited playing time and dismal production (.248/.297/.335 in 72 games), however, Rico Brogna announced his retirement on July 17, 2001, pledging to start a new career as a high-school football coach in Connecticut.

Brogna's Moments in the Sun

• July 25, 1994: Brogna had a perfect 5 for 5 day with two doubles and 3 RBI in the Mets' 7-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
• May 11, 1996: A vicious bench-clearing brawl between the Mets and Cubs started when Mets pitcher Pete Harnisch punched Cubs catcher Scott Servais. The brawl resulted in 9 ejections. Mets player Rico Brogna, despite being punched, was fortunately not ejected: he was 4-5 in the game with a single, a triple, and two home runs, including the game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth inning that won the game 7-6 for Philadelphia.
• April 8, 1998: Rico Brogna was 4 for 4 with a double and two stolen bases in Philadelphia's 9-5 win over the Florida Marlins.
• April 28, 1998: Rico Brogna was 4 for 4 with a single, a double, two home runs, two walks, and 3 RBI as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 11-8 in 10 innings. In the 10th inning, Brogna hit a single, stole second, and scored on Kevin Jordan's home run in the Phillies game-winning three-run rally.
• September 8, 1998: Rico Brogna is among four players to homer twice in the game as his Philadelphia Phillies beat the Mets 16-4.
• August 25, 1999: Rico Brogna was 4 for 5 with two doubles, two home runs, and 7 RBI for the Phillies as Philadelphia beat the San Diego Padres 15-1.
• August 14, 2000: Rico Brogna had a pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Red Sox rallied to defeat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-4.

Trivia

• July 3, 1994: Mets' first baseman Rico Brogna hit a double in the 8th inning to break up Andy Benes' no-hitter, although the Padres won the game 7-0.
• April 5, 1997: Rico Brogna had the only hit for the Philadelphia Phillies (a double) as Padres Sterling Hitchcock and Trevor Hoffman combined to 1-hit the Phillies in a 4-1 win.
• September 22, 1999: The Phillies scored 11 runs in the eighth inning, with Rico Brogna driving in 3 runs, in defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 12-3.

Transactions

• June 1, 1988: Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round (26th pick) of the 1988 amateur draft (signed June 18, 1988)
• March 31, 1994: Traded by the Detroit Tigers to the New York Mets for Alan Zinter
• November 27, 1996: Traded by the New York Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ricardo Jordan and Toby Borland
• August 3, 2000: Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox from the Philadelphia Phillies
• November 1, 2000: Granted Free Agency
• December 13, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis