Batting average .258 Role Baseball player Home runs 32 Height 1.93 m | Runs batted in 103 Weight 104 kg Name Brian Buchanan School University of Virginia | |
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2014 Lexington Legends Media Day
Brian James Buchanan (born July 21, 1973 in Miami, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for Fairfax High School in Fairfax, Virginia, where he excelled not only at hitting but at pitching as well and was named First Team All-Region for all of Northern Virginia. He once played for the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball from 2000 through 2004.
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Biography
A standout player at the University of Virginia, Brian was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round (24th overall) of the 1994 amateur draft. In February 1998, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in the trade that sent Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees. "Buck" enjoyed his time in Minnesota and had career years as a Twin. In July 2002, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for Jason Bartlett. During his time with the Padres, he was considered one of the most feared right-handed pinch hitters in the game. He was one of the few hitters in the league who would wear 1 batting glove. The batting glove company, Franklin, decided to come out with a signature "Buck" batting glove. Those who bought the glove were said to have an improved swing and would get caught looking more often. In parts of five seasons in the majors, he hit .258 in 767 at bats, hitting 32 home runs in the process. Brian "Buck" Buchanan is the son-in-law of the Boston Celtics great John Havlicek.
After the 2006 season, he joined the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan after 2 years playing in the minors for the Rochester Red Wings, Colorado Springs Sky Sox, and Louisville Bats. Buchanan played 99 games for the Hawks, mostly as a DH, batting .285 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI.
During the 2007–08 offseason, Buchanan signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals and became a free agent after the season. In January 2009, he re-signed with the Royals and is played for their Triple A affiliate, the Omaha Royals, and even made relief appearances on several occasions.
On November 18, 2009, he retired. He is now coaching in the Kansas City Royals Minor League system. He was manager for the Idaho Falls Chukars of the Pioneer Baseball League in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, he was manager of the Kane County Cougars of the Class A, Midwest League. In 2013, he became manager of the Lexington Legends, the new Royals Class A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.