Scott Brosius

Early life

Brosius grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon, where he attended Rex Putnam High School before going to Linfield College. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 20th round of the 1987 amateur draft and signed on June 9, 1987.

Career

Brosius became one of the few players to hit a home run in his first major league game, on August 7, 1991. Brosius was the A's starting third baseman through the mid-1990s, although he played almost 300 games in his Oakland career at other positions, primarily in the outfield. In 1996, he batted .304 with 22 home runs, his best year with Oakland; however, his performance declined in 1997 when he finished last in the majors (of those who qualified for the batting title) in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging average. He was traded to the Yankees after the season for Kenny Rogers, who had struggled mightily in New York.

New York Yankees (1998–2001)

In his first year in the Bronx, he batted .300 with 19 home runs and 98 RBIs. That season, he was selected to his only career All-Star Game. He hit .471 with two homers and six runs batted in the 1998 World Series, and was named the Most Valuable Player. He hit 2 home runs in Game 3 of the World Series, including one off of Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to give the Yankees a 3-0 Series lead.

Although his performance over the next three years did not match that of his 1998 season, he remained a perennial fan favorite in the Bronx; his workmanlike blue-collar approach and serviceable durability appealed to fans, teammates, and management alike. During his career with the Yankees, they won the American League pennant every year, from 1998 to 2001, as well as the World Series from 1998 to 2000. He won a Gold Glove in 1999. On July 18 of that year, against the Montreal Expos, Brosius caught Orlando Cabrera's foul popup for the final out of David Cone's perfect game. He was first among all AL third basemen in errors in 2001, with 22, and had the lowest fielding percentage in the league (.935).

In one of the most dramatic, clutch moments of his career, Brosius hit a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks to tie the game and set up an extra-inning Yankees win. The previous night, New York first baseman Tino Martinez had hit a two-out, two-run home run to tie the game in the ninth as well. It marked the first time in World Series history that this had ever occurred. The Yankees would go on to lose Games 6 and 7 of the series, after which Brosius retired.

Coaching career

From 2002 to 2007, Brosius was an assistant coach at Linfield College under head baseball coach Scott Carnahan, Brosius's coach when he played for the school. In 2007, they switched roles. Brosius was named head coach and Carnahan, who also is athletic director, became an assistant coach. Brosius earned his degree from Linfield in 2002. Brosius has been named Northwest Conference coach of the year five times (2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014) in seven seasons as head coach and led the team into the NCAA Division III national championship tournament three times. The Wildcats finished third in 2010 and in 2013 won Linfield's first NCAA national baseball championship (and second national championship, after the 1971 NAIA victory.) Trying for a rare repeat in 2014, they were eliminated in two straight games. Brosius' win-loss record in seven years as Linfield head coach was 237-81 (.745).

On December 4, 2015, the Seattle Mariners announced that Brosius would be the new hitting coach for their AAA affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers. He was promoted on October 20, 2016 to assistant coach of Seattle Mariners for the 2017 season.

Legacy

He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 2007 and 2015, Brosius took part in the New York Yankees Old-Timers' Day festivities.

On November 4, 2009, Brosius threw out the first pitch before Game 6 of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium.