You've Come a Long Way, Baby

Jason Michael Barker

America, meet Scott Brosius, World Series hero.

The Yankee third baseman hit two home runs Tuesday night to lead New York to a 5-4 win over San Diego in Game 3 of the 1998 World Series, essentially ending any chance of a series win by the Padres, and assuring the Yanks their spot in baseball history.

But you know about all that, so let's get back to Brosius.

Last season, Scott Brosius hit .203 for the last-place Oakland Athletics. An offseason trade landed him in the Bronx, starting at third for the New York Yankees. Brosius enjoyed perhaps his finest season in baseball this year, setting career highs in runs scored, doubles, hits, RBI, and stolen bases. Yet to really understand what he's been through, we must look back further.

From 1991 to 1993, Brosius toiled on the Oakland bench, amassing 368 at-bats in 144 games as the ultimate utility man, playing every position except pitcher and catcher. He never slugged over .400 or posted an OBP over .300 during that time. In 1994 he found regular work as the A's third baseman, starting 89 games at the hot corner in a strike-shortened season. Increased playing time didn't help his bat any, as he finished the year at .238/.289/.417 (AVG/OBP/SLG).

Something clicked for Brosius in 1995, as he made serious strides at the plate, posting a respectable .342 OBP and .452 SLG in 123 games split between 3B, 1B, and the outfield. 1996 was yet another step forward, as he started 108 games at 3B and had by far his best year at the plate, finishing .304/.393/.516 with 22 homers and 59 walks.

Taken in the context of his 1995, 1996 and 1998 seasons, Brosius' atrocious 1997 seems more the exception than the rule. Still, it's amazing to see a player bounce so far back from a truly horrific season. On to the game itself...

I really felt bad for Sterling Hitchcock tonight. When he was with the Yankees, George Steinbrenner called him "fat boy" and his heart and determination were questioned on numerous occasions. He was traded to the Mariners after the 1995 season, and things weren't much better. An injury to Randy Johnson left Hitch the #1 starter in the Seattle rotation, a job he certainly wasn't cut out for. After a heated exchange on the mound with manager Lou Piniella, Sterling was traded to San Diego.

Despite his lack of success in Seattle, I was pulling for him tonight, and not just because I'm rooting for the Padres. It's impressive to see how much he's improved under Dave Stewart, and he really did pitch well during the NLCS. Hitchcock gave it his all tonight, throwing five brilliant innings to start the game, then wriggling off the hook unscathed in the sixth despite loading the bases with one out.

In the home half of the same inning, he broke up David Cone's no-hit bid with a sharp single to right-center, igniting the rally which led to San Diego's three runs. It all fell apart for him in the seventh, when he allowed the first of Brosius' two home runs and a Shane Spencer double to start the inning. He was replaced by Joey Hamilton, and the rest is history. Tough luck, Hitch.

Game four takes place tonight in San Diego at 5:20 p.m. local time, and with Kevin Brown coming back on three days' rest the Padres might be able to pull one out, but does it really matter? The Series is just a formality at this point.

 

about the author

Jason Michael Barker is providing commentary on the World Series for Strikethree.com. Offer to wave your white towel in his face at jmb@strikethree.com.