4/17/23

Tom Brennan - A Change of Name and Occupation


This mystery man, back in his college days.

Some folks, when things just ain’t working, they sit in their poop instead of changing their diaper.

Is this a baseball article? 

Well, that Depends. 

Some like to be Pampered, while some FIGHT.

Last year, a Mets minor league outfielder had a frankly miserable season. 

Actually the past two years were brutal, in which he hit .181 with 163 Ks in 418 at bats. 

A 3rd rounder in 2017, he was crashing and burning, despite being 24 of 29 in steals over those 2 years.

Name? 

Quinn Brodey.

Quinn exited the scene. Age 27. Done. Failed.

This year, a reliever showed up in High A ball, who decided to FIGHT, and through Saturday, in 3 outings, 5 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 4 Ks. 

This reliever hadn’t pitched at all since he was an amateur in 2015, when he was 19.

Lots of guys pitch a long time to get as high as Brooklyn. 

Some never make it. 

Some graduate from Low A, reach Brooklyn, and get hammered.

This guy skipped low A and has been solid in relief for Brooklyn.

Name?  

Harris Brodey.

Harris is his real first name.

Maybe, in using his real first name (and not his middle name Quinn) he has found his real calling: pitcher.

Don’t scoff. He is a lefty, and those are few and far between.

Does he have an arm? 

45 career outfield assists in 400 games suggests YES!  That is a high rate.

Brandon Nimmo, by comparison, has 15 assists in 574 games as a Met.

Harris may not be the next Ohtani. 

But he may just be a real southpaw pitcher. 

And we can always use more of those.

Go, Harris, Go. 

Say hello to Quinn if you see him.

Back in 2017, BTW, Mack described Brodey as follows:

A two-way talent coming out of the California high school ranks, Brodey played the outfield and pitched briefly in relief for Stanford as a freshman. 

He left the mound behind for good as a sophomore and has been a mainstay in the lineup the last two seasons, putting up solid, albeit unspectacular numbers along the way.

I guess he hasn’t “left the mound behind for good” after all.

MOUNT ALONSO

8 HRs already? And they’re big. Wednesday, his HR put them ahead. Saturday and Sunday, he homered in one run wins, including yesterday’s game-tying shot in the 9th that reached Mars. He’s on a Mars Mission, to bring home rock samples…and an MVP trophy.


BATY CHANGE OF LOCATION, NOT VOCATION:

“Son, we need you out in LA.  CAN YOU CATCH THE NEXT FLIGHT. (Hey, where did Brett go?)”

WHAT'S WRONG WITH NIMMO?

I mean, no HRs in his first 65 plate appearances, and...well, nothing.

He's great, OK...get used to it.

.463 OBP, just 6 Ks, 3 of 3 in steals, 2 enormous catches yesterday.

Dude is worth the dough.  Wonderful Wyoming Winner.


ROBERTSON IS REALLY ROCKING AND ROLLING IN RELIEF.

And the opponents are reeling.


Let’s keep the wins a-comin’, folks. 

“Let’s Go, West Coast.”

7 comments:

Mack Ade said...

Well, if relief pitching doesn't work, he could turn to catching and come back as Quinn The Eskimo

Paul Articulates said...

Great story about Brodey. Love to hear when someone finds a way to keep the dream alive.
Mets fans must keep the dream alive. Stop complaining and enjoy the game. The Mets are good. They will win many games even with some injuries and underperformances.

Tom Brennan said...

Mack, as long as he doesn't come back as Harris Kamala

Tom Brennan said...

Paul, the Mets' elite players are collectively elite. This is similar to the mid -80s Mets. When you have the core like that, you are just tough to beat.

And it will be interesting to see if Harris Brodey can defy gravity and rise to the majors and join themby next year. Way too early to know if this experiment will be successful, but I am always in favor of experimentation to achieve success. You have blistering speed, become a slap hitter if you strike out too much the "normal" way. If you're a good (but not good enough) pitcher, try the knuckleball, since the Niekros, Wilhelm, Wood, Rhoden, Dickey and a few others had tremendous success with the knuckleball. Except for Dickey, all were back in the days of small $$. Now the monetary incentive is exponentially greater.

Remember1969 said...

That comment got me thinking . .anybody ever seen a left handed knuckleball pitcher? I can't think of one.

Tom Brennan said...

Never seen a lefty knuckleballer. Interesting question.

Tom Brennan said...

Brooklyn (High A) has TWO failed hitters-turned-pitchers in 2023: Brodey AND Manny Rodriguez.
The two combined have thrown 16 innings, 8 hits, 4 runs, 12 Ks. Remarkable.
8 walks and 5 hit batsmen, too, but nonetheless amazing.