Former MLB journeyman dies at 61 years old
Former big league player and coach Mike Brumley died Saturday in a car accident, as initially reported by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Brumley was 61 years old.
A second-round pick for the Red Sox in the 1983 draft, Brumley played in 295 big league games over parts of eight seasons from 1987-95. The early years of his pro career were defined by his inclusion in a pair of trades involving future Hall of Famers – the Red Sox traded Brumley and Dennis Eckersley to the Cubs for Bill Buckner in May 1984, which led to Brumley making his MLB debut in a Chicago uniform in 1987. The Cubbies then dealt Brumley and Keith Moreland to the Padres in February 1988 in the swap that brought Goose Gossage
Overall, Brumley was traded four different times as part of his journeyman career. He saw action with six different teams at the major league level,and his 92 games with the Tigers in 1989 marked the most playing time he received in a season. Besides the Cubs and Tigers, Brumley also played with the Mariners, Red Sox, Astros and Athletics. He was additionally a member of four other organizations (Padres, Orioles, Angels, Marlins) without ever appearing with any of those teams in a big league game. He hit .206/.261/.272 over 697 plate appearances while playing mostly shortstop and also bouncing around the diamond as a second baseman, third baseman and all three outfield positions.
Brumley moved into a long coaching career after his playing days ended, including stints as a minor league manager with Angels and Dodgers affiliates, while also working as a roving instructor for the Dodgers and as a field coordinator in the Rangers’ organization. His work in a big league dugout came with two of his former teams – Brumley was a third and first coach with the Mariners from 2010-13 and then an assistant hitting coach with the Cubs during the 2014 season.
After serving as a minor league hitting coordinator for the Braves in 2021, Rumley developed close relationships with a number of players in the Atlanta team that continued long after his one and only season in the position. Austin Riley on Sunday spoke at length about his bond with Brumley, putting him behind only Riley’s father as his greatest “role models in my baseball career.”
MLB Trade Rumours extends its condolences to Brumley’s friends, family, and coworkers.
