You didn’t think I’d be cruel enough to use THAT picture, did you?
Brant Brown won’t be known in history as the man who killed Ron Santo, but he will forever be known as the man who almost killed Ron Santo. He killed at least a part of Ronnie on that fateful day in 1998. I’m not saying he’s the reason Santo lost his legs, but I’m not NOT saying that. But we’ll get to that. Brant Brown was bad over the course of his 5-year career. Occasionally, he was stunningly bad. Except for those times he was awesome. That’s why #37 joins the bench of the Best Bad Cubs Team of My Time.
Brown’s professional career began on June 1, 1992 when the Cubs selected him way up in the third round of the amateur draft. Here’s when I might ordinarily make a joke about the Cubs passing on a way better player later in that round, but the most recognizable player taken in that round was either Chris Widger or Chris Gomez. If you think you remember either of those guys, you’re mistaken.
Brown put up decent enough numbers in the minors, with a career OPS hovering close enough to .800 to earn him a call-up. Also be aware that this was the mid-1990s Chicago Cubs. An SAT score hovering close to 800 might have earned a guy a call-up.
Brown got his shot on June 15, 1996. The San Diego Padres arrived at Wrigley Field and sent Tim Worrell to the mound against Jaime Navarro, one of the few 1990s Cubs pitchers still living today. Brown batted second and played first base. In his first MLB at-bat, Brown slapped a single into right field. He finished the day 1-4 with a strikeout. However, he did drive in the only Cub run in a 2-1 loss, as his groundout in the 8th scored Scott Bullett.
Brown appeared in 29 games for the Cubs in 1996, hitting 5 home runs and driving in 9. His .304/.329/.536 slash line was solid. Not as solid was his 2 walks against 17 strikeouts. Nevertheless, Brown cracked the roster at the start of the 1997 season and was around for at least the first 12 losses of that year. Brown bounced up and down that year, finishing with a .234/.286/.409 line in 148 plate appearances.
In 1998, Brown was a regular member of the roster, spelling left and center field. Part-time players are easy to love. They don’t play enough for you to hate them, and they usually come in to replace a slumping player who makes you angry. That was Brown’s role on the Wild-Card-winning 1998 Cubs. In 380 plate appearances, Brown hit 14 home runs and drove in 48 runs. His .501 slugging percentage was third on the team, behind only Sammy Sosa and Henry Rodriguez. He also struck out 95 times, while drawing only 30 walks. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
But Brown did perhaps his best work for the Cubs off the field. After the miraculous 1998 season, the Cubs sent Brown to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jon Lieber. Straight up. Lieber was a workhorse for the Cubs for four straight seasons and is the last Cub pitcher to win 20 games, as he went 20-6 for them in 2001. Brown, meanwhile, put up a .232/.283/.449 line for the Pirates. His flailing away at the plate worsened, as he struck out 114 times against only 22 walks. He was traded after the 1999 season to the Florida Marlins for Bruce Aven.
In 2000, Brown was part of a three-team deal, as the Marlins sent him to the Texas Rangers for Chuck Smith. The Rangers then flipped him to the Cubs for Dave Martinez. The wrong was righted. Unfortunately, Brown was not righted. He hit .157/.248/.270 in 102 plate appearances to finish the season. Brown hasn’t been seen in a Major League uniform since. The Cubs haven’t won anything since. COINCIDENCE???
I think Brown is currently coaching with the Seattle Mariners, but at some point, Brown was currently coaching in the AFL with the Texas Rangers’ organization. When he was, he was on Twitter. It was astonishingly boring, and it lasted less than a month. But WHAT A MONTH.
Greatest Cub Moment: When that “Greatest Cubs Games” DVD came out, I wasn’t surprised to see “The Sandberg Game” on there. I was, however, surprised that “The Brown Game” didn’t make it. Maybe it’s because he didn’t start the game. Or maybe because there’s a bias against left-handed players. Or maybe because making this team is the greatest honor Brown could possibly hope to receive. Nevertheless, The Brown Game took place on June 5, 1998. The White Sox took the Red Line north to face Steve Trachsel and the Cubs. Brown didn’t even see action until the top of the 8th inning, when he was part of a double switch in a 5-5 game. Brown popped out in his first at-bat, but he led off the bottom of the 10th with the game still tied 5-5 with a ringing double and the top of the order coming up. Manny Alexander (who was leading off? seriously?) bunted Brown to third, and Matt Karchner intentionally walked Mickey Morandini and Mark Grace to face Sosa with the bases loaded. Sosa struck out swinging, and it was up to local twat Jeff Blauser to send the Cubs fans home happy. Did he ever? No. The answer is no. Blauser struck out looking on a 3-2 pitch. Both bullpens held until the bottom of the 12th. Brown led off the inning against Sox pitcher Tony Castillo. Brown yanked the second pitch he saw from Castillo deep into right field to give the Cubs a walkoff 6-5 win.
Worst Moment as a Human: Oh, wait, there’s already a Brant Brown Game? Well, it must be September 23, 1998. The Cubs were in County Stadium trying to clinch their first ever Wild Card berth. In the bottom of the 9th, the Milwaukee Brewers were trailing 7-5 and facing Rod Beck. As Beck was wont to do, he got two outs, but also loaded the bases. Up came Brett Favre lookalike Geoff Jenkins. He hit an easy fly ball to left, where Brown sat under it. He inexplicably dropped it, allowing three runs to score, and the Brewers to walk off with an 8-7 win. Oh, and this happened.
I don’t know what’s worse. Brown’s error, or that terrible clip.
