Rico Brogna spent but a portion of a season in Atlanta. It would be the last of his career, as the left-handed first baseman - who suffered through career-long struggles with injuries and southpaws - would retire mid-season and accept a job as a high school football coach for some reason. Though quick with the glove, Brogna was exceedingly unproductive offensively during his tenure in Atlanta. He hit just .248 with a measly 3 homers and .297 OBP in 223 plate appearances, a worse performance than even Quilvio Veras. Despite his struggles and history with rival teams, Brogna was difficult to hate; a few early-season clutch hits, outstanding defense and a demeanor that at least intimated he was always trying his best bought him good will. By the premature end of his season, he was but an afterthought. Brogna was not always a defensive replacement-level player, however.
After a brief debut with the Detroit Tigers in 1992, Brogna spent practically his entire pro career in the National League East (save for 60 plate appearances with Boston following a 2000 deadline deal). He came out firing for the New York Mets in an abbreviated 1994 campaign, hitting .351 in the 39 games, though his playing time was hindered by David Segui and a player’s strike. The following season he hit .289 with a .342 on-base percentage, 22 homeruns and 76 RBI, and the best fielding percentage among eligible NL first basemen, which might be the best season ever from an ostensible rookie with chronic spinal arthritis[1].
Brogna’s arthritis, coupled with a season-ending shoulder surgery in 1996, concerned the Mets enough that they traded for batting helmet never-nude John Olerud. Brogna was sent to Philadelphia for Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan, two middle relievers the Phillies might was well have just made up. In his new digs, Brogna had three worthwhile seasons, hitting at least 20 homers every year and playing excellent defense. The aforementioned deadline deal sent him to Boston for the tail end of 2000, after which Brogna became a free agent and returned to a familiar division as member of the Braves.
The Braves now appear to have their long-term answer at first-base, with young Freddie Freeman finding himself in the 2011 season. The long search has seen mercurial results, and Brogna was but one of many feet swept over by a doorway that has been steadily revolving since Fred McGriff donned Devil Ray yellow and joined Jose Canseco in futile strife for 500 homers. The Crime Dog departed following the 1998 season; in the years since, Andres Galarraga, Ryan Klesko, Randall Simon, Brogna, Wes Helms, Ken Caminiti, the Francos, Robert Fick, Adam LaRoche, Scott Thorman, Mark Teixeira, Casey Kotchman and Troy Glaus all manned the position at some point, with only LaRoche (and, wistfully, Teixeira) realistically a potential mainstay (Galarraga was wildly productive, but cancerous (literally) and nearing the end of his career). Brogna’s tenure was spent in platoon, to protect him from his career .227 average versus lefties. After a fruitless three months sharing time with Helms, Brogna’s ineffectiveness precipitated the signing of recently released steroid abuser Ken Caminiti on July 5th. On July 17th, Brogna walked away from the game at the age of 31. He dove headfirst into coaching football, a sport he excelled at in high school[2] but never played in college.
Just 30 years old when he arrived in Atlanta, Brogna had hit 20 homers in every healthy professional season, and was as dependable with the glove as anyone. “We got Rico Brogna” wasn’t exclaimed in excited phone calls, but his arrival came with some optimism. At Brogna’s peak, he was a prototypical sub-star. Never seeming destined for All-Star teams or rookie-card hoarding, Brogna was productive and accurately respected. He could hit well and field better. He was ultimately doomed by his back, and his uselessness against left-handed pitchers. As the book got out on him, Brogna was reduced to strictly platoon deployment. Defensive wizardry can outweigh offensive production at key positions, but first base is not one of them. Teams need power and production from one of the least strenuous positions, and Brogna delivered neither by the end. Few can fault Brogna for knowing when to walk away, and it remains unclear how much pain he may have been playing in; his drop-off from ’99 to ’00-’01 was nothing if not precipitous.
And so Brogna has become a faceless member of the endless non-fixtures between bookends McGriff and (hopefully) Freeman. He possessed none of the caliber of Galarraga or Tex, nor the quirkiness of a Julio or LaRoche. Brogna’s tenure was so ephemeral he will likely wear a Phillies jersey in our mind’s eye, if he’s considered at all. Brogna’s retirement raised half the eyebrows of the Caminiti signing, and he was quickly forgotten. Brogna had earned himself a lot of good will with a red-hot beginning to the season; on the strength of the platoon, Brogna was hitting close to .300 near the end of April, but saw that average drop and linger in the .250 range for the next few months. In all, Brogna only appeared in 63 games for Atlanta, starting 46 of them. He was a brief and largely un-endearing member of the squad who made no waves and few memories. Yet, momentary as he may have been, he was a Brave nonetheless. Don’t stop the Chop.
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