Pitcher, Cincinnati
Reds
Age: 31
3rd season
with Reds (2nd complete)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 197
Prior to 1961:
A Cincinnati
native, Brosnan early on displayed intelligence and a dedication to learning in
addition to being a baseball fan and pitcher for an American Legion team. A few
months after graduating from high school in 1946, the 17-year-old Brosnan
signed with the Chicago Cubs for $2500. Initially assigned to Elizabethton of
the Class D Appalachian League in 1947, he displayed a good fastball and
impressive curve while posting a 17-8 record with a 3.04 ERA and 171 strikeouts
over 228 innings. Brosnan experienced difficulties in 1948 and, while pitching
for Fayetteville of the Class B Tri-State League, he quit the team and returned
home after a particularly bad outing. He returned and went on to finish with a
7-13 tally and 5.16 ERA with Fayetteville and Springfield of the New England
League. Mentored by Arthur Meyerhoff, a Cubs stockholder, Brosnan underwent
psychoanalysis which helped the introverted loner deal with his personality
issues. His pitching improved when assigned to Macon of the Class A South
Atlantic (or Sally) League in 1949, as he produced a 9-11 record with a 3.77
ERA and 103 strikeouts over 148 innings. With two teams in 1950 he went a
combined 5-6 with a dreadful 7.71 ERA and exhibited a poor attitude. Afterward
he entered Army service for two years where he pitched for the service team in
Fort Meade, Maryland. The newly married pitcher resumed his minor league career
in 1953 with Springfield of the Class AAA International League, where his
record was a miserable 4-17 with a 4.70 ERA. Distraught about the course of his
baseball career, he was surprised to be invited to spring training with the
pitching-deprived Cubs in 1954. Following 18 relief appearances with the Cubs
that resulted in a 1-0 tally and 9.45 ERA, he was sent down to Beaumont of the
Class AA Texas League where he developed a slider and went 7-1 with a 2.78 ERA
and 58 strikeouts over 68 innings. Advancing to Los Angeles of the Class AAA
Pacific Coast League in 1955, Brosnan produced a 17-10 mark with a 2.38 ERA and
133 strikeouts over 223 innings pitched. Having filled out physically, as well
to having developed as a pitcher, he returned to the Cubs in 1956 and as a
reliever who occasionally started, he put together a modest 5-9 tally with a
3.79 ERA, one save, one shutout, and 51 strikeouts over 95 innings for the
cellar-dwelling club. Used far more as a reliever in 1957 he showed improvement
in posting a 5-5 record and 3.38 ERA with 73 strikeouts over 98.2 innings
pitched. The glasses-wearing hurler was becoming known for his intellectual
pursuits and eccentric tastes more than his pitching performance. In 1958 he
got off to a good start as a member of the starting rotation and was 3-4 with a
3.14 ERA when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in May for veteran infielder
Alvin Dark. He returned to a starter-reliever role and was at his best out of
the bullpen. With the Cardinals he was 8-4 with 7 saves, a 3.44 ERA, and 65
strikeouts over 115 innings. During the season, he was published for the first
time in Sports Illustrated. He had been keeping a diary and the
published excerpt received positive reviews and led to the publishing of his
diary of the 1959 season that became a book called The Long Season which
contained his often wry observations about life as a major league baseball
player. As for that 1959 season, Brosnan was now largely relegated to the
bullpen and was dealt to the Reds in June and for the year went 9-6 with 4
saves, a 3.79 ERA, and 74 strikeouts over 116.1 innings. Taking some criticism
for revealing too much about players’ difficulties (although unlike Jim
Bouton’s Ball Four several years later, he avoided comments about other
players’ personal lives) in his book, he did receive good reviews in general.
His performance with the Reds in 1960 was almost entirely in relief and
resulted in a 7-2 tally in 57 appearances with 12 saves, a 2.36 ERA, and 62
strikeouts over 99 innings. He was now becoming acclaimed as both a relief pitcher
and writer.
1961 Season Summary
Appeared in 53
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 53 [9,
tied with Don McMahon, Ron Perranoski & Larry Sherry]
Games Started –
0
Games Finished
– 34 [5, tied with Larry Sherry]
Complete Games
– 0
Wins – 10
Losses – 4
PCT - .714 [Non-qualifying]
Saves – 16 [3,
tied with Bill Henry]
Shutouts – 0
Innings Pitched
– 80
Hits – 77
Runs – 34
Earned Runs – 27
Home Runs – 7
Bases on Balls
– 18
Strikeouts – 40
ERA – 3.04 [Non-qualifying]
Hit Batters – 0
Balks – 1 [8,
tied with fourteen others]
Wild Pitches – 1
Midseason
Snapshot: 5-2, ERA - 2.95, G – 29, SV – 13, SO - 20 in 39.2 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 4 (in 3 IP) at Chi. Cubs 9/26
10+ strikeout
games – 0
Batting
PA – 15, AB – 13,
R – 1, H – 2, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 1, SO – 6, SB – 0, CS – 0,
AVG - .154, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 30
Put Outs – 9
Assists – 18
Errors – 3
DP – 0
Pct. - .900
Postseason
Pitching: G – 3 (World Series vs. NY Yankees)
GS – 0, CG – 0,
GF – 1, Record – 0-0, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 6, H – 9, R – 5, ER –
5, HR – 0, BB – 4, SO – 5, ERA – 7.50, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 2
Awards & Honors:
20th
in NL MVP voting (3 points – 1% share)
---
The Reds went
93-61 to win the NL pennant by 4 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The
pitching staff led the league in shutouts (12), saves (40), fewest hits allowed
(1300), and fewest runs allowed (653). The lightly regarded Reds were paced by
their formidable hitting and decent starting pitching that featured
righthanders Joey Jay and Bob Purkey, and LHP Jim O’Toole, supported by
relievers Brosnan and Bill Henry. They put together a 54-30 first half and
remained strong down the stretch to hold off the Dodgers and nail down the
first Cincinnati pennant since 1940. Lost World Series to the New York Yankees,
4 games to 1.
Aftermath of 1961:
The Reds dropped to third in 1962 but Brosnan remained effective from the bullpen, posting a 4-4 record with a 3.34 ERA, 13 saves, and 51 strikeouts over 64.2 innings pitched. Nicknamed “Professor”, he was writing regularly on baseball for a variety of publications as well as a book about the 1961 season called Pennant Race. Early into the 1963 season the Reds traded him to the Chicago White Sox, where he became part of an outstanding bullpen. He appeared in 45 games for the Chisox and was 3-8 with a 2.84 ERA, 15 saves, and 46 strikeouts over 73 innings. Having been banned from writing during the season by the front office, and facing a pay cut that made him more inclined to submit articles for publication, he was released just prior to spring training in 1964 and was unable to catch on with another club, thus ending his baseball career. For his major league career, Brosnan pitched in 385 games and compiled a 55-47 record with a 3.54 ERA, 68 saves, and 507 strikeouts over 831.1 innings. With the Reds he made 190 appearances with a 29-14 tally, 3.04 ERA, 43 saves, and 213 strikeouts over 331.2 innings. The 1961 World Series marked his only postseason action. After baseball he wrote for an advertising agency as well as continuing to write free-lance articles and books on baseball geared to younger readers. Having made a name for himself as an athlete with literary talent who wrote his own material about his experiences in baseball (rather than with the aid of a ghostwriter), Brosnan died at age 84 in 2014.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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