Highlighted Year: Ollie Brown, 1970

Outfielder, San Diego Padres

Age:  26

2^nd season with Padres

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 178 

Prior to 1970:

Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Brown moved to Long Beach, California with his family in his youth. One of three athlete brothers (older brother Willie went on to play briefly in the NFL and younger brother Oscar was an outfielder with the Atlanta Braves from 1969 to ’73), he attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School where he performed well in baseball and basketball. After attending Long Beach College for a year, Brown signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1962. While there were questions as to what position he would play, the 18-year-old split 1962 with Class D teams in the Appalachian and Midwest Leagues where he played in the outfield and batted a combined .227 with 10 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .301 on-base percentage. With Decatur of the Midwest League in 1963 he pitched and produced a 9-8 record that included a no-hitter, but his ERA was a high 4.76 and he walked 132 batters over 123 innings. Now exclusively an outfielder, Brown moved on to Fresno of the Class A California League in 1964 where he batted .329 with 40 home runs, 133 RBIs, a .412 OBP, and a .671 slugging percentage. His impressive display of power led to his obtaining the enduring nickname of “Downtown”, as in “Downtown Ollie Brown”. Advancing to Tacoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1965, Brown hit .293 with 30 doubles, 27 home runs, 81 RBIs, a .337 OBP, and a .512 slugging percentage. Called up to the Giants in September, he managed two hits in 10 at bats. He spent most of 1966 with the Giants, with a brief trip back to Class AAA at midseason. He ended up seeing significant action in right field for the Giants and batted .233 with 7 home runs, 33 RBIs, and a .303 OBP. In 1967 he took over right field from a struggling Ken Henderson but ended up hitting a disappointing .267 with 13 home runs, 53 RBIs, a .312 OBP, and a .396 slugging percentage. Appearing in only 21 games through June in 1968, Brown was sent down to Phoenix of the Pacific Coast League where he played in 25 games and hit .250 with only three homers. Called back up to San Francisco in September he finished with 40 major league appearances while batting .232 with a .270 OBP and being completely overshadowed by another young right fielder, Bobby Bonds. Left unprotected in the NL expansion draft, he was selected by the Padres, who were attracted to his excellent throwing arm in the outfield and power potential at the plate. Installed in right field in 1969 he batted .264 with 20 home runs, 61 RBIs, a .319 OBP, and a .412 slugging percentage for the fledgling club.

1970 Season Summary

Appeared in 139 games

RF – 137, PH – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 577

At Bats – 534

Runs – 79

Hits – 156

Doubles – 34 [8, tied with Billy Williams, Bobby Tolan & Lee May]

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 23

RBI – 89

Bases on Balls – 34

Int. BB – 8

Strikeouts – 78

Stolen Bases – 5

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .292

OBP - .331

Slugging Pct. - .489 [19]

Total Bases – 261

GDP – 14

Hit by Pitches – 0

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – 6 [14, tied with nine others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 17, HR – 13, RBI – 43, AVG - .278, SLG – .475, OBP – .326

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) vs. LA Dodgers 7/12

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

HR at home – 11

HR on road – 12

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at San Francisco 7/1

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 6 at San Francisco 7/1

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 3 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 280

Put Outs – 258

Assists – 12

Errors – 10

DP – 3

Pct. - .964 

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The Padres went 63-99 to finish sixth (last) in the NL Western Division, 39 games behind the division-winning Cincinnati Reds while leading the league in batting strikeouts (1164), and fewest doubles (208). With improved offense in their second season, the Padres were 11 wins better than their inaugural season. Still, they quickly dropped into the NL West cellar during a 7-14 April and stayed there, despite occasional forays into fifth. The pitching was a disappointment, offsetting the power production of Brown, 1B Nate Colbert, and CF Cito Gaston. Surprisingly, they went 10-8 against the division-champion Reds.

Aftermath of 1970:

Brown’s power production dropped off significantly in 1971 as he slugged only 9 home runs with 55 RBIs while batting a respectable .273 with a .346 OBP. He came through with a solid 9 assists in right field. The lack of consistent power production affected most of the club, which again finished in the division cellar despite improved pitching. Off to a slow start at the plate in 1972, Brown was dealt to the Oakland Athletics in May. He lasted only six weeks with Oakland before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. Appearing in a total of 109 games he batted .248 with 4 home runs, 29 RBIs, and a .310 OBP. In the 1973 opening game for the Brewers, Brown became the first player to appear as a Designated Hitter for the club, a role in which he appeared 82 times during a total of 97 games played. He hit a respectable .280 with 7 home runs, 32 RBIs, a .355 OBP, and a .392 slugging percentage. In the offseason he was dealt to the California Angels as part of a nine-player deal. In the spring of 1974 he was sold to the Houston Astros. He appeared in only 27 games for Houston before being waived and picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies. With the rising Phillies, he platooned in the outfield with Jay Johnstone and batted .242 with 11 extra-base hits that included 4 home runs, 13 RBIs, and a .286 OBP. The Phillies contended in the NL East in 1975 and Brown continued to be a valuable part-time outfielder who hit .303 with 6 home runs, 26 RBIs, and a .369 OBP. Playing in a similar role in 1976, “Downtown” finished at .254 with 10 doubles, 5 home runs that included a grand slam which keyed a win against the division-rival Pirates in a July game, 30 RBIs, and a .350 OBP. The Phillies won the NL East and Brown received his first taste of postseason action, going hitless as the club was swept by Cincinnati in the NLCS. He played one last season with the division-winning Phillies in 1977, hitting .243 with a .280 OBP before retiring at 33. For his major league career, Brown batted .265 with 964 hits that included 144 doubles, 11 triples, and 102 home runs. He scored 404 runs and compiled 454 RBIs, a .324 OBP, and a .394 slugging percentage. With the Padres he batted .272 with 450 hits, 194 runs scored, 70 doubles, 4 triples, 52 home runs, 208 RBIs, a .327 OBP, and a .413 slugging percentage. Appearing in three postseason games, he was hitless in four at bats with one walk. A useful player who never fully lived up to his potential in major league baseball, he died in 2015 at age 74.

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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.