Ben Broussard
Ben Broussard | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First baseman | |||||||||||||||
Born: Beaumont, Texas, U.S. | September 24, 1976|||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||
MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
June 22, 2002, for the Cleveland Indians | |||||||||||||||
Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
May 2, 2008, for the Texas Rangers | |||||||||||||||
MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
Batting average | .263 | ||||||||||||||
Home runs | 87 | ||||||||||||||
Runs batted in | 314 | ||||||||||||||
Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Benjamin Isaac Broussard (born September 24, 1976) is an American former
Broussard has released two full-length music albums. The first, his self-titled album, was released in 2005. The second, Renovated, was released in 2009. He was also featured on the album, Oh Say Can You Sing?, a compilation of different Major League Baseball players singing their favorite songs. On that album Broussard sang U2's "With or Without You". He is now a full-time musician.[1]
Early life
Broussard was born in Beaumont, Texas and graduated from Hardin-Jefferson High School in Sour Lake, Texas in 1995. He played college baseball at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.[2]
Professional career
Cincinnati Reds
Broussard was drafted by the
In 2000 Broussard was selected to the
Broussard split the 2001 season between the Class-A
He began the 2002 season with the Triple-A
Cleveland Indians
He split the remainder of the 2002 season between the Triple-A
My favorite moment would be my first home run ... That moment, it made it all real to me that I'm competing here.[1]
He appeared in 31 games with Cleveland from before being optioned back to Buffalo on August 8. He was recalled for second time after the conclusion of the Triple-A playoffs and appeared in 8 games in September, going 5 for 18 with a home run and two RBIa. On the year with Cleveland he made 29 starts in left field and 3 starts at first base.
Broussard spent most of the 2003 season in the Major Leagues with Cleveland and teamed with Travis Hafner in the second half to solidify the first base position. He began the season on the 15-day disabled list after straining his right oblique muscle on March 14. After a short rehab assignment in Triple-A, Broussard was activated from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A. He was recalled from on April 13 and made his '03 debut against Seattle. He hit his first home run of the season off of Freddy García. Broussard finished eighth among American League rookies in runs scored with 53, tenth in on-base percentage with .312, 6th in slugging percentage with .443 and tied for seventh in home runs with 16 along with New York's Hideki Matsui.
In 2004 Broussard had a solid offensive season after getting off to a slow start to begin the campaign. He finished fourth on the team with a career-high 80 RBIs in just 415 at-bats. He led all American League hitters in RBIs among those with 425 at-bats or less, only Barry Bonds and Jason Bay had more in the Major Leagues. Broussard also became just the fourth player in Major League baseball history and the first since Darryl Strawberry in 1998 to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in the same season. On the year he hit three grand slams which equaled the AL lead with Hank Blalock & Rubén Sierra. On the year he hit .636 with the bases loaded with three home runs and 23 RBIs. He appeared in 133 games at first base, making 107 starts. He finished eighth among AL first basemen in fielding percentage at .994.
Broussard patrolled first base for most of the 2005 season as he was again Eric Wedge's first baseman against right-handed pitchers. He had an inconsistent offensive season, but came on over the last six weeks of the season to post a career-high 19 homers in 142 games. On the year he made 112 starts at first base and two starts at the designated hitter spot. At first base he compiled a fielding percentage of .992 in 138 games at first base, the seventh best mark among league first basemen.
Seattle Mariners
Broussard went on to have a successful stint with the Indians, and was traded to the Seattle Mariners on July 26, 2006, for outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and a player to be named later (who turned out to be minor leaguer Shawn Nottingham). Broussard hit his career-best 20th home run of the season on September 10. He had four hits for the third time of the season in that game. The other two times came when he was with the Indians. Broussard hit a home run in his first game with the Mariners.
On April 21, 2007, he hit the first pinch hit grand slam in Seattle Mariners history in a 7–6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. On May 5, 2007, he hit a home run in the 8th inning against Chien-Ming Wang, to break up a perfect game with only five outs to go.
Texas Rangers
On December 12, 2007, Broussard was traded to the Texas Rangers for infielder Tug Hulett. Broussard agreed to a one-year contract worth $3.85 million avoiding arbitration.
On May 8, 2008, Broussard was designated for assignment by the Rangers, and on May 15, he was released.
Yankees, Cubs & White Sox
On May 27, Broussard signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees, but was released on June 10. He signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs on June 12. He returned to the Yankees on July 4 and became a free agent after the season.
On February 10, 2009, he signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox[4] but was released soon after. He later retired.[1]
Broussard signed in 2013 with the
Legacy
Broussard is one of only five Major League Baseball players to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in the same season. The others are Davey Johnson of the Philadelphia Phillies, Mike Ivie of the San Francisco Giants, Darryl Strawberry of the New York Yankees, and Brooks Conrad of the Atlanta Braves.[5]
Music career
Ben Broussard | |
---|---|
Birth name | Benjamin Broussard |
Born | September 24, 1976 |
Genres | Rock, Alternative rock |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 2005–present |
Labels | Lazy Bones |
Website | http://www.benbroussard.com/ |
Broussard started playing guitar at the age of 15 and played in a
Oh Say Can You Sing?
Broussard got his professional music career start after appearing on the album, Oh Say Can You Sing?, a compilation of Major League Baseball players singing their favorite songs. Other big league players on the album included Jimmy Rollins, Sean Casey and Ozzie Smith.[6]
Ben Broussard
He released a self-titled debut album in 2005. Two of his songs were featured in 2005 episodes of
His songs 105 and Hold on To Me were featured in episodes of The N network's South of Nowhere.[7] Deep, another of his songs, was used in a commercial advertising the show.
Renovated
Broussard released his second full-length album, Renovated in 2009. Broussard said this about changing his career path to a professional musician:
I guess we all have that competitive fire inside. It's like a six-, eight-month grind, You have to have a mind-set to battle through things. I felt my tank was low. I went to Chicago to make the big-league club and that didn't work out. I started to wonder, 'Is this really what I want to do?' It wasn't just because I was in Charlotte.[1]
Discography
- Oh Say Can You Sing? (2005)
- Ben Broussard (2005)
- Renovated (2009)
Personal life
Broussard resides in Austin, Texas, during the off season. He is married with two daughters. Broussard is a Christian.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d Broussard begins second career in music Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine americanpress.com
- ^ "Ben Broussard Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ "Indians ship Branyan to Reds". USA Today. June 7, 2002. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ "White Sox sign Broussard to minor league deal". Blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com. February 10, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ Steve Dorsey. "Conrad relishes chance to contribute | braves.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ Notes: Back trouble keeps Thome out mlb.com
- ^ The N: The N on TV: South of Nowhere: Music, The-N.com Music
- ^ "GET IN THE GAME PODCAST: Ben Broussard - Former MLB Player". Sports Spectrum. October 28, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- BenBroussard.com – Broussard's personal website