George Brett
George Brett | ||
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Runs batted in | 1,596 | |
Teams | ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
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Member of the National | ||
Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
Induction | 1999 | |
Vote | 98.2% (first ballot) |
George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals.
Brett's 3,154 career
Brett was named the Royals' interim hitting coach in 2013 on May 30, but he stepped down from the position on July 25 in order to resume his position of vice president of baseball operations.
Early life
Born in
Jack and Ethel Brett then moved the family to the Midwest and three years later to El Segundo, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, just south of Los Angeles International Airport. George grew up hoping to follow in the footsteps of his three older brothers. He graduated from El Segundo High School in 1971 and was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round (29th overall) of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.[1] He was high school teammates with pitcher Scott McGregor.[2] He lived in Mission Hills, Kansas when he moved to the Midwest.
Playing career
Minor leagues
Brett began his professional baseball career as a
Kansas City Royals (1973–1993)
1973
The Royals promoted Brett to the major leagues on August 2, 1973. He made his major league debut that day against the Chicago White Sox, going 1-for-4 as the starting third baseman.[4] He played in 13 games, and hit .125 (5-for-40).[5]
1974
Brett won the starting third base job in 1974, but struggled at the plate until he asked for help from Charley Lau, the Royals' batting coach. Spending the All-Star break working together, Lau taught Brett how to protect the entire plate and cover up some holes in his swing that experienced big-league pitchers were exploiting. Armed with this knowledge, Brett developed rapidly as a hitter, and finished the year with a .282 batting average, two home runs and 47 RBI in 113 games.[5]
1975–1979
Brett topped the .300 mark for the first time in
From May 8 through May 13, 1976, Brett had three or more hits in six consecutive games, a major league record. A month later, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for a feature article,[6] and made his first of 13 All-Star teams. The Royals won the first of three straight American League West Division titles, beginning a great rivalry with the New York Yankees—whom they faced in the American League Championship Series each of those three years. In the fifth and final game of the 1976 ALCS, Brett hit a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to tie the score at six—only to see the Yankees' Chris Chambliss launch a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yankees a 7–6 win.[8] Brett finished second in American League MVP voting to Thurman Munson.[9]
A year later, Brett emerged as a power hitter, batting .312 while clubbing 22 home runs and recording 88 RBI in 139 games, as the Royals headed to another ALCS.[5] In Game 5 of the 1977 ALCS, following an RBI triple, Brett slid into third and was called safe then was kicked in the head by Graig Nettles, after which Brett stood and threw a punch at Nettles, igniting a bench-clearing brawl.[10][11]
In 1978, Brett batted .294 (the only time between 1976 and 1983 in which he did not bat at least .300) with nine home runs and 62 RBI in 128 games, helping the Royals win a third consecutive AL West title.[5] However, Kansas City once again lost to the Yankees in the ALCS, but not before Brett hit three home runs off Catfish Hunter in Game 3,[12] becoming the second player to hit three home runs in an LCS game (Bob Robertson was the first, having done so in Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS).[13]
Brett followed with a successful 1979 season, in which he finished third in AL MVP voting.[5] He became the sixth player in league history to have at least 20 doubles, triples and homers all in one season (42–20–23) and led the league in hits (212) and triples (20) while batting .329, with an on-base percentage of .376 and a slugging percentage of .563.[5]
1980
All these impressive statistics were just a prelude to
Brett's 1980 batting average of .390 is second only to
Brett started out slowly, hitting only .259 in April. In May, he hit .329 to get his season average to .301. In June, the 27-year-old third baseman hit .472 (17-for-36) to raise his season average to .337, but played his last game for a month on June 10, not returning to the lineup until after the All-Star Break on July 10.[14]
In July, after being off for a month, he played in 21 games and hit .494 (42-for-85), raising his season average to .390.[14] Brett started a 30-game hitting streak on July 18, which lasted until he went 0-for-3 on August 19 (the following night he went 3-for-3).[14] During those 30 games, Brett hit .467 (57-for-122). His high mark for the season came a week later, when Brett's batting average was at .407 on August 26, after he went 5-for-5 on a Tuesday night in Milwaukee.[14] He batted .430 for the month of August (30 games), and his season average was at .403 with five weeks to go. For the three hot months of June, July, and August 1980, Brett played in 60 American League games and hit .459 (111-for-242), most of it after a return from a monthlong injury. For these 60 games, he had 14 home runs and 69 RBI.
Brett missed another 10 days in early September and hit just .290 for the month. His average was at .400 as late as September 19, but he then had a 4-for-27 slump, and the average dipped to .384 on September 27, with a week to play.
More importantly, the Royals won the American League West, and would face the AL East champion New York Yankees in the ALCS.
1980 postseason
During the 1980 post-season, Brett led the Royals to their first American League pennant, sweeping the
Pine Tar Incident
On July 24, 1983, in a game against the
The Royals quickly issued a challenge to the outcome. It was upheld by American League president Lee MacPhail, who ruled that while the bat should have been excluded from future use, the home run should not have been nullified.[21] Amid much controversy, the game was resumed on August 18, 1983, from the point of Brett's home run and ended with a Royals win.[22]
1985
In
1986–1993
In 1988, Brett moved across the diamond to first base in an effort to reduce his chances of injury and had another top-notch season with a .306 average, 24 home runs and 103 RBI in 157 games.[5] But after batting just .282 with 12 homers and 80 RBI in 124 games the next year, it looked like his career might be slowing down.[5] He got off to a terrible start in 1990 and at one point even considered retirement. But his manager, former teammate John Wathan, encouraged him to stick it out. Finally, in July, the slump ended and Brett batted .386 for the rest of the season. In September, he caught Rickey Henderson for the league lead, and in a battle down to the last day of the season, captured his third batting title with a .329 mark.[5] This feat made Brett the only major league player to win batting titles in three different decades.
Brett played three more seasons for the Royals, mostly as their designated hitter, but occasionally filling in for injured teammates at first base. He passed the 3,000-hit mark in 1992, though he was picked off by Angels first baseman Gary Gaetti after stepping off the base to start enjoying the moment.[27] Brett retired after the 1993 season; in his final at-bat, he hit a single up the middle against Rangers closer Tom Henke and scored on a home run by now teammate Gaetti.[28] His last game was also notable as being the final game ever played at Arlington Stadium.
Hall of Fame
Brett was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999, with what was then the fourth-highest voting percentage in baseball history (98.2%), trailing only Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Ty Cobb. In 2007, Cal Ripken Jr. passed Brett with 98.5% of the vote. His voting percentage was higher than all-time outfielders Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio.
Brett's No. 5 was retired by the Royals on May 14, 1994. His number was the second number retired in Royals history, preceded by former Royals manager, Dick Howser (No. 10), in 1987. It was followed by second baseman and longtime teammate Frank White's No. 20 in 1995.[29]
He was voted the Hometown Hero for the Royals in a two-month fan vote. This was revealed on the night of September 27, 2006 in an hour-long telecast on ESPN. He was one of the few players to receive more than 400,000 votes.[30]
Legacy
Brett's 3,154 career hits are the second most by any third baseman in major league history, surpassed only by Adrián Beltré (3,166 hits), and 18th among all players.[31] Baseball historian Bill James regards him as the second-best third baseman of all time, trailing only his contemporary, Mike Schmidt. In 1999, he ranked Number 55 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players,[32] and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Brett is one of only five players in MLB history—the other four being Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Miguel Cabrera, and Hank Aaron—to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average. Most indicative of his hitting style, Brett is seventh on the career doubles list with 665. He trails only Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb, Albert Pujols and Craig Biggio).[33]
A photo in the July 1976 edition of
While Brett was serving as a special hitting instructor for the Royals during 2005 spring training, he was filmed telling a story to minor leaguer Adam Donachie about unintentionally defecating in his pants after a night out in Las Vegas. A recording of the video was uploaded to YouTube on September 18, 2008.[36][37] The video is a source of internet fame and regularly resurfaces. The event was discussed briefly on the show Pardon My Take.[38][39]
The Mendoza Line
Brett is credited with popularizing the phrase the Mendoza Line,[40] which is used to represent a sub-.200 batting average, and is regarded as unacceptable at the Major League level. It derives from shortstop Mario Mendoza, a career .215 hitter who finished below .200 five times in his nine seasons in the big leagues—including .198 the year the term is claimed to have been coined by a pair of his teammates in Tom Paciorek and Bruce Bochte in 1979.
Brett referred to the Mendoza Line in an interview, which was picked up by ESPN baseball anchor Chris Berman and then expanded into the world of SportsCenter.[41]
Post-baseball activities
Following his playing career, Brett became a vice president of the Royals and has worked as a part-time coach, as a special instructor in spring training, as an interim batting coach, and as a minor league instructor dispatched to help prospects develop. He also runs a baseball equipment and glove company named Brett Bros. with Bobby and, until his death in 2003,[42] Ken Brett.[43] He has also lent his name to a restaurant that failed on the Country Club Plaza.
In 1992, Brett married the former Leslie Davenport, and they reside in the Kansas City suburb of Mission Hills, Kansas. The couple has three children: Jackson (named after George's father), Dylan (named after Bob Dylan), and Robin (named after fellow Hall of Famer Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers).[44]
Brett has continued to raise money for
Brett and his dog Charlie appeared in a PETA ad campaign, encouraging people not to leave their canine companions in the car during hot weather.[45] He also threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Napoli at the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[46]
On May 30, 2013, the Royals announced that Brett and
In 2015, Brett was the
Brett appeared as himself in the ABC sitcom Modern Family on March 28, 2018, alongside main cast member Eric Stonestreet, a Kansas City native and Royals fan,[50] whose character on the show is also an avid fan.
Brett appeared as himself in the Brockmire episode "Player to Be Named Later", in which he is dating Jules (Amanda Peet), much to Brockmire's despair; in the episode "Low and Away", Jules informs Brockmire that she and her now-husband Brett are getting a divorce. Series creator Joel Church-Cooper said in a statement, "When I created a show about a fake Kansas City legend, Jim Brockmire, I thought it only appropriate to have him worship the biggest Kansas City legend of them all—George Brett."[51]
He is also a recurring guest on the podcast Pardon My Take which is presented by Barstool Sports.
Team ownership
In 1998, an investor group headed by Brett and his older brother, Bobby, made an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Kansas City Royals. Brett is the principal owner of the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.[52] He and his brother Bobby also co-own the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, a Los Angeles Dodgers Single-A partner, and lead ownership groups that control the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League,[53] and the West Coast League's Bellingham Bells..[54]
See also
- 20–20–20 club
- 3,000 hit club
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of Major League Baseball hit records
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
References
- ^ "2nd Round of the 1971 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ Garrity, Jack (August 17, 1981). "Love and Hate in El Segundo: Jack Brett & his sons". Sports Illustrated. p. 52. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ "George Brett Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox Box Score: August 2, 1973". Baseball-Reference.com. August 2, 1973. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "George Brett Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Fimrite, Ron (June 21, 1976). "George fills the Royals' flush". Sports Illustrated. p. 22. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ^ Thoma, Edward (October 3, 2022). "THOMA COLUMN | Spirit of '76: The rest of a batting title controversy". Mankato Free Press. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "1976 American League Championship Series, Game Five". Baseball-Reference.com. October 14, 1976. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ "1976 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Dodd, Rustin (October 18, 2017). "40 years ago, George Brett punched Graig Nettles in the ALCS. Then the game continued". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "1977 ALCS, Game 5: Yankees, Royals fracas in Game 5 of the ALCS". YouTube.
- ^ "1978 American League Championship Series, Game Three". Baseball-Reference.com. October 6, 1978. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ "1971 National League Championship Series (NLCS) Game 2, Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants: October 3, 1971". Baseball-Reference.com. October 3, 1971. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "George Brett 1980 Batting Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "1980 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
- ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
- ^ "1980 ALCS recap". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. September 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick (March 5, 2009). "Memories fill Kauffman Stadium". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Brett in Hospital for Surgery". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 1, 1981. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "George Brett 1985 Batting Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "1985 American League Championship Series (ALCS) Game 3, Toronto Blue Jays vs Kansas City Royals: October 11, 1985". Baseball-Reference.com. October 11, 1985. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "1985 World Series Game 7, St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals: October 27, 1985". Baseball-Reference.com. October 27, 1985. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "1985 World Series - Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals (4-3)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Elliott, Helene (October 1, 1992). "Brett's 3,000th: Easy as 1-2-3-4 : Baseball: The Royals' star picks up a double and three singles in his first four at-bats to reach landmark in victory over Angels". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "Kansas City Royals vs Texas Rangers Box Score: October 3, 1993". Baseball-Reference.com. October 3, 1993. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "Kansas City Royal's Retired Numbers". Kansas City Royals. MLB.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick (September 27, 2006). "Brett named Royals Hometown Hero". Kansas City Royals. MLB.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Hits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "BASEBALL'S 100 GREATEST PLAYERS". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Doubles". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Newell, Sean (December 9, 2013). "This Picture Of George Brett Inspired That Lorde Song "Royals"". Deadspin. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
- ^ "See the newest members of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame". The Wichita Eagle. June 7, 2018. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- ^ Flanagan, Jeffrey (September 24, 2008). "Time Warner Unsure Who Posted Brett Video". The Kansas City Star.
- ^ Chandler, Rick (September 19, 2008). "George Brett Would Like To Tell You About That Time He Pooped His Pants". Deadspin. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ Marsh, Jake (May 2, 2020). "Today in PMT History: The George Brett Exit Interview". Barstool Sports. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
- ^ The George Brett Story, retrieved December 23, 2022
- ^ Seminara, Dave (July 6, 2010). "Branded for life with 'The Mendoza Line'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Said Chris Berman, “Mario Mendoza?—it's all George Brett," Berman said. "We used [the Mendoza Line] all the time in those 1980s SportsCenters.”
- ^ "How did Mario Mendoza become a shorthand for batting futility?". MLB.com. May 22, 2018.
- ^ Dillman, Lisa (November 20, 2003). "Ken Brett, 55; Was Youngest Pitcher in World Series History". latime.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "Our Team". Brett International Sports. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ Perloff, Andrew (May 15, 2009). "Hall of Famer Brett doesn't trust Clemens, upset by 'roids". Sports Illustrated. CNN. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
- ^ Conner, Matt (July 25, 2012). "George Brett Teams Up For PETA For Dog Safety Ad". SB Nation Kansas City. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ "2012 MLB All-Star Game". Sports Illustrated. July 11, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Snyder, Matt (May 30, 2013). "Royals demote hitting coaches, hire George Brett as replacement". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "George Brett steps down as Royals hitting coach". USA Today. Associated Press. July 25, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Brooks, J. (November 5, 2015). "A week of victory and valor for George Brett". WTOP-FM. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ "Royal visit: George Brett appears Wednesday on 'Modern Family'". KMBC-TV. March 26, 2018.
- ^ Grathoff, Pete (October 17, 2018). "Royals Hall of Famer George Brett lands another role as a guest star on TV show". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ "Tri-City Dust Devils: About". Tri-City Dust Devils. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
- ^ King, Patrick (May 19, 2008). "From MLB to CHL". Sportsnet. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
- ^ "Brett, brother to buy another team in minors". ESPN. Associated Press. March 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
Further reading
- Bondy, Filip (2015). The Pine Tar Game: The Kansas City Royals, the New York Yankees, and Baseball's Most Absurd and Entertaining Controversy. Scribner. ISBN 978-1476777177.
- Brett, George (1999). George Brett: From Here to Cooperstown. Addax Publishing Group. ISBN 1886110794.
- Cameron, Steve (1993). George Brett: Last of a Breed. Taylor. ISBN 0878330798.
- Garrity, John (1981). The George Brett Story. Putnam. ISBN 0698110943.
External links
- George Brett at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Baseball-Almanac.com