Former Mustang will return to coach Billings in '08
The Cincinnati Reds announced that Browning has accepted a position as pitching coach for the Mustangs and also will serve as pitching coach in extended Spring Training before reporting to Billings.
Browning -- who was born in Casper, Wyo. -- returns to the Mustangs 26 years after spending his first professional baseball season in Billings. Browning was the Reds ninth round pick in 1982.
He reported to Billings and went 4-8 with a 3.89 ERA for the Mustangs in 1982. The left-hander led the Pioneer League that year with 87 strikeouts in 88 innings pitched.
Three years later, Browning went 20-9 for the Reds and finished second to Vince Coleman in the 1985 National League Rookie of the Year voting.
On Sept. 16, 1988, Browning made history when he threw a perfect game against the Dodgers. He is the only Reds pitcher in club history to throw a perfect game. And his 20 wins in 1985 mark the last time the Reds have drafted and developed a 20-game winner entirely within the organization.
Browning is a member of the Billings Mustangs Hall of Fame and the Reds Hall of Fame. In his 10-year career with Cincinnati, Browning went 123-88 with a 3.92 ERA.
He pitched two games with Kansas City in 1995 before he retired. In addition to recently working for the Reds in Spring Training, Browning has been a guest announcer on television game broadcasts for the Dayton Dragons -- the Reds affiliate in the Midwest League.