Where Are They Now: Brooks Conrad

No one wore an Express uniform more often and no one got one dirtier every time he did than Brooks Conrad. And no Express player ever received such enduring adoration from the franchise's fans as the hard-nosed California-born competitor.

Conrad appeared in 519 Express games in the course of four seasons, playing with the team in both its Double-A and Triple-A incarnations. Fans voted him the starting second baseman on the All-Decade team but he could have just as easily been elected mayor of Round Rock, so pervasive was his popularity.

Express founder Reid Ryan was an early Conrad fan and his appreciation was one that transcended simple baseball exploits. "Everyone who watched him on the field or got to meet him became a Brooks Conrad fan," he states. "Part of it is the way he plays the game but a lot of it is the type of person he is. Brooks and his wife connected with the community here on and off the field better than anyone."

Conrad was on an extended roll when he arrived in Round Rock. His collegiate career at Arizona State concluded with him twice being named All PAC-10 and he achieved similar success in the prestigious amateur Alaska Summer League, where he was voted MVP of the Goldminers squad, the same team Texas Rangers star Michael Young was named MVP of in 1996. After signing with the Astros as an eighth-round pick in the 2001 draft he immediately established himself as a professional as he was named MVP of the Pittsfield team at the short-season rookie league level.

After the learning experience of Single-A ball it was on to Dell Diamond for Conrad and it soon became apparent he had a drive and determination unlike that of any player to pass through Round Rock before. Express broadcaster Mike Capps has seen every player to take the field in an Express uniform. And he knows when he sees someone who is special, someone like Conrad. "When I think about Brooks, I remember full-blown, head-first, sweat-stained, head-to-toe dirt and maximum effort every night," he proclaims. "He was simply the most intense competitor this franchise ever had."

You didn't need to be a veteran baseball observer like Capps to notice Conrad seemed to play a little harder than everyone else and it wasn't just the fact his uniform was routinely dirt-covered from headfirst dives for groundballs. Conrad's intensity was conspicuous from pregame batting practice to postgame celebrations.

Conrad, who readily admits he's not too keen on the concepts of moderation or pacing himself on the field, really doesn't understand what the big deal is about his no-nonsense baseball attitude. "It's just the only way I know to play," he says. "I've worked too hard to be a professional ballplayer and to get to where I'm at to not put out all the effort I can. It takes everything you've got to play in the big leagues and that's what I try to give every time."

But it wasn't just the effort Conrad put into his playing that kept the fans excited. It was the results his relentless approach yielded. Conrad made his Express debut in 2004, winning both the team MVP award and Double-A all-star status in Round Rock's final year in the Texas League. He had the rare advantage of a unique situation in 2005 as he was promoted to Triple-A, but got to play for the same manager in the same ballpark with the same fans, most of who were by then boisterous Brooks boosters.

The switch-hitting Conrad adapted to Triple-A play in signature style, slamming 20 or more home runs three consecutive seasons and adding double digit totals in stolen bases to that accomplishment. But it was not just the quantity of Conrad's offensive output as much as it was the quality of his contributions. His timing was impeccable and his habit of producing game-winning hits so predictable that with the Express trailing in late innings fans would see him in the on-deck circle, going through his routine of throwing dirt on his hands---he never wore batting gloves--and tell their kids "now we've got 'em where we want 'em, Brooksie is coming up". And then, more often than not, he would reward that faith.

Texas Rangers bench coach Jackie Moore, better known in Round Rock as the first and longest-serving manager of the Express, has more than a half century of professional baseball to his credit and is as keen a judge of talent as any in the game. His judgement of Conrad is direct and definitive. "If I had to choose one hitter out of all the great players that passed through Round Rock to have at the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the game on the line it would be Brooksie," Moore declares. And Express fans, whom repeatedly witnessed Conrad delivering the game-winning hit in such a situation, couldn't agree more.

Conrad was front and center once again in 2006, the most successful Express Triple-A season in franchise history. He served as the heart and soul of a roster that included an assortment of big leaguers including Luke Scott, Humberto Quintero, Brian Gordon, Joe McEwing, Cody Ransom, Jason Hirsh, Chris Sampson and local hero Travis Driskill. The team rolled through the season in formidable fashion, winning the division title before finally losing the PCL championship to a Tucson team that would go on to win the Triple-A World Series.

But Conrad's consistent Express success apparently didn't impress the Houston front office as much as it did the fans who saw him in action daily at Dell Diamond. At the conclusion of the 2007 season the Astros opted to release Conrad and instead sign free agent Kazuo Matsui to a $16.5 million deal to play second base in Houston. Such baseball decisions can be endlessly debated but this one more or less sorted itself out on the playing field.

When the Atlanta Braves made their first visit to Minute Maid Park in 2010 Conrad smashed a home run for the visitors but it wasn't possible to compare and contrast his actions with those of Houston's free-agent signing because the Astros has already unceremoniously released Matsui, eating his enormous contract while Brooks played on.

The Braves finished their 2011 play against the Astros in June, with Conrad contributing a pinch-hit double, which naturally ended with a head-first slide. Before the game he was his usual matter-of-fact self, focused only on the contest to come. "I don't have any bad feelings toward the Astros organization," he stated. "I naturally wish things would have turned out a little different but it was all part of the path that led me here," he said while gesturing toward the big league stadium.

Conrad had worked his way to Minute Maid Park originally by first signing with the Oakland A's, who would ultimately be responsible for his belated Major League debut when he broke into the bigs with a start at third base in Tampa Bay July 21, 2008. He returned to Dell Diamond earlier that season as a member of the Sacramento River Cats and was welcomed with what was undoubtedly the loudest ovation ever given an opposing player. But his popularity was by no means confined to his original Central Texas fan base as Sacramento fans soon jumped on the bandwagon. And with good reason.

As always, it was Conrad's gritty, give-it-all playing style that first caught the attention of the fans in Sacramento. But he did more than just get dirty as he led the team in RBI and runs scored while hitting 28 home runs. He also expanded his positional versatility by adding outfield and shortstop to his previous Round Rock resume as primarily a second and third baseman. But Moore, who said Conrad was such a team player that "he'd drive the bus if you asked him to", even used him behind the plate to catch a couple of games for the Express.

Conrad concluded his Sacramento stint by leading the team to the PCL title. He scored a run and had a crucial RBI in the subsequent Triple-A Championship contest, also won by Sacramento. The Braves organization then enlisted Conrad and in due course he was in the big leagues, announcing his arrival with authority with a three-run pinch hit homer on July 3, 2009. He appeared 103 games with the Braves last year, bashing two grand slams and acquiring the fan nickname of "Clutch Conrad", although the "Raw Dog" moniker given him by his teammates was equally applicable.

Conrad's baseball legacy won't be one of Hall of Fame proportions but his involvement with the game has been uniformly positive for baseball. And in many ways what he has brought, and continues to bring on a nightly basis, is ultimately more valuable to the game than just statistics.

"Baseball needs more players like Brooks Conrad," Capps declares. "He's just a pleasure to watch if you're in the stands, the dugouts or the broadcasting booth. " Ryan, along with Conrad's legion of local fans, is in total agreement. "Brooks just personifies all the things a fan loves about the game," he explains. "He's the the guy you want to bring your kids to see, to show them how he plays and tell them 'that's the way you do it'.