Rico Brogna named ninth manager in BayBears history
Brogna, who was a field coordinator for the Arizona Dbacks last season, was named the eighth skipper in Mobile BayBears history on Tuesday, replacing former manager Hector De La Cruz.
Brogna was a first round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 1988. After reaching the big leagues in 1992, Rico was traded to the New York Mets. He spent three seasons with the Mets before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 1997 season. With Philadelphia, he put together a career year in 1999 hitting .278 with 24 home runs and 102 RBIs. He split time between Philadelphia and Boston in 2000, before playing 72 games for the Braves in 2001.Brogna's biggest attribute as a big-leaguer was his glove where he committed just 33 errors in his career and finished with a .995 field percentage.
Brogna has had a long journey to this point following his playing career. He has been a scout for the Diamondbacks, worked as a volunteer football coach at Wesleyan University and was later head coach of the boys' basketball team at his high school alma mater. After his stint with the basketball team, Brogna then took over as minor league field coordinator during the 2009 season.
"I guess you could say my main job has been scouting over the past four or five years for the Diamondbacks, but I've done a little bit of everything," Brogna said. "I've coached college football, high school basketball and everything in between. I just love teaching and coaching the game. I just want to take the experience I've gained and put it together to make guys better."
In his time in Mobile during the 2009 season, Brogna had a chance to see up close the team he will be leading in the new season.
"Mobile is full of baseball tradition," Brogna said. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to manage for the Diamondbacks next season. It's going to be great to get back in uniform and I can't think of a better place to start than Mobile. I had a chance to spend some time there last season and Hank Aaron Stadium is a beautiful ballpark. The core of the team was solid and I'm looking forward to us getting starting in 2010."
BayBears President Bill Shanahan said, "I had the opportunity to meet Rico last season on his visit to Mobile and was impressed by his knowledge of the game and most importantly his passion for our national pastime! Having Turner Ward as our hitting coach and Dan Carlson as our pitching coach, I feel like we have the triple play combination that our fans and players have been waiting for! We look forward to Rico's leadership of the 2010 BayBears and his family's arrival -wife (Melissa) and children (Alexa Grace 12, Hunter 7) this upcoming summer after school lets out."
Former BayBears manager and New York Mets teammate of Brogna's, Brett Butler, said "Rico is a player's manager." Butler added "He is just a quality human being and an excellent communicator. He will be a great addition to the BayBears family."
The Mobile BayBears begin the 2010 Southern League season on the road in Montgomery April 8th and return for the home opener Wednesday April 14th vs the Birmingham Barons at Hank Aaron Stadium. For more information call 251-479-BEAR or log onto: www.mobilebaybears.com