Brooks Conrad

Brooks Litchfield Conrad (born January 16, 1980) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 to 2012 and the San Diego Padres in 2014. Conrad has also played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hanshin Tigers in 2013. Conrad has coached in the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals organization following the conclusion of his playing career.

Brooks Conrad
Conrad with the Hanshin Tigers in 2013
Second baseman / Third baseman
Born: (1980-01-16) January 16, 1980
San Diego, California, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: July 21, 2008, for the Oakland Athletics
NPB: March 29, 2013, for the Hanshin Tigers
Last appearance
NPB: May 28, 2013, for the Hanshin Tigers
MLB: July 27, 2014, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Batting average.200
Home runs19
Runs batted in73
NPB statistics
Batting average.175
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

Playing career

Amateur career

Conrad is a graduate of Monte Vista High School in California.[1] He was a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team from 1999 to 2001.[2]

Houston Astros

Conrad was drafted by the Houston Astros in the eighth round (236th pick) of the 2001 Draft.[3] He played with the Astros AAA team the Round Rock Express. Conrad played in the Houston Astros organization from 2001 to 2007 before becoming a minor league free agent after the 2007 season.

Oakland Athletics

Conrad signed with the Oakland Athletics organization prior to the 2008 season. He was called up to play with the A's against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 21, 2008.[4] On August 12, Conrad was designated for assignment.[5]

Atlanta Braves

Conrad became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Atlanta Braves in November 2008.[6]

Conrad with the Atlanta Braves in 2009

On July 3, 2009, Conrad hit his first major league home run - a 3-run shot as a pinch-hitter in the Braves 9–8 win over the Washington Nationals after being called up from AAA Gwinnett.[7] On July 7, 2009, Conrad hit his first career Major League triple off Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano.[8] On September 1, 2009, Conrad was called back up to the Atlanta Braves.

In 2010, Conrad frequently picked up clutch hits at the end of games, but committed defensive miscues at the end of the season and postseason.[9] On May 20, 2010, Conrad came to the plate with one out, the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, with the Braves trailing 9–6. He hit a walk-off grand slam against Cincinnati Reds pitcher, Francisco Cordero, to cap an eight-run comeback for his team.[10] On June 12, 2010, he dropped down an eventual game winning suicide squeeze bunt to score Gregor Blanco in the 9th inning against the Minnesota Twins.[11] On July 24, 2010, Conrad hit his second go-ahead grand slam of the year, in the 8th inning against Burke Badenhop of the Florida Marlins. The Braves went on to win, 10–5.[12] On August 10, 2010, with a runner on first and no outs in the top of the 9th, Conrad hit a two-run homer to put the Braves ahead of the Houston Astros, 3–2, in a game that the Braves would go on to win. Nicholas James Baker caught the home run ball over the rail of the second deck in his hat.[13] On August 13, 2010, Conrad hit his final game-winning home run of the season. This one came in the bottom of the 7th, against Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers.[14]

In game three of the 2010 NLDS, Conrad made three errors in a loss to the San Francisco Giants, who would eventually go on to win the World Series. His second error, in the second inning, let in a Giants' run. His third error was far more important. After Eric Hinske hit a two-run, eighth inning pinch-hit home run to put the Braves ahead by one run, Conrad let a ball go between his legs in the top of the ninth. This error allowed the game-winning run to score. The Giants took a 2–1 series-lead. Conrad's three errors tied a Division Series record.[15]

Conrad was replaced by veteran third baseman Troy Glaus in game four, but did not appear as a pinch-hitter in the game, a series-clinching win for the Giants.[16] The infielder committed eight errors in his final seven games of the year.[17] The Giants went on to win the World Series.

On May 1, 2011, in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Conrad came off the bench to hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Braves a 6–5 victory.[18] Later in the month on May 25 in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Conrad launched a go-ahead and ultimately game-winning 2-run homer in the 11th inning.[19]

Milwaukee Brewers

On January 7, 2012, Conrad signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. His deal included an invitation to Spring Training.[20] Conrad competed for a roster spot with Taylor Green and Zelous Wheeler in spring training in 2012.[21]

Tampa Bay Rays
Conrad playing for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012

On June 21, 2012, the Tampa Bay Rays claimed Conrad off waivers.[22] On June 24, Conrad hit a pair of two-run doubles off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee to secure a sweep in a day-night doubleheader.[23] Conrad was designated for assignment on August 7 when Evan Longoria returned from the disabled list.[24]

Hanshin Tigers

Conrad signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2013 season.[25]

San Diego Padres

On January 4, 2014, Conrad and the Padres agreed to a minor league deal that did not include a spring training invite.[26] Conrad appeared in 13 games with the major league club, batting .100 with 1 HR.[27] The Padres designated Conrad for assignment on August 19, 2014.[28] He was released on August 21.[1]

Later career

Conrad joined the Sugar Land Skeeters for spring training on April 3, 2015.[29][30] He signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on April 25, 2015.[31]

Conrad signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league. He was released on June 23, 2016. In December 2016, Conrad signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.[32]

Coaching career

Conrad began his coaching career as the manager of the Burlington Royals in 2018.[33][34] He was named as the manager for the Lexington Legends, the Royals' Low-A affiliate at the time, for the 2019 season.[35] The Legends won the 2019 SAL championship,[36] and Conrad remained the manager at Lexington through the 2020 season.[37] Conrad was named manager of the Columbia Fireflies in 2021.[38][39] Conrad became manager of the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Royals' High-A affiliate, before the 2022 season.[40][41]

References
  1. Lin, Dennis (August 21, 2014). "Benoit to avoid disabled list". U-T San Diego. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  2. Arizona State Player Bio: Brooks Conrad Archived March 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Baseball Reference: 2001 draft
  4. "Brooks Conrad becomes ASU's 90th Major Leaguer". East Valley Tribune. July 22, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  5. Lee, Jane (August 12, 2008). "Pennington makes big league debut". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  6. "Brooks Conrad named winner of the "Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Month Award Presented by Pepsi" for May". MLB.com. June 7, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  7. Selig, Mark (July 4, 2009). "Conrad makes presence felt with Braves". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  8. Mika, Matt (May 9, 2014). "Baseball Journeyman Brings Experience to El Paso". MILB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  9. Stark, Jayson (March 9, 2011). "Brooks Conrad moving past errors". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  10. Cooper, Jon (May 20, 2010). "Braves rally on Conrad's walk-off slam". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  11. Bowman, Mark (June 13, 2010). "Fresh squeeze: Conrad provides heroics". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  12. Dorsey, Steve (July 24, 2010). "Conrad's slam highlights Braves' big rally". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  13. Gartner, Steve (August 11, 2010). "Conrad's homer in ninth keys Braves' win". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  14. Bowman, Mark (August 13, 2010). "Conrad's clout backs Hudson's gem". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  15. Newberry, Paul (October 12, 2010). "Brooks Conrad Errors Doom Braves In Crucial Playoff Game". Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  16. "Braves decide to bench Brooks Conrad". ESPN.com. October 12, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  17. O'Brien, David (October 10, 2010). "Braves face elimination after blowing lead in ninth against Giants". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  18. Cooper, Jon (May 1, 2011). "Braves rally, walk off with win against Cardinals". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  19. Bowman, Mark (May 25, 2011). "Conrad's latest pinch-hit heroics lift Braves". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  20. Nowak, Joey (January 9, 2012). "Brewers sign Conrad to Minor League contract". MLB.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  21. "Meet Brewers backup infielders – Green, Conrad & Wheeler". FOX6Now.com. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  22. Chastain, Bill (June 21, 2012). "Rays claim Conrad off waivers from Brewers". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  23. Kaplan, Jake (June 24, 2012). "Lee remains winless as Phils are swept". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  24. "American League team-by-team notebook -- Tuesday, August 7, 2012". CBS Sports. August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  25. "Tigers reach agreement with Conrad". The Japan Times. November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  26. Nowak, Joey (January 4, 2014). "Padres ink infielder Conrad to Minors contract". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  27. "Brooks Conrad Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
  28. Lin, Dennis (August 19, 2014). "Pregame: Hahn optioned, Garces up". U-T San Diego. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  29. "Wright, Conrad Bring Talents to Sugar Land". Sugar Land Skeeters. April 3, 2015. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  30. "Skeeters remain unbeaten in spring training". Fort Bend Independent. April 24, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  31. Rubin, Adam (April 26, 2015). "Mets sign Brooks Conrad, assign to Vegas". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  32. Eddy, Matt (December 24, 2016). "Minor League Transactions: Dec. 10-22". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  33. Sutton, Bob (July 27, 2018). "On the Express: Burlington manager embraces induction honor". The Times News. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  34. Lyttle, Kevin (July 29, 2018). "Brooks Conrad inducted into the Express Hall of Fame". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  35. Peck, Jared (January 7, 2019). "Former Lexington Legends player named team's manager for 2019 season". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  36. Bumbaca, Chris (September 13, 2019). "Legends walk off with another SAL title". MILB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  37. "Brooks Conrad Returns to Manage Reigning South Atlantic League Champions". MILB.com. January 20, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  38. Kocsis Jr., John (February 19, 2021). "Fireflies Announce New Manager and Field Staff". MILB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  39. Anderson, Reggie (February 22, 2021). "The Fireflies introduce their new coaching staff". WLTX. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  40. Rogers, Anne (January 14, 2022). "Royals announce 2022 Minors staffs". MLB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  41. "Royals announce 2022 Minor League coaching staffs". MLB.com. January 14, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
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