Brad Lynn Komminsk (born April 4, 1961), is an American former professional baseball

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He attended Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio, where he played

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and baseball and was an all-state

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. He received athletic scholarship offers from

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and Clemson. On June 5, 1979, he was drafted by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

with the fourth pick in the 1979 amateur draft and received a $70,000 signing bonus. Komminsk was a highly regarded prospect in the Braves system. He appeared on the cover of ''

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'' in 1981 and 1983 where he was described as a potential

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winner and as having the best

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in Minor League Baseball.

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

described him as a "can't miss" prospect and compared him to future

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Andre Dawson Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different tea ...

. Before ever reaching

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(MLB), he was featured on

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's ''

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'' and

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's ''

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''. In 1984, the Braves went so far as to reject a trade offer from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

which would have brought them future Hall of Famer

Jim Rice James Edward Rice (born March 8, 1953), nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder and designated hitter. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 2009 Baseball ...

in part because Boston asked for Komminsk in the deal. Despite a sterling record in the minor leagues, he never played well in the majors. Komminsk chalked it up to MLB coaches trying to change his mechanics so as "to be part of the Brad Komminsk project." His Hall of Fame manager,

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, credited his failure to an

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problem. His Hall of Fame teammate and roommate

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

wrote that the pressure of high expectations may have hindered Komminsk to some extent. In 2011, ''

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'' included him in a list of the fifty most disappointing prospects of all time. In 2015, ''

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'' characterized Atlanta's selection of Komminsk over

Andy Van Slyke Andrew James Van Slyke (born December 21, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Career Van Slyke earned All-American honors in baseball as a senior at New Hartford Central High school in New Hartford, New York. ...

as one of the five worst draft decisions in franchise history. Komminsk played parts of eight seasons in MLB. His best season came in 1989 with the Cleveland Indians. He only appeared in 100 or more games one time, a 106-game campaign with the Braves in 1985. Komminsk spent a few seasons in the minors after his final MLB season in 1991, even playing professionally in

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and for the

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of the Northern League. He last was the hitting coach of the

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, the Class-AAA affiliate of the

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. Since the end of his playing days, Komminsk has been a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

coach and manager with several teams, including the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Komminsk, Brad 1961 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Italy Anderson Braves players Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Ohio Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Denver Zephyrs players Durham Bulls players Kingsport Braves players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball replacement players Major League Baseball right fielders Milwaukee Brewers players Minor league baseball managers Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Richmond Braves players Rochester Red Wings players San Francisco Giants players Savannah Braves players Sportspeople from Lima, Ohio Tacoma Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players Vancouver Canadians players Winnipeg Goldeyes players