Brian Allan Dopirak (born December 20, 1983) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Early life

High school

Dopirak attended Dunedin High School. He was originally selected by Chicago Cubs in the second round (56th overall) of the

2002 Major League Baseball draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Dopirak spent 2002, his first professional season, with the

Arizona League Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...

batting .253 with no

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 6 runs. In 2003, Dopirak played for the

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surround ...

of the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

, one of the Cubs Class-A level teams batting .240 while clubbing 13 home runs and 37

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. He was then promoted to another Class-A team the

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Field. The Midwe ...

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, concluding the 2003 hitting another 2 more home runs. In 2004, he hit 39 homers and 120 RBIs with Lansing to go along with a .307 batting average. After the 2004 season, Dopirak experienced injury problems. He hit below .300 and compiled only 35 home runs from 2005 to 2007. The Cubs designated Dopirak for assignment, culminating in his release following the 2007 season.

Toronto Blue Jays

Dopirak signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in March 2008. Dopirak was assigned to Class-A the

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

, where he hit .308, while hitting 27 home runs and 88 RBIs. He was promoted to the Blue Jays Double-A team the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

where he stayed for the 2008 season. He hit .287 with 2 home runs and 13 RBIs. He started the 2009 season with the Fisher Cats and hit .308 to go along with 19 homers and 68 RBIs. He then earned another promotion to the Jays Triple-A team the Las Vegas 51s. He hit .330 with 8 home runs and 34 RBIs. Prior to the 2010 season, Dopirak's contract was purchased by Toronto, adding to the 40-man roster. He became a free agent after the season.

Houston Astros

Dopirak signed a one-year minor league contract with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

for the 2011 season, with an invitation to spring training. He was released on June 16.

Awards

*High School All-American 2002 (DH) *

Midwest League Most Valuable Player Award The Midwest League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Midwest League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. League broadcasters, Minor League ...

2004 *Top Prospect MLB (#21) * FSL Post-Season All-Star *FSL Player of the Week 2008 *FSL Mid-Season All-Star 2008 *R. Howard Webster Award 2008 (

) *

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American Football Card, American football, Baseball card, baseb ...

Double-A All-Star * Eastern League (EAS) Post-Season All-Star 2009 *EAS Mid-Season All-Star 2009 *EAS Player of the Week 2009 *EAS Player of the Week 2009 *R. Howard Webster Award 2009 (

)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dopirak, Brian 1983 births Living people Baseball players from Tampa, Florida Arizona League Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players Boise Hawks players Daytona Cubs players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Tennessee Smokies players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Dunedin Blue Jays players Las Vegas 51s players Dunedin High School alumni