Clifford Michael Brumbaugh (born April 21, 1974) is an American former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
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 ...
who played for the
Texas Rangers and
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
in 2001.
Amateur career
A native of
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
, Brumbaugh attended
William Penn High School and played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
for
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
under head coach
Bob Hannah
Robert William Hannah (born September 26, 1956) is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1975 to 1989, most notably as a member of the Yamaha factory racing team. He was one of the ...
. In 1994, he played
collegiate summer baseball
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
with the
Falmouth Commodores
The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
. He was named
America East Player of the Year in 1995.
Professional career
Major League Baseball
Brumbaugh was drafted by the
Texas Rangers in the 13th round of the
1995 Major League Baseball draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
''*'' Did not sign
Background
Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...
.
He spent his career in the minor leagues before being called up to the Rangers where he played in 7 games in , hitting a solo
home run
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 ...
in his first start. However, his major league career was mostly spent as a
pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...
, and this would be the only home run of his major league career. He moved from Texas to the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
later that season, featuring in 14 further MLB games. He went back to the minor leagues, and signed with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
in .
International baseball
Despite performing well in the minors, Brumbaugh was never called up by the White Sox and moved to South Korea's
Hyundai Unicorns
The Hyundai Unicorns () were a South Korean professional baseball team based in Suwon. They were a member of the KBO League. The Unicorns won the KBO championship four times (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004).
The Unicorns were dissolved after the 20 ...
later in 2003.
He was a key player in the Hyundai Unicorns championship successes in 2003 and . In 2003, he had the highest all-time
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
and
RBI total in the Korea Series Championship history. His 2004 season was even more impressive, as he came close to winning the KBO League
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Trip ...
with a .343 batting average (tops in the league), 33 home runs (second), and 105 RBI (third). He was given a
Golden Glove Award as recognition of his achievements.
This success earned him a move to the
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...
in Japan's
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
in . After two seasons in Japan, he returned to Korea and the Unicorns in .
[ He remained with the team in after Hyundai sold the franchise, which was renamed ]Woori Heroes
The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Seo ...
and relocated from Suwon
Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...
to Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
.
After a year with the Piratas de Campeche
The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico.
History
In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...
, he spent 2010 with the Edmonton Capitals
The Edmonton Capitals, originally the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, were a Canadian professional independent minor league baseball team that played between 2005 and 2011 in several leagues.
The Capitals are based in Edmonton, Alberta, and are currently ...
in the Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico.
The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...
.
References
External links
Career statistics and player information
from Korea Baseball Organization
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brumbaugh, Cliff
1974 births
Living people
Major League Baseball outfielders
Baseball players from Wilmington, Delaware
Texas Rangers players
Colorado Rockies players
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
Orix Buffaloes players
Hudson Valley Renegades players
Charleston RiverDogs players
Charlotte Rangers players
Tulsa Drillers players
Oklahoma RedHawks players
Colorado Springs Sky Sox players
Charlotte Knights players
American expatriate baseball players in South Korea
KBO League outfielders
Hyundai Unicorns players
Kiwoom Heroes players
Edmonton Capitals players
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball players
Falmouth Commodores players
Acereros de Monclova players
American expatriate baseball players in Mexico
American expatriate baseball players in Canada