Darren William Bragg (born September 7, 1969) is an American former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 c ...

who played 11 seasons in

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), ...

(MLB). He played for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

(–),

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 eigh ...

(1996–),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1999), Colorado Rockies (),

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

(),

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

(2001),

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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

(–),

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

(), and his final team, the Cincinnati Reds (2004).

Career

Bragg attended

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, and in 1989 he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Mariners in the 22nd round of the

1991 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental first round selections Compensation picks Other notable players *Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philade ...

. In his career, he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.255 with 46

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 ...

s, 260 RBI, and 56 stolen bases. His most notable time in the majors came after he was traded to the Boston Red Sox by the Seattle Mariners for

Jamie Moyer Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston ...

and immediately excelled in his new environment. For the second half of 1996, Bragg started in center field, deposing

Lee Tinsley Lee Owen Tinsley (March 4, 1969 – January 12, 2023) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 1997 for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. He later serv ...

, a future coach for the Seattle Mariners, Bragg's former team. He continued his strong play and started almost every day for the Red Sox throughout , despite the previous winter's signing of Shane Mack. The following year, he fell into a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

arrangement with

Darren Lewis Darren Joel Lewis (born August 28, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player who played center field in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1990), San Francisco Giants (1991–1995), Cincinnati Reds (1995), C ...

and

Damon Buford Damon Jackson Buford (born June 12, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1993 and 2 ...

between right and center field. He was subsequently released by the Red Sox and became a notorious

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

, receiving the most playing time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. On November 3, , the

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. I ...

, the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds named Bragg the team's hitting coach for the season. Bragg returned to the Dragons as the development coach in 2021. Bragg now heads a company called "The Hit Club" in

Thomaston, Connecticut Thomaston is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,442 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Thomaston census-designated place, with a population of 1,928 at the 2020 census. History The t ...

. There, he works with many kids and high schoolers on hitting. He also heads a company called "Thrive Sports and Fitness" in Middlebury, Connecticut.

Personal life

Bragg is currently residing in

Southbury, Connecticut Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census. Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, sub ...

with three children.

References

External links

RetrosheetPura Pelota
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics {{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg, Darren 1969 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Connecticut Boston Red Sox players Calgary Cannons players Caribes de Oriente players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Columbus Clippers players Cotuit Kettleers players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Jacksonville Suns players Louisville Bats managers Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball outfielders Nashua Pride players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players Peninsula Pilots players Richmond Braves players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Waterbury, Connecticut St. Louis Cardinals players Tacoma Rainiers players Taft School alumni