Darryl Maurice Brinkley (born December 23, 1968) 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 ...

player and manager. He played one season in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

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 ...

in 2000. In 2007, he became the first player in Northern League history to

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

.400. A journeyman minor leaguer, his one chance at playing in the majors was prevented by the

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

Career

Brinkley graduated from

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic un ...

in 1991, however was not drafted by any

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), ...

team despite batting .528 in his senior year. Brinkley instead played in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for three years before signing with the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern ...

of the independent Northern League. Brinkley had an outstanding winter season playing in the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

in 1996 where he was named

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

's Winter Player of the year, as well as MVP of the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

. Brinkley's winter success attracted the attention of the

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 penna ...

, who signed him for the 1996 season at the age of 27. Assigned to the Single-A

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

, Brinkley batted .363 and was named a

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

All-Star. After spending two seasons in the Padres organization, Brinkley was dealt to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, where he played for the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

, and then the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization. It was with the Orioles organization in 2001 that Brinkley nearly reached the major leagues. When he was not recalled by the Orioles when the roster expanded on September 1, 2001, Brinkley flew to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

at the conclusion of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

season. The Orioles recalled Brinkley on September 10; however, Brinkley was stranded in Australia due to the September 11, 2001 attacks. By the time Brinkley was able to return to the United States, the Orioles had instead recalled

Tim Raines Jr. Timothy Raines Jr. (born August 31, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He is the son of Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Famer Tim Raines. Raines played for the Baltimore Orioles organization through , playing for the ...

in his place. Brinkley would not get another opportunity to play in the majors despite playing in the Triple-A All-Star game in 2002. Brinkley would be granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the Orioles following the 2002 season. Since 2003, Brinkley has bounced around

Independent league baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, playing in the

Northeast League The Northeast League was a professional independent baseball league that operated in the Northeastern United States from 1995 until 1998 and from 2003 until 2004. Between 1999 and 2002, the league was part of the Northern League after the two lea ...

, Atlantic League and Northern League, where he landed with the

Calgary Vipers The Calgary Vipers were a professional baseball team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They were part of the Western Division of the independent North American League. The Vipers played all of their home games at Foothills Stadium. Previously, t ...

in 2006. Brinkley's greatest success to date came with the Vipers in 2007, where he became the first player in Northern League history to finish the season with a .400 batting average. Brinkley also led the league in runs and

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, while his 150

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

also set a league record. Brinkley was also named Baseball America's 2007 Independent League Player of the Year. Through 2007, Brinkley is a career .329 hitter, having played in over 1,500 games. Brinkley is in his third season with the Vipers, now playing 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 ...

for the 2008 season, his 15th professional season. In 2009, Brinkley signed a contract 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 ...

of the

. In 2010, Brinkley served as manager of the

Yuma Scorpions Yuma can refer to: Places * Yuma Desert, desert in southwest U.S. and northwest Mexico ;United States * Yuma County, Arizona ** Yuma, Arizona ** Fortuna Foothills, Arizona ** Marine Corps Air Station Yuma ** United States Army Yuma Proving Ground ...

in the

. 2010 to 2013 was the hitting coach for Yaquis de Obregon in the LMP. From 2011 to 2013 Brinkley was the hitting coach for Tigres de Quintana Roo in the Mexican Baseball League. 2014 was the hitting for Broncos de Reynosa. In 2015, Brinkley was hired as the hitting coach for the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitche ...

. In 2016 Brinkley was the hitting coach in the Dominican Republic with the Cincinnati Reds Org. In 2017 he was the Bench coach in AAA for the Louisville Bats. He was named the hitting coach for 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. In 2 ...

prior to the 2020 season.

References

External links

Mexican League statisticsVenezuelan Professional Baseball League statisticsCareer 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:Brinkley, Darryl 1968 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Alacranes de Campeche players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Baseball coaches from Connecticut Baseball players from Connecticut Bravos de Margarita players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Bridgeport Bluefish players Calgary Vipers players Canada Miners players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Diablos Rojos del México players Edmonton Capitals players Hyundai Unicorns players KBO League outfielders Leones de Yucatán players Memphis Chicks players Mexican League baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers Minor league baseball coaches Mobile BayBears players Nashville Sounds players New Jersey Jackals players Piratas de Campeche players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Rochester Red Wings players Sacred Heart Pioneers baseball players Saskatoon Riot players Sportspeople from Stamford, Connecticut Toros de Tijuana players Tuneros de San Luis Potosí players Winnipeg Goldeyes players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople