Douglas Keith Brocail (born May 16, 1967) is an American

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. He played 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) for 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 ...

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 ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and Texas Rangers. He has coached in MLB for the Astros, Rangers, and the Orioles.

Playing career

Brocail attended Lamar High School in

Lamar, Colorado Lamar is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Prowers County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,804 at the 2010 United States Census. The city was named after Confederate s ...

where he won All-State honors in football, basketball, and baseball. The

selected Brocail in the first round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. He did not make his major league debut until 1992 because of injuries sustained in the minors. Initially a starter, Brocail went 4–13 in his first full season (1993) before being converted to relief. DougBrocail

After the 1994 season, the Padres traded Brocail, Derek Bell,

Ricky Gutiérrez Ricardo Gutiérrez (born May 23, 1970) is an American former shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from through for the San Diego Padres (1993-), Houston Astros (-), Chicago Cubs (-), Cleveland Indians (-), New York Mets () and Bo ...

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

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, and

Craig Shipley Craig Barry Shipley (born 7 January 1963) is an Australian-born executive and former player in Major League Baseball. On 16 November 2012, he was appointed special assistant to Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers. Shipley was ...

to the

for

Ken Caminiti Kenneth Gene Caminiti (April 21, 1963 – October 10, 2004) was an American third baseman who spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1987–1994, 1999–2000), San Diego Padres (1995–1998), Texas Rangers ( ...

Andújar Cedeño Andújar Cedeño Donastorg (August 21, 1969 – October 28, 2000) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop who played from 1990 to 1996. Born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, he played for the Houston Astros from 1990 to 1994, the San Diego P ...

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Roberto Petagine Roberto Antonio Petagine Hernandez (; born June 2, 1971) is a retired professional baseball player of Italian descent. His Major League Baseball career includes brief stints with the Houston Astros (1994), San Diego Padres (1995), New York Met ...

, and

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anchor. He was a reporter for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in 2004. ...

. After the 1996 season, the Astros traded Brocail, Brian Hunter,

Todd Jones Todd Barton Jones (born April 24, 1968) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was an effective middle reliever for several teams and also filled the role of closer, most nota ...

, Orlando Miller, and cash to the

for

Brad Ausmus Bradley David Ausmus (; born April 14, 1969) is an American former professional baseball manager and catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 18-year MLB playing career, Ausmus played for the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Houston Ast ...

José Lima José Desiderio Rodriguez Lima (September 30, 1972 – May 23, 2010) was a Dominican right-handed pitcher who spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1994–1996, 2001–2002), Houston Astros (1997–2001), Kan ...

Trever Miller Trever Douglas Miller (born May 29, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. High school Miller graduated from Trinity High School, where he was a pitcher and outfielder, in 1991 and was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball and the G ...

, C. J. Nitkowski, and

Daryle Ward Daryle Lamar Ward (born June 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2008 for the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirat ...

. After the 2000 season, the Tigers traded Brocail, Ausmus, and

Nelson Cruz Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez Jr. (born July 1, 1980) is a Dominican-American professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas ...

to the Astros for

Roger Cedeño Roger Leandro Cedeño (born August 16, 1974) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2005 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, ...

, Chris Holt, and

Mitch Meluskey Mitchell Wade Meluskey (born September 18, 1973) is a retired professional baseball player. He played all or parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1998 and 2003, for the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers, primarily as a catcher. ...

. Two Tommy John surgeries kept Brocail out of the major leagues for nearly four years (2000–04). He returned in 2004 with the Texas Rangers and was placed on the disabled list in May for 15 days due to an appendectomy. He pitched for San Diego in 2006 and 2007. Brocail underwent an

angioplasty Angioplasty, is also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins, typically to treat arterial atheroscle ...

on March 11, 2006, to clear a 99% blockage of his left anterior descending artery. He had complained of chest tightness that radiated into both arms. He already was being treated for an abscessed tooth and asthma. Weeks later, Brocail underwent a second, more complex angioplasty in which he received three stents in his heart in addition to the one put in prior. Post heart surgeries, Brocail returned to the mound on July 14, 2006. Brocail pitched relief for the Astros in 2008 and 2009 before retiring at the age of 42.

Coaching career

After the

fired pitching coach

Brad Arnsberg Bradley James Arnsberg (born August 20, 1963) is a Major League Baseball coach and a former pitcher. He has held the role of pitching coach for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros, and is currently with the ...

on June 14, 2011, Brocail was named the interim pitching coach. In October 2013, Brocail was reassigned by the Astros to the role of special assistant. Brocail served as interim pitching coach for the Corpus Christi Hooks in 2014, and full time for Corpus Christi in 2015. In November 2015, Brocail was offered a spot as the Texas Rangers pitching coach by Rangers manager

Jeff Banister Jeffery Todd Banister (born January 15, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He is the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Before that, he was a special assistant for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major Lea ...

. Brocail accepted the position, replacing the departed

Mike Maddux Michael Ausley Maddux (born August 27, 1961) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher. He is the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for nine teams, over 15 seasons, and co ...

. Brocail led the Rangers' pitching staff through the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Brocail was announced on January 23, 2019 as 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 ...

pitching coach succeeding

Roger McDowell Roger Alan McDowell (born December 21, 1960) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1996. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dod ...

. During his two seasons in this capacity, the Orioles' pitching staff went from being one of MLB's worst to lowering its ERA by a run, with the bullpen giving up almost two less runs per game. He was not retained after the 2020 season as the Orioles continued to streamline its player personnel operations.

Personal life

Brocail and his wife Lisa have five daughters. The family lives in

Missouri City, Texas Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, up from 67,35 ...

. On September 13, 2004, Brocail was involved in an incident at the

McAfee Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...

, when the Texas Rangers were playing the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. His rookie teammate

Frank Francisco Franklin Thomas Francisco (born September 11, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. Baseball career Fr ...

, angry at a fan for heckling Brocail and others, hoisted a folded chair into the stands, striking a female fan and breaking her nose. Brocail would later pitch of an inning.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocail, Doug 1967 births Living people Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Pennsylvania Corpus Christi Hooks players Houston Astros coaches Houston Astros players Detroit Tigers players Frisco RoughRiders players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Lake Elsinore Storm players Lamar Runnin' Lopes baseball players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball coaches New Orleans Zephyrs players Oklahoma RedHawks players People from Clearfield, Pennsylvania People from Prowers County, Colorado Round Rock Express players San Diego Padres players Spokane Indians players Texas Rangers coaches Texas Rangers players Tucson Toros players Wichita Wranglers players Baseball coaches from Colorado Charleston Rainbows players

Playing career

Coaching career

Personal life

See also

References

External links