Michael Edwin Bruhert (born June 21, 1951) is a 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), ...

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 ...

. He is the former son-in-law of former

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 ...

manager

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

. Bruhert attended

Christ the King Regional High School Christ the King Regional High School is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic high school for grades 9-12 located in Middle Village, Queens, New York, United States and established in 1962. It is located within the Roman Catholic Dioces ...

Middle Village, Queens Middle Village is a mainly residential neighborhood in the central section of the borough of Queens, New York City, bounded to the north by the Long Island Expressway, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue and the forme ...

where he

won Won may refer to: *The Korean won from 1902–1910 *South Korean won, the currency of the Republic of Korea *North Korean won, the currency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea * Won (Korean surname) * Won (Korean given name) * Won Buddhis ...

only one game as a pitcher in four seasons.Lupica, Mike
"The Long Way From Jamaica to Shea"
''

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, New York, New York, volume 59, number 264, April 29, 1978, page 28. After high school, he worked scooping ice cream at a local Carvel and played for a local sandlot team. Bruhert found enough success in the Queens-Nassau Summer League to land a tryout at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the Rule 5 draft on November 27, . Following

Spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, he was returned to the Mets. After seven seasons in the Mets'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, in which he went 38–51 with a 3.69

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, Bruhert made his major league debut in the second game of a doubleheader with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

on April 9, . He pitched six strong innings, allowing only one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

(two unearned), however, he took the loss. He earned his first win in his next

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against the

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. His finest performance was a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

of the Phillies on September 17, in which he

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...

five and allowed just four

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. For the season, Bruhert went 4–11 with a 4.78 ERA and 56 strikeouts. He was traded to the Texas Rangers in along with

Bob Myrick Robert Howard Myrick (October 1, 1952 – August 23, 2012) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was the great-nephew of longtime Washington Senators second baseman Buddy Myer. Early years Myrick was a star athlete at Blair Center H ...

for star pitcher

Dock Ellis Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams ...

. Bruhert went 9–10 with a 5.58 ERA in the Rangers' farm system, but never reached the majors. He spent the and seasons with the

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

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 ...

affiliate, the

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, going 11–7 with a 3.69 ERA, before retiring. Shortly afterwards, he became pitching coach at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. He served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

in the early 1970s.

References

External links

Mike Bruhert
at Baseball Almanac
Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruhert, Mike 1951 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Baseball players from New York (state) Charleston Charlies players Columbus Clippers players Jackson Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers Marion Mets players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets players People from Jamaica, Queens Pompano Beach Mets players Tidewater Tides players Tigres de Aragua players Tucson Toros players Visalia Mets players Wichita Aeros players Fordham Rams baseball coaches Sportspeople from Queens, New York United States Army soldiers United States Army reservists