Rico Joseph Brogna (born April 18, 1970) 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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and coach who 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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 eight ...

, and

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) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, over nine seasons (, –). Brogna was drafted in the first round (26th overall) by the Tigers, in 1988. Brogna spent time at

Taft School The Taft School is a private, coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It teaches students in 9th through 12th grades and post-graduates. About three-quarters of Taft's roughly 600 students live on the school's ...

where his parents taught. Brogna attended Watertown High School in

Watertown, Connecticut Watertown is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 22,105 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The ZIP codes for Watertown are 06795 (for most of the ...

, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He was named to the All-State team as a quarterback and won the state championship in 1986. Brogna initially signed a letter of intent to play

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

, but instead, chose to pursue a career in baseball.

Playing career

On April 26, 1995, Brogna hit the first-ever

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 ...

at 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 ...

’ new stadium,

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The ...

, on its opening day. He was diagnosed with

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine typically where the spine joins the pelvis. Occasionally areas affected may include other joints such as the shoulders or hip ...

, a form of spinal

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

, in 1991, and had to take medication for the condition on a daily basis. Concerns surrounding Brogna’s condition contributed to the decision of the Mets to trade him to the Phillies, following the season, but he recovered sufficiently to be an offensive contributor for several seasons, thereafter. Brogna became national spokesperson for the

Spondylitis Association of America Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine typically where the spine joins the pelvis. Occasionally areas affected may include other joints such as the shoulders or hi ...

. In , Brogna recorded a career-high 104 RBIs and led the National League with 10 sacrifice flies. In , Brogna hit a career high 24 home runs, for the Phillies. He retired as a baseball player, in July 2001.

Coaching career

In , Brogna managed the

Post University Post University is a private for-profit university in Waterbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1890 as Post College. From 1990 to 2004 it was affiliated with Teikyo University in Tokyo, Japan and during that time it was named Teikyo Post Uni ...

baseball team. The Eagles finished with a record of 13-40 overall and 6-19 in

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fourteen member institutions are located in the northeastern ...

play. He coached the Watertown High School boys basketball team from 2006 to 2009. Overall, in

, his win–loss record was 10–41. He coached for the Nonnewaug Chiefs, a high school football team in

Woodbury, Connecticut Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,723 at the 2020 census. The town center, comprising the adjacent villages of Woodbury and North Woodbury, is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Woo ...

. Soon after the conclusion of the 2008 football season, Brogna resigned as coach of the Chiefs and took a volunteer job as wide receivers coach for the

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

football team. In , Brogna managed the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

, the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

’ Double-A Minor League Baseball (MILB) affiliate. In 2011, he was named the head football coach at Notre Dame-Fairfield high school in Connecticut, and stated he had retired from baseball (as a coach/executive) to concentrate on his football duties, year-round. Brogna resigned as head football coach, in 2012, following a 1-9 record, in his only season, and took a

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

job with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. In 2013, Brogna returned to the Watertown High School gridiron as the special teams and defensive line coach. After the 2013 season, he was hired as special assistant to

Jerry Dipoto Gerard Peter Dipoto (born May 24, 1968) is an American baseball executive and former professional player. He is currently the President of Baseball Operations for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and previously worked in front office ...

, general manager of the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. In August 2014, Brogna was named the Angels’ player-information coach. He "felt a growth" during spring training in , which was later diagnosed as testicular cancer. Five days after being notified of his condition (May 13), Brogna underwent surgery. In December 2017, Brogna was hired as a coach of the Reading Fightin' Phils, the minor-league AA team in the Philadelphia Phillies’

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 ...

, where he stayed for two seasons. In 2021, Brogna was the hitting coach of the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Ba ...

, the low-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.

Personal life

Brogna married Melissa Shuhart, whom he had met in high school, in 1992. They have two children, Alexa Grace and Hunter. He is the namesake of the of New York Mets focused Rico Brogna Podcast hosted by

WFAN WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area while ...

personality Evan Roberts.

References

External links

Rico Brogna
at Ultimate Mets Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Brogna, Rico 1970 births Living people Baseball coaches from Connecticut American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Baseball players from Connecticut Boston Red Sox players Bristol Tigers players Clearwater Phillies players Detroit Tigers players Lakeland Tigers players London Tigers players Major League Baseball first basemen People from Watertown, Connecticut New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players People from Montague, Massachusetts Philadelphia Phillies players Toledo Mud Hens players Wesleyan University people