Brian Thomas Bogusevic ( Serbian Latin: Brian Bogušević; born February 18, 1984) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

former

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 cat ...

and broadcaster. 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 (A ...

(MLB) for the

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 s ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

, and

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 ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

College career

Bogusevic was a two-way star player for

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, playing in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

and also used as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

. He was also a two-way player in high school, a three-year letterman at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's De La Salle Institute for coach Brad Esposito pitching and playing outfield. In 2004, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. While playing for the

Green Wave A green wave occurs when a series of traffic lights (usually three or more) are coordinated to allow continuous traffic flow over several intersections in one main direction. Any vehicle traveling along with the green wave (at an approximate spee ...

, he was named to the All-Tournament Team in the 2005 Conference USA Tournament.

Professional career

Houston Astros

He was drafted 24th overall in the

2005 MLB Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the bes ...

by the Houston Astros as a starting pitcher. He remained a pitcher in the

organization until mid- before converting to an outfielder. In 2008, he was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

as an outfielder. On August 16, 2011, he became the 26th player in MLB History to hit an "ultimate grand slam," a pinch-hit

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

which won the game by one run. Bogusevic reprised his old pitching role for one game in 2012, a June 7 relief appearance against the

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 ...

. Entering a 12–2 blowout, Bogusevic pitched the 9th inning and surrendered two runs. He featured a 90 mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

. On November 3, Bogusevic elected to become a free agent after being outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Chicago Cubs

On November 21, 2012, Bogusevic signed a minor league deal with the

. He was allocated to the minors on March 22, 2013, in spite of hitting .410 in spring training. The fifth outfielder was

Dave Sappelt David J. Sappelt (born January 2, 1987) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. On June 9, 2015, the Boston Red Sox signed Dave to a Minor League contract. He ...

, who won the job because of his platooning ability. He was the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their h ...

Opening Day first baseman and went 3–5 with an RBI and a run in his debut. Through April, he was hitting .420 with 10 RBI and 16 runs. Through May he was hitting .367 with 5 HR, 20 RBI and 32 runs. On June 25, Bogusevic was called up by Chicago. At the time, Bogusevic was hitting .319 with 10 HR, 32 RBI and 50 runs in 78 games with Iowa. He made his Chicago debut on June 26, going 2–4 with a walk. When

Ryan Sweeney Ryan Joseph Sweeney (born February 20, 1985) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. Early life Sweeney was b ...

went on the disabled list with fracture ribs, Bogusevic took over in center field. However, on July 14, Bogusevic suffered an injury of his own, and was replaced by

Junior Lake Junior Osvaldo Lake (born March 27, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He signed as an international free agent with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 and made his Major League Baseball (M ...

. After rehabbing in Arizona, Bogusevic returned on August 19, replacing the recently traded

David DeJesus David Christopher DeJesus (; born December 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Ra ...

. Bogusevic was splitting time with

Darnell McDonald Darnell is a unisex given name and surname. The surname refers to a group of people in medieval ages who grew a plant called Darnel, which had intoxicatory properties. The last name originated in France, the plant can only grow in Mediterranean cli ...

in left field with Lake in center field, but when Sweeney returned on September 1, he pushed Lake to left field, and Lake and Bogusevic split time there. In 47 games with Chicago, Bogusevic hit .273 with 6 HR, 16 RBI and 18 runs.

Miami Marlins

On December 12, 2013, the Cubs traded Bogusevic to the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

for outfielder

Justin Ruggiano Justin Marshall Ruggiano (born April 12, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays, Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodger ...

. He was designated for assignment on March 30, 2014. Bogusevic elected free agency in October 2014.

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 1, 2014, Bogusevic signed a minor-league contract with the

. He split between the 2015 season between the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs and the Phillies. Bogusevic hit .296 with 12 HR and 57 RBI for Lehigh Valley in 118 games, and .259 with 2 HR and 5 RBI for Philadelphia in 22 games. After being outrighted off the Phillies' 40-man roster, he became a free agent in October 2015.

Orix Buffaloes

Bogusevic signed with the

for the 2016 season. He appeared in 60 games for the Buffaloes in 2016, and hit .187 with three home runs and 18 RBI.

Boston Red Sox

On January 7, 2017, Bogusevic returned to the MLB by signing a minor league contract with the

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 ...

that included an invitation to spring training. Bogusevic hit .278/.331/.467 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI for the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, the Red Sox Triple A team. Bogusevic did not appear in a big league game in 2017. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Post-playing career

On April 14, 2019, he was a substitute postgame anchor for the Astros.

References

External links

Brian Bogusevic
at Astros Daily
Brian Bogusevic
Milb.com Page

Tulane Player Page {{DEFAULTSORT:Bogusevic, Brian 1984 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Japan American people of Serbian descent Arizona League Cubs players Baseball pitchers Baseball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Baseball players from Chicago Chicago Cubs players Corpus Christi Hooks players De La Salle Institute alumni Falmouth Commodores players Gulf Coast Marlins players Houston Astros players Indios de Mayagüez players Iowa Cubs players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball outfielders New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Oklahoma City RedHawks players Orix Buffaloes players Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Oak Lawn, Illinois People from Palos Heights, Illinois Philadelphia Phillies players Round Rock Express players Salem Avalanche players Scottsdale Scorpions players Toros del Este players Tri-City ValleyCats players Tulane Green Wave baseball players United States national baseball team players Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games