Brian Thomas Bogusevic ( Serbian Latin: Brian Bogušević; born February 18, 1984) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 catch ...

and broadcaster. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(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 Prefecture ...

College career

Bogusevic was a two-way star player for

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

, 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 bat and ball games ...

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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

De La Salle Institute De La Salle Institute is a private, Catholic, coeducational high school run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by Brother Adjutor o ...

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 All ...

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 1,000 forme ...

. 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 Intersection (road), intersections in one main direction. Any vehicle traveling along with the green wave ( ...

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

Professional career

Houston Astros

Bogusevic was drafted 24th overall in the

2005 Major League Baseball draft The 2005 Major League Baseball 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 best drafts in recent memory. ''SourceMajor L ...

by the

as a starting pitcher. He remained a pitcher in the Astros 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 baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

as an outfielder. On August 16,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, Bogusevic 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 and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

which won the game by one run. Also in 2011, he became the fifth player in franchise history to record two outfield assists in the same inning in a contest versus 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Reprising his former role as a pitcher, on June 7,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Bogusevic made one

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. Entering the ninth inning of a 12–2 blowout, he surrendered two runs, featuring a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

that reached 90 mph. On November 3, 2012, Bogusevic elected to become a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

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, 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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

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 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, who also plays winter ball for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He si ...

. 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 Ray ...

. Bogusevic was splitting time with

Darnell McDonald Darnell Tyrone McDonald (born November 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 2004 and 2013 for the Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

in exchange for outfielder Justin Ruggiano. Bogusevic was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on March 30, 2014. He played in 82 games for the rookie–level

Gulf Coast League Marlins The Florida Complex League Marlins are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Miami Marlins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Marlins. The team plays i ...

and Triple–A

New Orleans Zephyrs New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

, slashing .263/.352/.420 with seven home runs, 36 RBI, and six stolen bases. Bogusevic elected free agency on October 6.

Philadelphia Phillies

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

. He split between the 2015 season between the Triple–A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

and the Phillies. Bogusevic hit .296 with 12 home runs and 57 RBI for Lehigh Valley in 118 games, and .259 with 2 home runs 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

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 affiliate. Bogusevic did not appear in a big league game in 2017. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Post-playing career

On April 14, 2019, Bogusevic was a substitute postgame anchor for the

References

External links

{{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 21st-century American sportsmen Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball outfielders New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Oklahoma City RedHawks players Orix Buffaloes players Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople 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 Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball