Brian Kelly Dayett (born January 22, 1957) is an American former

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 ...

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 ...

who played five seasons between and for 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) Am ...

and

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 ...

. He also spent some time in Japan, playing for the

Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Ho ...

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 ...

from until .

Early life

Dayett was born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, and grew up in

Deep River, Connecticut Deep River is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 4,415 at the 2020 census. The town center is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau ...

. Deep River has since named their Little League Baseball program for him. After graduating from

Valley Regional High School Valley Regional High School (VRHS) is located in Deep River, Connecticut, United States. It serves the three towns of Regional School District No. 4 - Essex, Chester, and Deep River. In its 2011 edition, ''Newsweek'' magazine named Valley Re ...

, he played baseball for

Saint Leo College Saint Leo University is a private Catholic university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. The universit ...

Playing career

New York Yankees

Dayett was drafted by the

in the 16th round (416th overall) in the 1978 amateur entry draft. He began his first season in

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. Moder ...

that summer with the

Oneonta Yankees Oneonta may refer to several places: Communities *Oneonta, New York, a small city and inspiration for some of the other "Oneontas" *Oneonta (town), New York, a town that surrounds the City of Oneonta *Oneonta, Alabama, Blount County * Oneonta, Ke ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. Batting .309, he hit 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and co-led the league with 20 doubles in 68 games. He hit .256 for the Double-A

West Haven Yankees West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

of the Eastern League in 1979. He began the 1980 season at Double-A for the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

in the Southern League. After being hit by a pitch in the face, he spent the rest of the season between the Class A

Alexandria Dukes The Alexandria Dukes were a Minor League Baseball team of the Class A Carolina League from 1978 to 1983. Alexandria was unable to secure a Major League Baseball affiliate for their inaugural season, and again in 1980, forcing the team to operate ...

, a co-op team in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, and the Yankees' Class A affiliate in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, the

Fort Lauderdale Yankees The Fort Lauderdale Yankees, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were an American Minor League Baseball franchise that existed from 1962 through 1992. The team was a member of the Florida State League (FSL) as an affiliate of the New York Yankees ...

. Across all three teams, he batted .264. Dayett returned to Double-A Nashville in 1981, batting .269 with 18 home runs. Again with the Sounds in 1982, he led the league with a .532

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

while he hit .280 with 34 home runs. He propelled Nashville to win the Southern League championship with a two-

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

, bottom-of-the-thirteenth-inning

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 ...

scoring

Buck Showalter William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager. He served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2003–2006), Baltimore Oriol ...

. That season, he was selected for the

Southern League All-Star Game The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in t ...

, named to the postseason All-Star team, and won the league MVP award. In 1983, he led the

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

with 35 home runs and 108

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

for the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

. He was called up to the Yankees after the season. Dayett made his major league debut at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

on September 11, 1983, at the age of 26, appearing as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

for

Omar Moreno Omar Renán Moreno Quintero (born October 24, 1952) is a Panamanian former center fielder who played from 1975 through 1986 in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was the starting center field ...

. He collected a hit in his first at-bat off of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

' Mike Flanagan. He ended up hitting .207 in 11 games that year. He began the 1984 season in Columbus, where he hit .304, but was called up to New York in June, hitting .244 with the

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

Chicago Cubs

He was traded along with

Ray Fontenot Silton Ray Fontenot (born August 8, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for four seasons between 1983 and 1986. He played for three teams in those four years – the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Minnesot ...

from the Yankees to the

for

Henry Cotto Henry Cotto (born January 5, 1961) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. He played in all or parts of ten seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1984 until 1993. He played one season in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants, ...

Ron Hassey Ronald William Hassey (born February 27, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians (1978–1984), Chicago Cubs (1984), New York Yankees (1985–1986) ...

Rich Bordi Richard Albert Bordi (born April 18, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played from to . He played for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. Bordi threw a ...

and

Porfi Altamirano Porfirio Altamirano Ramírez (born May 17, 1952), nicknamed "El Guajiro", is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball right-handed middle relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1982–83) and ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 4, 1984. Dayett was pleased with the trade, because he had not been playing everyday with the Yankees, but he wound up being used as a platoon player there as well. He split the 1985 season between the Cubs and their Triple-A

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 ...

in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. He hit .378 in 17 games with Iowa and .231 in 22 games with Chicago. He spent the majority of the 1986 season at Triple-A, where he batted .281 with 19 home runs in 121 games. In 24 games with the big league club, Dayett batted .269. He was slated to be the Cubs' starting

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

for the 1987 season, but

Andre Dawson Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "the Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for four different teams as a center and r ...

, signed by the Cubs as a free agent, filled that position instead. This left Dayett to fill his normal reserve role.

Nippon Ham Fighters

On October 28, 1987, Dayett's contract was purchased by the

Nippon Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Ho ...

of the

Japan Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...

. He played four seasons with the club, mostly in a reserve role. With the exception of the 1989 season, in which he played 89 games, he never made more than two dozen appearances in a season. At 35 years old, Dayett retired after the 1990 campaign. Dayett was mostly used as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. In 218 MLB games across five seasons, he hit 14 home runs and 26 doubles in 426 at-bats, with a .258 batting average. He committed only one

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

in 221

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

in his career for a .995

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. On the minor league side, he played 870 games with a batting average of .280 and hit 141 home runs and 175 doubles.

Coaching career

Dayett began a coaching career in 1997,

managing Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

the Will County Cheetahs of the independent

Heartland League The Heartland League was an independent baseball league that operated from 1996 to 1998 in the central United States. The Heartland League was founded with teams in Lafayette, Indiana; Anderson, Indiana; Will County, Illinois; and Dubois County, ...

. He managed the same club, renamed the Cook County Cheetahs, in 1998, and led them to win the league's championship. He entered the affiliated coaching ranks in 2000 when he managed the Carolina League's

Winston-Salem Warthogs Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

affiliate of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. The club placed fourth (last) in the Southern Division with a 68–71 (.489) record. In 2002, Dayett served as

hitting 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 decisi ...

for the

Michigan Battle Cats The Michigan Battle Cats were a Minor League Baseball team which began playing in the Midwest League in 1995 and called C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan, Battle Creek, Michigan, home. The franchise had previously been located in Madiso ...

, the Class A affiliate of 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 ...

in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. He served in the same capacity with their Class A-Short Season

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats are a professional baseball team based in Albany, New York. The ValleyCats compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team was established in 2002, along with the ...

of the New York–Penn League in 2003. He coached Houston's hitters in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

(SAL) with the Class A

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

in 2004. He joined the Texas Rangers organization in 2005, serving as hitting coach for the Midwest League's Class A

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

though 2008. He continued in the same role with the SAL's

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans St ...

in 2009 and the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

(Class A)

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

in 2010 and 2011. From 2012 to 2014, he was a roving Special Assignment Coach in the Rangers organization. Following the resignation of Rangers manager

Ron Washington Ronald Washington (born April 29, 1952) is an American professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager, Coach (baseball), coach, and former infielder. Since November 2023, Washington has been the manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Major Leagu ...

in early September 2014, Dayett filled a vacancy on the Rangers' coaching staff for the rest of the season.

Personal life

Dayett was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

in 2000. He has retired from baseball and lives in

Winchester, Tennessee Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Winchester micropolitan area. The population of Winchester as of the 2020 census was 9,375. History Winchester was created as the seat o ...

, with his wife and two sons.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayett, Brian 1957 births Alexandria Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from New London County, Connecticut Chicago Cubs players Columbus Clippers players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Iowa Cubs players Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Nashville Sounds players Nippon Ham Fighters players New York Yankees players Oneonta Yankees players Saint Leo Lions baseball players Sportspeople from New London, Connecticut West Haven Yankees players 20th-century American sportsmen