Douglas Keith Brocail (born May 16, 1967) 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and

pitching 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 decision ...

. 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

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

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 ...

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, and Texas Rangers. He has coached in MLB for the Astros, Rangers, and the Orioles.

Playing career

Brocail attended Lamar High School in

Lamar, Colorado Lamar is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Prowers County, Colorado. The city population was 7,687 at the 2020 United States census. The city was named after Lucius Quintus Cincinnatu ...

where he won All-State honors in football, basketball, and baseball. The

selected Brocail in the first round of the

1986 Major League Baseball draft The 1986 Major League Baseball draft was the 22nd MLB draft that took place in 1986. During this draft 21 future all-stars were drafted: Greg Swindell, Matt Williams, Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Roberto Hernández, Jack Armstrong, Dean Pal ...

. He did not make his major league debut until 1992 because of injuries sustained in the minors. Initially a starter, Brocail went 4–13 in his first full season (1993) before being converted to relief. DougBrocail

After the 1994 season, the Padres traded Brocail, Derek Bell, Ricky Gutiérrez,

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . As of 2023, M ...

Phil Plantier Phillip Alan Plantier (born January 27, 1969) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 1997. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. After his playing car ...

, and Craig Shipley to the

for

Ken Caminiti Kenneth Gene Caminiti (April 21, 1963 – October 10, 2004) was an American professional baseball third baseman who spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1987–1994, 1999–2000), San Diego Padres (1995–1 ...

Andújar Cedeño Andújar Cedeño Donastorg (August 21, 1969 – October 28, 2000) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop who played from 1990 to 1996. Born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, he played for the Houston Astros from 1990 to 1994, the San Diego ...

Steve Finley Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He is one of o ...

, Roberto Petagine, and

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American journalist and television news anchor. He was a correspondent for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchorman, anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in ...

. After the 1996 season, the Astros traded Brocail, Brian Hunter,

Todd Jones Todd Barton Jones (born April 24, 1968) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was an effective middle reliever for several teams and also filled the role of closer, most no ...

, Orlando Miller, and cash to the

for

Brad Ausmus Bradley David Ausmus (; born April 14, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player, manager and current coach. He is the bench coach for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 18-year MLB playing career, Ausmus ...

José Lima José Desiderio Rodriguez Lima (September 30, 1972 – May 23, 2010) was a Dominican right-handed pitcher who spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1994–1996, 2001–2002), Houston Astros (1997–2001), K ...

Trever Miller Trever Douglas Miller (born May 29, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. High school Miller graduated from Trinity High School, where he was a pitcher and outfielder, in 1991 and was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball and the ...

C. J. Nitkowski Christopher John "C. J." Nitkowski (born March 9, 1973) is an American left-handed former professional baseball pitcher and current baseball broadcaster. A first-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds in 1994, he played in the major leagues f ...

, and

Daryle Ward Daryle Lamar Ward (born June 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2008 for the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pira ...

. After the 2000 season, the Tigers traded Brocail, Ausmus, and

Nelson Cruz Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez (born July 1, 1980), nicknamed "Boomstick", is a Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Ranger ...

to the Astros for Roger Cedeño, Chris Holt, and

Mitch Meluskey Mitchell Wade Meluskey (born September 18, 1973) is an American retired professional baseball player. He played all or parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1998 and 2003, for the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers, primarily as ...

. Two Tommy John surgeries kept Brocail out of the major leagues for nearly four years (2000–04). He returned in 2004 with the Texas Rangers and was placed on the disabled list in May for 15 days due to an appendectomy. He pitched for San Diego in 2006 and 2007. Brocail underwent an

angioplasty Angioplasty, also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, is a minimally invasive procedure, minimally invasive endovascular surgery, endovascular Medical procedure, procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructe ...

on March 11, 2006, to clear a 99% blockage of his

left anterior descending artery The left anterior descending artery (LAD, or anterior descending branch), also called anterior interventricular artery (IVA, or anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery) is a branch of the left coronary artery. It supplies the ante ...

. He had complained of chest tightness that radiated into both arms. He already was being treated for an abscessed tooth and

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

. Weeks later, Brocail underwent a second, more complex angioplasty in which he received three

stents In medicine, a stent is a tube usually constructed of a metallic alloy or a polymer. It is inserted into the Lumen (anatomy), lumen (hollow space) of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open. Stenting refers to the placement of ...

in his heart in addition to the one put in prior. Post-heart surgeries, Brocail returned to the mound on July 14, 2006. Brocail pitched relief for the Astros in 2008 and 2009 before retiring at the age of 42.

Coaching career

After the

fired pitching coach Brad Arnsberg on June 14, 2011, Brocail was named the interim pitching coach. In October 2013, Brocail was reassigned by the Astros to the role of special assistant. Brocail served as interim pitching coach for the Corpus Christi Hooks in 2014, and full time for Corpus Christi in 2015. In November 2015, Brocail was offered a spot as the Texas Rangers pitching coach by Rangers manager

Jeff Banister Jeffery Todd Banister (born January 15, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He is the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Before that, he was a special assistant for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League ...

. Brocail accepted the position, replacing the departed Mike Maddux. Brocail led the Rangers' pitching staff through the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Brocail was announced on January 23, 2019, as 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 ...

pitching coach succeeding

Roger McDowell Roger Alan McDowell (born December 21, 1960) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1996. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Do ...

. During his two seasons in this capacity, the Orioles' pitching staff went from being one of MLB's worst to lowering its ERA by a run, with the bullpen giving up almost two less runs per game. He was not retained after the 2020 season as the Orioles continued to streamline its player personnel operations.

Personal life

Brocail and his wife Lisa have five daughters. The family lives in

Missouri City, Texas Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increas ...

. On September 13, 2004, Brocail was involved in an incident at the

McAfee Coliseum Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, often shortened to the Oakland Coliseum, is a multi-purpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It serves as part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, located next to Oakland Arena. In ...

, when the Texas Rangers were playing the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. His rookie teammate Frank Francisco, angry at a fan for heckling Brocail and others, hoisted a folded chair into the stands, striking a female fan and breaking her nose. Brocail would later pitch of an inning.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocail, Doug 1967 births Living people Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball players from Colorado Corpus Christi Hooks players Houston Astros coaches Houston Astros players Detroit Tigers players Frisco RoughRiders players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Lake Elsinore Storm players Lamar Runnin' Lopes baseball players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball coaches New Orleans Zephyrs players Oklahoma RedHawks players People from Clearfield, Pennsylvania People from Prowers County, Colorado Round Rock Express players San Diego Padres players Spokane Indians players Texas Rangers coaches Texas Rangers players Tucson Toros players Wichita Wranglers players Baseball coaches from Colorado Charleston Rainbows players 20th-century American sportsmen

Playing career

Coaching career

Personal life

See also

References

External links