Saying Doug Brocail has had a few health problems is like saying Elizabeth Taylor has had a few husbands. Arm problems caused him to miss several seasons, both in the minors and majors and in 2006 he had heart problems that required him to have an angioplasty. While he was having his heart problems he was also suffering from an abscessed tooth and asthma.Doug was drafted by the Padres with the 12th pick of the first round of the 1986 draft. He didn't make his major league debut until 1992 due to arm problems. Between 1992-94 he pitched in 39 games pitching 159.3 innings and having a 4-13 record.
In December of 1994 Doug was traded along with Derek Bell, Ricky Guiterrez, Pedro Martinez, Phil Plantier, and Craig Shipley to the Astros for Sean Fesh, Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno, Steve Finley and Roberto Petagine. After two years with the Astros he was traded with Brian Hunter, Todd Jones, Orlando Miller and cash for Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitowski and Daryle Ward.
In February 2004 he signed as a free agent with the Rangers and was involved in a weird altercation while playing against Oakland at McAfee Stadium. He and his fellow relievers were sitting in the bullpen when a fan (this is disgusting and ugly) began to heckle Brocail about a stillborn child the Brocails had. One of his fellow players threw a chair at the heckler, but broke the nose of the hecklers wife. In my opinion that fan should have been banned from the stadium for awhile.
In December of 2005 Brocail signed as a free agent with the Padres and pitched in 92 games, going 7-3 and pitching in 105 innings over two seasons. He was released in November of '07 and signed as a free agent with the Astros again, where he pitched last year also.
Doug and his wife are the parents of five girls, two of whom are named Camydn and Parker in honor of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
I got the card through the mail during Dougs' first tour with the Padres.
2 comments:
Too often people forget that players are just people, too. Heckling him about a dead child is repulsive.
I didn't know the subject matter that prompted the chair throwing. The "fan" should be made to work wherever there are grieving parents mourning the loss of a child. That is plain despicable, and he deserved to have more thrown at him than a chair.
Post a Comment