Brian Daubach relaxed, made majors with Red Sox, others
Brian Daubach finally made it to the majors in September 1998, in his ninth professional season.
He then went 0 for 3 in his debut, but he looked ahead for more.
"I was jumpy a little bit," Daubach told The Palm Beach Post afterward. "I got a few pitches to hit, just hopefully I'll relax a little more next time and hit them."
Daubach relaxed enough by the next year to start a run of four straight seasons with at least 20 home runs. Overall, he'd see time in eight major league seasons and later become a coach.
Daubach's career began in 1990, taken by the Mets in the 17th round of the draft out of Belleville Township High School in Illinois.
Daubach started with the Mets in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He saw 45 games and hit .270. He played 1991 at rookie Kingsport and 1992 at short-season Pittsfield.
He played 1993 at single-A Capital City. By then, he'd undergone two knee surgeries, but he'd returned to play regularly.
"I've played every game at either first base or as designated hitter since coming off the disabled list," Daubach told his hometown Belleville News-Democrat that July. "I bat third. I have no complaints."
Daubach made AA Binghamton and AAA Norfolk in 1995, and played at both spots again in 1996. He arrived with the Marlins and AAA Charlotte for 1997 and returned there for 1998.
He joined the Red Sox for 1999, won a roster spot and helped the team to the playoffs. That August, he produced what The Boston Globe called the team's most dramatic at bat, fouling off four 3-2 pitches in the bottom of the ninth against the Athletics before hitting a game-winning double.
"It's hard to even describe what you think about, where I came from," Daubach told The Globe afterward. "Nothing compares to winning a game in Boston in the bottom of the ninth."
Daubach saw 110 games for the Red Sox that year, hitting 21 home runs. He hit another 21 in 2000, 22 in 2001 and 20 in 2002.
He played 2003 with the White Sox, then returned for 30 more games with the Red Sox in 2004. He saw 15 final games with the Mets in 2005.
Daubach soon turned minors coach and manager. He served as coach at independent Nashua in 2009, managed at independent New Hampshire in 2009. In 2021 and through 2-25, he served as hitting coach at AAA Rochester with the Nationals.
"He does a terrific job building relationships," Nationals assistant GM Doug Harris told The Harrisburg Patriot-News of Daubach in December 2013. "He's walked in their shoes, a high school draft pick, a marginal prospect who was probably on the fence of being released from Double-A. Then he turned himself into a major league player with a productive major league career."
- Belleville News-Democrat, July 25, 1993: West grad on rebound from 2nd knee surgery
- Palm Beach Post, Sept. 11, 1998: Batting from one side gives Castillo 'new look'
- Boston Globe, Oct. 6, 1999: Red Sox 6, A's 5
- Harrisburg Patriot-News, Dec. 22, 2013: New manager lives for baseball
Made the Majors:1,469-31.8%-X
Never Made Majors:3,154-68.2%