My Two Cents: Tough Week for Rays Heroes, But Don't Forget Mike Brosseau's Moments
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MILWAUKEE, Wis. — There's been a lot of tugging at the heart strings this week around the Tampa Bay Rays fan base, and some tears shed, too. It's hard saying goodbye — or waving from a distance — when your heroes hit the road.
It was tough when popular outfielder Brett Phillips was designated for assignment last week, and then traded to the Baltimore Orioles. He didn't have the best stats in the Rays' locker room, but he certainly had the most fans, young and old. The local hero did a lot to make a name for himself in Tampa Bay.
It's the same with Kevin Kiermaier, ol' blue eyes. The long-time starting center fielder, the longest-tenured Rays player, had season-ending hip surgery last Wednesday and is done for the season in what is likely the final year of his contract. The Rays have a $13 million option, but it's highly unlikely they'll do that. Maybe the two sides work out a fresh deal, but there's a very real possibility that Kiermaier has played his last game in a Rays uniform.
So it's a nice thing that the Rays roll into Milwaukee this week and get to see a friendly and familiar face — former Rays turned Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau.
He gave Rays fans a heroic and unforgettable moment or two himself. And even though it ended with a trade after last season, Brosseau, the former undrafted free agent who defied all the odds on his way to the big leagues, cherished his time in Tampa Bay.
“There’s so many great memories with the Rays in general. It was just the every-day life, those days in the clubhouse with those guys,'' Brosseau said a few weeks ago. "It was a great clubhouse and I cherished my time there. It was all I knew before the trade.''
For all of those magical moments from Phillips and Kiermaier, nothing in my book beats Brosseau's moment against Aroldis Chapman and the New York Yankees in the 2020 American League Division series. After nearly getting beaned from a 100-mph fastball from Chapman earlier in the year, Brosseau hit a game-winning home run to help the Rays clinch their first postseason series against the hated Yankees.
If that doesn't happen, Phillips' World Series moment never happens either.
It's my favorite Rays postseason moment mostly because of the history. The Rays always had to play second fiddle to the Yankees, even in their own hometown, the city of Tampa Bay. I still will argue forever that the Rays became a real franchise in the spring of 2008, when they brawled with the Yankees in a spring training game after a hard slide into second base.
That was the moment there was no more backing down to the Yankees. And even a dozen years later, there was no backing down when Chapman buzzed the tower and just missed Brosseau's noggin. That home run was sweet revenge, and at the most wonderful of moments.
Brosseau really struggled in 2021 — he hit just .187 at the big-league level and bounced back and forth between Durham and St. Petersburg — and the Rays moved on from him, but he's still a very popular figure among Rays players. They all loved seeing him in late June when the Rays and Brewers played two games in St. Pete – both Milwaukee wins — and it'll be nice to see him again when the two teams play Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon in Milwaukee.
“This was all I new before coming to Milwaukee this year. The characters here, they don’t ever change, and it’s good to see so many friendly faces.''
Brosseau will miss not seeing Kiermaier and Phillips, too. He had a special bond with Kiermaier, the native Hoosiers. Kiermaier was from Fort Wayne, and Brosseau from Munster, Ind., and northwest Indiana town that's basically a Chicago suburb.
Kiermaier and Brosseau first met in 2017 when he was in high-A ball in the Florida State League and Kiermaier was on a rehab assigment. They had a long talk, two Hoosiers, with Kiermaier, who's a low-round draft pick success story himself being able to relate to Brosseau's journey.
The talk meant the world to an unproven minor-leaguer.
“I remember that (conversation with Kiermaier) vividly. He took me under his wing and helped me learn how to be a big-leaguer,'' Brosseau said. "That talk, way back in Jupiter, it goes a long way. The one-on-one time with KK, it was a special thing.''
Playing in Milwaukee is nice because his parents and friends and family members can easily make the 2-hour drive to Milwaukee now.
"They come up almost every weekend we're home, and I love that,'' Brosseau said. "They love it too, being so close, because they were big fans of flying down to Florida all the time. This is much better for them. I like it.
“My family was very excited, being closer to home. It was bittersweet, the trade, but it’s exciting to make new memories with a new group of guys.''
Brosseau has played in 48 games with the Brewers, and he's hitting .279 with five homers and 17 RBIs. He played mostly against left-handed pitching — he's hitting .317 against lefties — and he's enjoying being in another pennant race. The Brewers and Cardinals are battling it out for the National League Central division title.
He gets two more days with his former teammates, but those memories will last forever.
For all of us.
And that's a wonderful thing.
