It’s always interesting to catch up on the developments of notable former big leaguers, particularly when things are going well. That seems to be the case for former Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown, who was tracked down by Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription link).
It turns out that Gelb didn’t have to go far. Brown is working in a Philadelphia-area baseball academy. At 32 years of age, he appears to have settled in there.
Brown tells Gelb he’s “ready to call it quits” — not because he’s out of playing opportunities, but “just because I’m having so much fun here.” Though Brown could perhaps be lured back into uniform in the right circumstances, he indicates that he’s leaning firmly towards retirement.
Once billed as a future superstar, Brown seemed to find his footing with an All-Star 2013 campaign at 25 years of age. He slashed .272/.324/.494 and launched 27 long balls in 540 plate appearances. But he collapsed at the plate in the ensuing season and never got it back. Brown last appeared in the majors in 2015 and in the affiliated ranks in 2017.
What most didn’t realize is that Brown has continued to play in the meantime. He took a star turn in the Mexican League last year, driving 25 homers in just 396 plate appearances and even drawing some interest from MLB organizations before breaking his hand in the middle of the season.
Along the way, Brown lost and found his swing — and, more importantly, seems to have grown quite a bit as a person. The full story is well worth your time.
that’s good to hear at least. crazy the flak he got here and he sticks around. go figure.
Do you know why he got so much flak? 1. RAJ kept him buried in the minors for too long. They org is TERRIBLE at developing talent. Ever since RAJ took over very few homegrown talent made an impact at the Major League level. and 2. He was ranked #2 by Baseball America. In the last 20+ years, if you were ranked in the Top-5 the bust % was only 10-15%. BA gets it right more than Vegas. So, this guy being ranked #2 and looking like a bust, then having that 1 AS season and then back to bust pissed a lot of people off. He was supposed to be the guy to come up and continue the winning. Him sucking set them back. They should have traded him that year he broke out, that was my opinion 100%, I never bought his breakout. Huge misstep by RAJ, he viewed this guy with beer goggles.
I remember the hype that surrounded him sad he didn’t make it to far besides the all star appearance
That 2013 May though.
He demolished everything he saw that month. It was awesome to watch.
He’s choosing utils over money. Rare but wise economic choice.
Are 32 year olds even in demand in MiLB?
Not to knock him, glad hes happy, but I doubt theres an offer out there for him
Teams always like to add seasoned vets at triple A. Mike hersman played in the minors for almost 20 years . I give a lot of credit to guys like that . Get paid a few grand a month and ride in buses..stay in crapoy motels in places like Harrisburg , Trenton, and Wichita falls…to be in your 30s some with a family and do that. You really have to love the game
It’s not that bad a gig. The base pay isn’t great, but it’d not uncommon for veteran types to get 50 grand or more as a signing bonus.
But the real money of course is hoping you can get hot or somebody jams a finger and get called up; MLB minimum wage is ~$3000 per day.
Unless they have some other job skills, it makes financial sense for veterans to hang around in AAA as long as they can.
Weird how he’s like a Jason heyward replica but heyward got 200 mil.
Also, Brown wasn’t a great defender and wasn’t good at getting on base on the other hand, Heyward is a great defender and is generally good at getting on base. He was a good hitter with Atlanta and St. Louis but it’s obvious the main reason why he got 8 years/$184 million from the Cubs is his defense.
No team in their right mind spends $23M per year for defense. The Cubs obviously expected further development at the plate. That isn’t happening. Now, the Cubs will settle for a league average hitter with great defense.
Heyward looked like the next big thing. Maybe the money got to his head. One will never know, but it is one of the most interesting dropoffs in recent history
He didn’t LOOK like the next big thing. He was PROJECTED to be the next big thing. And he hit free agency at a very young age. Heyward has never really hit that well. Everyone just assumed he was going to grow into it. He was still basically a prospect after 6 years in the big leagues.
The Cubs made the move because there was no one in FA that was projected to be as good for 2 years. They got a WS and now have to pay the piper.
Heyward is a good player but everyone but the Cubs GM knew that this signing was a mistake from the getgo.They should have signed him for half that much as there did not seem to be the suitors that perhaps they were expecting.
Does anyone remember who the Cubs out bid for Heyward??…I bet that front office is happy it went down the way it did, now…
I think that they outbid themselves.
Good hitter in ATL is stretching it, was decent at best..(Kakes has been a good hitter in ATL for comparison purposes.)
He got payed for his defense and hype. Always heard his BP was always amazing to watch, just couldnt transfer the success to real time and decipher pitches like the greats do.
The OBP issues that Brown had and Heyward did not probably made the biggest difference between the two players’ development back in their early- to mid-twenties.
Heyward is an ultra elite defender. He got that big contract because he saves dozens of runs a year on defense …the average fan doesn’t see the value in that but front offices do. Guys like kerimaier, marisnick and jose Iglesias have jobs because there are ways to evaluate defense now . I think that’s a great thing .
He had a very ‘lazy swing’ it was way too slow through the zone. Like worse than Ryan Howard vs offspeed pitches. He didn’t turn on a ball fast enough. Also as others said, wasn’t a great fielder he misjudged the ball a lot.
I do not think that Brown was all that coordinated and seemed to be somewhat clumsy.He had a great month in 2013 and the Phillies were enthused but perhaps his motivation to work hard to improve was lacking.Some guys don’t get “ it” until later in life and maybe he just missed his chance.Good luck to him.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m not sure who taught him how to catch a ball, but it was downright painful to watch.
That said, his bat looked real in the beginning. A group of us were sitting near Brown’s father the night he was called up. He hit a laser beam off the right field wall for a double in his first MLB at bat. So much promise unrealized…
It has always surprised me how little power JeyHey has for his 6’5” 240 pound frame. It’s hard to believe the most homers he’s totaled in a Mlb year is 27. Turns out the Braves made the right choice trading him.
Agreed. I remember when he was coming up and there was a report that Braves had to put a net up in right field at spring training because he was just crushing bombs that ended up damaging cars.
He seems like the opposite of when people say a prospect will develop power or is projected to develop more strength as they age. Hes always had the size and strength but it, for some reason, has never really translated into on the field production.
met him last year at a game in Laredo and he couldn’t have been a nice guy…I figured a former MLB All Star playing in the Mexican League would be bitter but he was having a blast.
nstale.. I think you should proof read your posts before clicking the send button. You wrote the complete opposite of what you meant to convey. Concise and clear communication skills are key attributes for a successful person.
It’s one letter. A much worse offense is you masquerading around here with the legendary name of Vin. You should be ashamed. If you really care about Vin, model his behavior and be a standup person.
Vin Scully, please please please…no one is reading you posts giving thanks they did. You are not appreciated. Please give it up. I’m pretty sure I speak for everyone.
Context clues make it easy to skim past mistakes.
Relax,Vin. It’s no big deal. We all know what he meant.
I knew exactly what he meant and so did you.
Talking down to people, over minor grammatical errors, is a clear and concise way to show others how much of a d-bag you are.
Kenny F&$@in Powers was the same way in Mexico…
Stories like these are what makes the Athletic a great investment.
Pax.. You pay for that? You pay money for an update on Brown’s life? LMAO.
Questuon for Vin: how is that any worse than you being forced to pay a portion of utilities and rent for mothers basement? Idiot.
Yeah because purchasing a subscription for a whopping $2.50/mo. means that you only get to read one article about Dom Brown.
Phillippe Aumont hasn’t called it quits yet.
He had a solid year for Ottawa in 2019. I’m surprised we haven’t heard about an invite to camp for him from someone.
I believe Aumont got an invite to Spring Training with the Jays.
“On December 1, the Blue Jays signed Phillippe Aumont and Justin Miller to minor-league deals with invites to spring training.”
Forgot about that awesome Seattle draft pick. Glad he’s still playing though.
Go Cubs Go
All padre fans who dream they have the next glavin/Maddox/smoltz combo in paddock/gore/patino remember that most prospects never pan out
Couldn’t be more wrong. Although some don’t pan out, the superstars of today’s games are being forecasted at an all time high. Most big time prospects are a hit nowadays.
Les.. The player’s last name is Glavine. Proof read your posts. It makes you look lazy.
I mean you missed Paddack lol
Vin Scully, please please please…no one is reading you posts giving thanks they did. You are not appreciated. Please give it up. I’m pretty sure I speak for everyone.
You’re awfully inconsistent for a grammar pedant—withholding your Illuminative reprimanding for “Maddox.”
It makes you look lazy.
Never thought I’d live long enough to say this… Vin Scully is a major d-hole.
Based on his career BB/so numbers, including the minor leagues, it looks like he decided that his fairly patient approach just wasn’t getting it done for him, or perhaps not turning heads to get playing time. His career year he had almost the same OBP as the previous 2 campaigns. Then he tailed of. Looks like a game of adjustments. Pitchers gave him strikes for a year when they were expecting him to take a lot of pitches and then readjusted when they found he had gotten more aggressive. Someone above said he had a monster May that year which falls right in line with that theory. He continued to post much poorer BB/so ratio the rest of his career both major and minor leagues.
He was overhyped as a prospect and only had 1 good half a season(which he was an all-star for probably because there has to be at least 1 all-star from each team) get him out here
The Phillies had another player make the team (Cliff Lee).
Vin Scully, please please please…no one is reading you posts giving thanks they did. You are not appreciated. Please give it up. I’m pretty sure I speak for everyone.
You do
Glad he has found his calling and enjoying sharing his experience with others. It’s a shame more gifted athletes fail in this after their prime days have passed.
Brown’s career path is extremely common though. Obviously, he was probably the best player on every team he was on growing up, youth leagues, school leagues, tournament/travel teams. Probably even all through college and most of his lower level minor league teams where the competition became older than he was for the first time. But hundreds of players’ paths are identical, right up to having success in that first experience in the majors. But then the league figures out your weaknesses and exploits them until you adjust. Some players can close up those holes while most others cannot.
The reason for this ramble is to simply magnify the risk of trading proven, successful major leaguers for prospects or young players in hope that they can rebound after that first exposure. It becomes more about work ethic, willingness and or ability to adapt or even to accept coaching advice.
Players GET to the majors on God given talent, but the ones that stick and persevere simply have to work harder than the others.
How many star players get traded for prospects who are never heard from again or have zero impact at the mlb level?
Just throwing it out there. He was 1st team all state in football and baseball in Florida his senior year in HS. A better athlete than anyone that’s commenting on this page!
He has a WAR of 2.8 one year and managed to finish with a negative total. That’s tough to do!
He was crushing it his one all-star year. Than i think he got a concussion and didn’t seem like he could rebound from it and that could be. Maybe I’m right or maybe I’m wrong but i always look at him as example that top prospect aren’t Major league players