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Brad Ausmus
Catcher
Batted: RightThrew: Right
debut
July 28, 1993, for the San Diego Padres
Last appearance
October 3, 2010, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Career statistics
Games played	1,971
Hits	1,579
Home runs	80
Runs batted in	607
Stolen bases	102
Batting average	.251
Stats at Baseball Reference
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
San Diego Padres (1993–1996) Detroit Tigers (1996) Houston Astros (1997–1998) Detroit Tigers (1999–2000) Houston Astros (2001–2008) Los Angeles Dodgers (2009–2010)
Career highlights and awards
NL All Star: 1999 3x NL Gold Glove Award, catcher: 2001–02, 2006 Darryl Kile Award: 2007 2nd all-time w/12,671 putouts at catcher (through 2009) 8th (tied) all-time w/1,917 games caught (through 2009) 5x led league catchers in fielding percentage (.998, AL-1999; .997, NL-2001; .997, NL-2002; .999, NL-2005; .998, NL-2006) 2x led league catchers in caught stealing percentage (NL-1997; 43.2% AL-2000) 2x led league catchers in range factor (8.40, NL-2002; 7.94, NL-2006) Led league catchers in putouts (683, NL-1994) Led league catchers in assists (68, AL-2000)

Bradley David "Brad" Ausmus (pronounced /ˈɔːsməs/; born April 14, 1969, in New Haven, Connecticut) is a former All Star catcher in Major League Baseball, and a current special assistant for the San Diego Padres.

In his 18-year major league playing career with the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers, he was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner (2001–02, 2006). He was also an All Star in 1999. He won the 2007 Darryl Kile Award "for integrity and courage," presented annually by local chapters of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to players on the Astros and St. Louis Cardinals.

A five-time league-leader at catcher in fielding percentage, he has also led the league twice each in percentage caught stealing and in range factor, and once each in putouts and assists.

He finished his career in 2010 ranked third in major league history with 12,839 putouts as a catcher, trailing only Iván Rodríguez and Jason Kendall, seventh in games caught with 1,938, and 10th in both range factor/game (7.12) and fielding percentage (.994). Through May 31, 2009, he also ranked second all-time among all Jewish major leaguers in career games played (in his 11th game of the season, he took over first place), fifth in hits (1,548), eighth in runs batted in (599; directly behind Mike Lieberthal), and ninth in home runs (79; just behind Ryan Braun), trailing only Hank Greenberg and Shawn Green in all three categories.

Early life

Personal

Ausmus's father, Harry, is a retired professor of European history at Southern Connecticut State University, and the author of "A Schopenhauerian Critique of Nietzsche's Thought," which Ausmus calls his "favorite book."

High school

Ausmus was a standout athlete at Cheshire High School as a basketball guard. He was also a star in baseball; as a freshman he was a teammate of National Hockey League defenseman Brian Leetch, who was then a pitcher on the school's Connecticut state championship team in 1984. As a sophomore Ausmus played shortstop and batted .327, as a junior (when his coach moved him to catcher) he hit .436, and as a senior he hit .411 and was named the Cheshire Area High School Player of the Year. Was named to the All-State team both his junior and senior years.

Draft and college

Ausmus chose an unusual route to the major leagues. He initially refused to sign with the New York Yankees after the 1987 draft in which the team picked him in the 47th round, instead choosing to pursue another childhood dream, that of attending Dartmouth College. The Yankees allowed him to attend classes at the Ivy League school while playing in the minor leagues during his off terms. (Dartmouth has a unique, quartered academic calendar, giving students more flexibility to do such things.) Given NCAA rules barring paid professional athletes from playing college sports, Ausmus could not play for the Dartmouth Big Green, and instead served as a volunteer coach and bullpen catcher.

He graduated in 1991 with a A.B. in Government, and was a member of Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity. While at Dartmouth, the lowest grade he received was a B. In 2005, Ausmus became the first Ivy League catcher to play in the World Series since Dartmouth's Chief Meyers in 1916. Ausmus was also one of six Ivy Leaguers on major league rosters at the beginning of the 2009 season.

Though Ausmus was not drafted until the 48th round of the 1987 draft, he played in MLB longer than any of the 1,150 players drafted ahead of him did. Ausmus has also never been on the disabled list in his major league career.

Minor league career

Ausmus spent five years in the Yankees' minor league system with the Gulf Coast Yankees (1988), Oneonta Yankees (1988–89), Prince William Cannons (1990–91), Albany-Colonie Yankees (1991–92) and Columbus Clippers (1992). He was subsequently selected by the Colorado Rockies with the 54th pick of the 1992 expansion draft. He spent less than a year in the Colorado organization (with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox) before he was traded to the San Diego Padres with Andy Ashby and Doug Bochtler for Bruce Hurst and Greg Harris in July 1993.

Major league career

San Diego Padres (1993–96)

He made his major league debut two days later, when he started for the Padres against the Chicago Cubs, and had a single in three at bats. In 1995 he batted .293, a career best, and stole 16 bases (the most by any catcher since Craig Biggio stole 19 in 1991). Within three years, Ausmus was on the move again. In June 1996, after 149 at bats in which he batted just .181, the Padres traded him, Andújar Cedeño and minor leaguer Russ Spear to the Detroit Tigers for John Flaherty and Chris Gomez.

As of 2010, Ausmus was second among the Padres' all-time catchers stolen bases, fourth in hits, and fifth in games played.

Detroit Tigers (1996)

Despite bouncing back somewhat in Detroit, hitting .248, Ausmus was again traded in December 1996, along with José Lima, Trever Miller, C. J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward, to the Houston Astros for Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Todd Jones, Orlando Miller, and cash. This marked the first of three times Ausmus would be exchanged between the two teams.

Houston Astros (1997–98)

In January 1999 he was traded by the Astros with C. J. Nitkowski to the Tigers for Paul Bako, Dean Crow, Brian Powell, and minor leaguers Carlos Villalobos and Mark Persails. In 1997 he stole a career-high 14 bases.

Detroit Tigers (1999–2000)

Generally considered light-hitting but sure-handed, Ausmus had his best offensive season in 1999 at the age of 30, when he batted .275 and set career highs in on base percentage (.365) and slugging percentage (.415), and made the All-Star team. He was hit by pitches 14 times, sixth in the league and a career high. Ausmus batted leadoff for the Tigers seven times, the first catcher since Bruce Kimm in 1976 to do so.

In December 2000, he was traded by the Tigers with Doug Brocail and Nelson Cruz to the Astros for Roger Cedeño, Chris Holt and Mitch Meluskey.

Houston Astros (2001–08)

In November 2003, he signed as a free agent with the Astros, and he did the same in December 2005. In 2004 he batted .308 against left-handers, and .364 in situations that were "late and close" (in the seventh inning or later, with the score tied or the tying run on base, at the plate, or on deck). In 2005, he had more walks (51) than strikeouts (48). He batted .304 with two out and runners in scoring position. In 2006, Ausmus hit .230 and set a career high with nine sacrifice hits.

In 2007, Ausmus batted .235, but was tied for second among all National League catchers with six stolen bases. He recorded his 100th career stolen base on July 27, becoming the 21st catcher all time to record that many steals.

Ausmus, lauded for his baseball smarts and highly regarded by teammates, is widely considered managerial material when his playing career is over.

"I have to keep him playing, because if he starts managing, he'll be better than me."

"Yeah, but if he keeps playing me more, he may end up losing his job anyway".

Ironically, Garner was fired on August 27.

In October 2007, Ausmus accepted a one-year, $2 million (plus incentives based on playing time) contract. The Astros planned for Ausmus to play on a part-time basis and mentor J. R. Towles, who would catch the majority of the games. Were Towles to struggle, however, the Astros were prepared to turn to Ausmus.

In May 2008, Ausmus (along with Johnny Damon, Andruw Jones, and Derek Lowe) was one of only four active major league players who had played at least 10 years in the majors without ever going on the disabled list.

On May 13, 2008, Ausmus got his 1,500th career hit. He is one of only eight catchers in major league history to get 1,500 hits and steal at least 100 bases.

In early June, with Towles batting only .145, the Astros optioned him to the minors and re-inserted Ausmus as a starter. Towles was replaced by journeyman minor-leaguer Humberto Quintero. Towles eventually came back, but during the season Ausmus, at 39, made more starts behind the plate (61) than either Towles or Quintero.

In July, Ausmus played at Nationals Park, appearing in his 44th major league stadium. Among active players, only Chris Gomez (47), Gary Sheffield (47), and Ken Griffey, Jr. (45) had competed in more stadiums.

In August, he scored his 700th career run, becoming the 25th catcher to reach that mark.

Later in the month he said: "This will be my last year in Houston. It’s just time to be closer to home." He has a home in San Diego, which narrowed it down to the Padres (which had expressed interest in him), Dodgers, and Angels. The Red Sox were also tempting, since Ausmus had a home near Boston, in Cape Cod.

On Sunday, Aug. 24, the Astros played the NY Mets during the Mets International Heritage Week, an annual promotion. It happened to be Jewish Heritage Day, but though Ausmus is Jewish, he did not get to start the game. Ausmus had his only at bat during extra-innings, with the score at 4–4. Ausmus led off the 10th inning with his second homer of the season, and the Astros rallied for a 6–4 win.

Before his final game as an Astro on September 28, the team paid tribute to Ausmus with a humorous video. Ausmus went on to hit a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning of the game.

Ausmus was Houston's all-time leader for catchers as of 2010 with 1,259 games, 1,119 starts, 970 hits, and 415 runs.

Los Angeles Dodgers (2009–10)

On January 26, 2009, Ausmus agreed to a 1-year, $1 million deal (plus incentives) to be a back-up catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"There's no question he can be a manager," Joe Torre said. "He's a smart cookie, everybody knows that, and he has an engaging personality." At the end of the season Torre had Ausmus manage the Dodgers for a game.

In 2009, Ausmus batted .295, including .333 with runners in scoring position, and .385 with 2 out and runners in scoring position, while limited to a career-low 107 at bats. He had never been on the disabled list in his 17-year career, giving him the most consecutive seasons of not going on the DL among all active players.

Ausmus became a free agent after the 2009 season, and on January 26, 2010, he agreed to a one-year $850,000 salary deal (with total compensation guaranteed at $1 million) to return to the Dodgers for his 18th major league season. The deal also included a mutual option for 2011 worth $1 million; if either Ausmus or the Dodgers declined the option, Ausmus would be paid $150,000.

In 2010, Ausmus was the 5th-oldest player in the NL. On April 10, 2010, he was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his 18-year career in the Majors. He missed most of the season after having surgery in April to repair a lower back herniated disc, playing in only 21 games that season, and hitting .222.

Ausmus announced his retirement on October 3, 2010.

Defense

"I feel like when they say I'm one of the smarter ballplayers, it's just their way of saying I don't hit very much."

Known as "a brilliant defensive catcher," "an incredibly smart catcher," and "one of the most respected game-callers and pitching-staff handlers" in the game, Ausmus has exhibited superior range at catcher than the league average each season in his career. He is known for his strong arm, quick release, nimble footwork, framing pitches deftly, and smart handling of pitchers. While the vast majority of his games have been as a catcher, Ausmus has also played a handful of games at first base, second base, third base, and shortstop, all of them without making an error.

He led NL catchers in putouts in 1994, with 683.a Ausmus nabbed a league-leading 39 opposing baserunners (41.9%) in 1995, second in the NL to Florida Marlins' Charles Johnson, and led the league's catchers with 14 double plays and 63 assists. On August 2, 1997, he was the first catcher to wear the FOX mini-camera, in a Houston-New York Mets game. In 1997, he had 16 double plays, a career best, and led the league in caught-stealing percentage (49.5%), as he threw out 46 of 93 runners. In 1998, he finished second to Charles Johnson in the NL Gold Glove voting.

In 1999, he led the American League with a .998 fielding percentage. In 2000, he appeared in 150 games (leading the AL), starting 140 (the most ever by a Detroit catcher). He led the league with 68 assists and 898 putouts, and threw out 30 of 74 baserunners attempting to steal (47.5%), second in the AL in that category. In 2001, he led the NL with a .997 fielding percentage and only one passed ball, had the second best caught-stealing percentage (47.7%) in the majors, and won the first of two consecutive National League Gold Gloves with the Astros. He led the league again with a .997 fielding percentage and an 8.40 range factor, while being charged with only two passed balls in 2002. In 2003, Ausmus had a .997 fielding percentage, for the third season in a row. He led the league with a .999 fielding percentage, 884 putouts, and 134 games caught in 2005.

Ausmus led the league again in a league-leading 138 games caught with a .998 fielding percentage (the fifth-best of any catcher ever at the time) and a 7.94 range factor, with a league-leading 929 putouts and only one passed ball, and won his third Gold Glove in 2006. That year he caught the second-most games ever by a catcher at the age of 37 — only Bob Boone, with 147 games, caught more at that age.

He made his franchise-record eighth Opening Day start at catcher for the Astros in 2007, breaking a tie with Alan Ashby. On July 22 of that year, Ausmus passed Gary Carter to move into sole possession of second place in major league career putouts by a catcher. In addition, he passed Ted Simmons that day to take sole possession of 12th place all-time on the games caught list, with 1,772. In 2007, he had the second-best fielding percentage (.995) and range factor (8.04) of all catchers in the NL, while being charged with only two passed balls.

In 2008, Ausmus was also an "emergency infielder" for the Astros. In April, he played second base in the ninth inning of a game, and later in the season he played first base and third base. In 2005, he even played an inning at shortstop. Through 2008, Ausmus ranked ninth all-time in games caught (1,887) and starts at catcher (1,720).

Ausmus's 1,141 games at catcher in that decade ranked second in the majors. As of July 12, 2009, he was third all-time among catchers in fielding percentage.

Among active catchers with at least 600 games played, he finished the 2009 season ranked tied for fourth with a .994 career fielding percentage behind Mike Redmond (.996), Joe Mauer (.996), and A.J. Pierzynski (.995).

He finished his career in 2010 ranked third in major league history with 12,839 putouts as a catcher, trailing only Iván Rodríguez and Jason Kendall, seventh in games caught with 1,938, and 10th in both range factor/game (7.12) and fielding percentage (.994). For his career, he threw out 30.2% of potential basestealers.

Postseason career

Prior to 2009, Ausmus had played in the postseason five times, all with the Astros, including the 2005 World Series. In Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Ausmus homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game at 6–6 and send it to extra innings; the Astros went on to win in the 18th inning, in what was the longest postseason game in history.

Front office

San Diego Padres (2010–present)

In November 2010, the San Diego Padres hired Ausmus as Special Assistant to Baseball Operations. Ausmus lives in San Diego.

National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Ausmus was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2001 he did not play on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, quipping that he "was trying to atone for my poor first half."

"I have had quite a few young Jewish boys who will tell me that I am their favorite player, or they love watching me play or they feel like baseball is a good fit for them because it worked for me, or it worked for Shawn Green or other Jewish players at the Major League level," said Ausmus. "It has been a sense of pride. If you can have a positive impact on a kid, I'm all for it."

Writings

• "You guys just can't get enough", Ausmus, Brad, ESPN The Magazine, June 12, 2007

See also

• List of select Jewish baseball players

References

1. "Padres hire Ausmus as special assistant". Mlb.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
2. SportsJustice: Scrapiron speaks. I listen. Ausmus is funny.. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
3. Baseball Almanac: Darryl Kile Award. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
5. "Brad Ausmus Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
6. ^ The Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An ... April 14, 1969. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
7. "Brad Ausmus: Modern-Day Moe Berg". The Baseball Talmud. January 22, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
8. ^ "Greenberg, Brad A., "There's a new Jew in Dodger blue," Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles;, 7/1/09". Washingtonjewishweek.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
9. Jewish Major Leaguers Career Leaders. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
11. "Three Wise Men". Sports Illustrated. June 5, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
12. Bristol Press
13. Baseball Digest. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
14. Brad Ausmus. BaseballLibrary.com. Accessed July 23, 2008
15. Jewish Sports
16. "Ivy League Sports". Ivy League Sports. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
17. "Ivy League Sports". Ivy League Sports. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
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20. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago Cubs 8, San Diego Padres 6". Retrosheet.org. July 28, 1993. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
23. "Late and close". Baseball Dictionary and Research Guide. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
24. ^ Alyson Footer (October 30, 2007). "Major League Baseball News". Mlb.com. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
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30. "Astros send struggling catcher Towles down to minors". Houston Chronicle. June 6, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
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35. "Padres prune 40-man roster by five, cut loose Bard and Estes". SignOnSanDiego.com. October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
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39. ^ "Dodgers sign Brad Ausmus to one-year contract; Three-time Rawlings Gold Glove catcher to return to Los Angeles for his 18th Major League season". mlb.com. January 26, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
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45. ^ Ken Gurnick (January 26, 2010). "Ausmus comes to terms with Dodgers; Backstop agrees on one-year deal with option for 2011". Mlb.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
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48. Ken Gurnick. "Back issue sends Ausmus to DL". mlb.com. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
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59. "Astros summary: Cruz gets start". Houston Chronicle. April 4, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
60. "Mariners | Another collapse for Mets in finale". Seattle Times. September 29, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
61. Martino, Andy (April 17, 2009). "Series preview: Brewers at Mets". New York: Nydailynews.com. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
62. "Astute Ausmus Frames Future In Baseball". Courant.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
65. [ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101116&content_id=16116588&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb]
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68. Gammons, Peter (September 29, 2001). "Apolitical blues". Espn. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Behind the Dugout: Brad Ausmus
• Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers — Top 100 Fielding Seasons
• Baseball Library – biography and career highlights
• Baseball Almanac stats
• The Baseball Page
• Jews in Sports bio
• Jewish Sports
• "The Boys of Summer and Seder: Baseball, Passover share openers," 3/12/07
• Jewish major league career leaders
• Brad Ausmus Game Used Equipment

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