Bronswell Dante Patrick (born September 16, 1970) is an American former baseballrelief pitcher. He played in parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) and appeared in several international leagues.
Patrick had agreed to play as a "replacement player" in the wake of the 1994 baseball strike, but his MLB debut was postponed when the two sides struck a deal.[2] Until his Major League debut in 1998, he spent ten years languishing in the Oakland, Houston and Milwaukeefarm systems. Upon signing with the Brewers before the 1998 season, he told his wife that we would retire if he did not make the Majors that year.[1]
On May 11, 1998, the Brewers placed Chad Fox on the disabled list and promoted Patrick from Triple-ALouisville. On May 18, 1998, he made his Major League debut as a reliever for the Brewers.[1] He spent much of that season with the Brewers, pitching 781⁄3 innings while appearing mostly in relief. He collected four wins and one loss, struck out 49 batters, and posted a 4.69 earned run average.[3] In a game on August 1, he hit a home run against Félix Rodríguez, becoming the first Brewers pitcher to hit a home run since Skip Lockwood in 1971.[4] In a September 13 game against the Chicago Cubs, Patrick surrendered a home run to Sammy Sosa, during Sosa's chase of the record for the single-season home run record. The home run in question was Sosa's 61st of the season, tying the previous mark set by Yankees outfielder Roger Maris, and placing him one behind McGwire, who had hit his 62nd on September 8. Later in the same game, Sosa would hit his 62nd against Eric Plunk to pull into a tie with McGwire.[5]
After the season, the Brewers removed Patrick from their roster, and he joined the San Francisco Giants organization. Working as a starter for their AAA affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies, Patrick set a Fresno record with 14 wins.[6] The Giants rewarded him for his good work with a September callup, and he appeared in six games for them, picking up a win and a save despite a 10.12 ERA.[3] His one save came on September 29, 1999, against the arch rival Dodgers. Patrick retired the final two batters of the game to preserve a 5-1 Giants victory. Patrick nailed down the win for starting pitcher Liván Hernández.[7]
Patrick (right) holding a mound visit as the pitching coach of the El Paso Chihuahuas in 2019
In 2008, Patrick joined the staff of the AZL Padres as the team's pitching coach. He also worked in the same capacity for the Single-A Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Midwest League in the 2010 season.[9]
Before the 2013 season, he was named pitching coach of the Tucson Padres.[10]
In February 2022, Patrick joined Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League as pitching coach.[12] However, he left the team prior to the start of the season, for what the club cited was due to personal reasons.[13] Patrick later joined the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League on May 2, 2022, as their new pitching coach.[14] He was not retained by the club following the season.
Personal life
Patrick married his wife, Julie, in the late 1990s while he was still a minor leaguer. Shortly after getting married, they had a son named Tavian.[1] Tavian was recruited to play college football at Arizona State.[15]
According to Patrick, his unusual given name was suggested by an aunt, who claimed to have seen it used overseas. He has two sons Tavain, Kilian, and one daughter Jayden.[citation needed]
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