Former major leaguer Mike Brumley died Saturday night at age 61 in a car accident.
The incident occurred in Mississippi. According to field level media reports.
Brumley’s major league career lasted from 1987 to 1995, during which he played for six MLB teams, and he was first drafted by the Red Sox in 1983.
Following the end of his playing career, Brumley continued to work in baseball as a coach, most recently with the Braves organization where he developed close relationships with several players, including Austin Riley.
Riley told reporters on Sunday that he was woken up at 2:30 a.m. by the news.
“There are very few people who have been role models in my baseball career, number one is my dad and number two is Mike Brumley,” Riley said. “My heart goes out to his family, his children and everyone who was close to him. This is a tragic day. My prayers go out to his family. This is a very difficult thing to take in.”
Riley said he worked with Brumley earlier in the week while the Braves were in Baltimore and that he has spoken regularly with the former MLB infielder.
The news became even more emotional for Riley when he hit his third straight home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Braves on Sunday against the Rays to tie the game.
Riley pointed to the sky as he made his first round.
“He’s been in the back of my mind the whole time,” Riley said. “Really all day. It’s really hard.”
The Mariners, for whom Bramley played in 1990 and later coached, also paid tribute to him with a post on X on Sunday.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Mariners player and coach Mike Brumley.” The Mariners wrote. “We offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. Mike’s impact on the field, on our organization and across baseball was felt by generations of players.”
Brumley made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 1987.
He played for the Tigers, Mariners, Red Sox, Astros and Athletics.
He also played for the Padres, Orioles, Angels and Marlins organizations but never played at the major league level for any of the teams.
