Brian Jeroloman

Brian Christopher Jeroloman

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 198 lb.
• School University of Florida
• High School Wellington High School

• Born May 10, 1985 in Suffern, NY USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Brian Jeroloman played as high as AAA. His brother, Chuck Jeroloman, also reached AAA.

Brian Jeroloman hit .318/.448/.364 as a college freshman at Florida. He had a batter OBP and average than teammate Matt LaPorta. Brian batted .298/.432/.440 in 2005 and threw out 37 of 78 attempted base-stealers. He made Team USA's college edition that summer, backing up J.P. Arencibia, the team's top star. In limited action, Jeroloman was 7 for 39 with three doubles and ten runs. He easily had the team's lowest average, 80 points below LaPorta.

In 2006, Brian fell to .242/.381/.374 but threw out 63% of attempted base-stealers, breaking Charles Johnson's school record. He also broke Johnson's career record for opponents caught stealing at 51%. Louisville Slugger named him the Defensive Player of the Year. His glove helped him go to the Toronto Blue Jays in the 6th round of the 2006 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Joel Grampietro and made his pro debut that summer.

In his pro debut, Jeroloman hit .241/.326/.363 for the Auburn Doubledays. In 2007, he batted .259/.421/.338 for the Dunedin Blue Jays, his 85 walks leading the Florida State League and Jays farmhands. His OBP was second in the league to Josh Kreuzer. Jeroloman threw out just 28% of opposing base-stealers, far worse than he had done in college.

The former Gator split 2008 between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (.270/.396/.416) and Syracuse Chiefs (.200/.302/.227). In '09, he struggled at the plate with New Hampshire at .217/.330/.326. While he still was walking often (62), he was also striking out more (120 times). He threw out 42.6% of opposing base-thieves and fielded .993, his defense a positive. He led Eastern League catchers in putouts (808), double plays (14) and fielding percentage.

Brian split 2010 between New Hampshire (.261/.429/.412) and the Las Vegas 51s (6 for 19, 3 doubles, 2 homers, 8 walks, 8 runs, 5 RBI in 7 games). He drew 77 walks on the year and fielded .997. He was selected for Team USA in the 2010 Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament alongside Jordan Pacheco at catcher. Before the tourney began, though, Erik Kratz replaced him on the roster.

In August 2011, the Toronto Blue Jays called Jeroloman up from Las Vegas. Alas, he had broken his hand. Nonetheless, he spent 37 days on the major-league roster -- though he did not get into a game. "His ailing right hand, swollen on a daily basis and often shaking uncontrollably, kept him sidelined for his entire stay in the bigs. Toronto wanted to keep the injury out of the media, so the catcher came in extra early for treatment and waited until reporters left each night to head back to the training room."

Jeroloman remained in the Jays organization in 2012. He spent the 2013 season playing for Triple-A and Double-A affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals. He remained a Nationals farmhand through 2016.

Jeroloman never made it back to The Show -- and so he remained a "Phantom Major Leaguer," though he was eager to shed the label.

After retiring as a player, he became a scout. In 2022, he joined the staff of Florida International University as a hitting and catching coach.

Sources: 2010 Blue Jays Media Guide, 2006-2010 Baseball Almanacs

Further Reading

• Walter Villa (Miami Herald): "Wild ride as player and scout leads Jeroloman to spot on FIU baseball’s coaching staff", Yahoo! News, August 10, 2022. [1]

Related Sites

• University of Florida bio
• Jeroloman out to shed 'phantom ballplayer' label