Dan Briggs

Daniel Lee Briggs

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School University of California, Berkeley
• High School Sonoma Valley High School
• Debut September 10, 1975
• Final Game July 3, 1982
• Born November 18, 1952 in Scotia, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Dan Briggs was drafted as a pitcher/first baseman by the California Angels in the 2nd round (34th overall) of the 1970 amateur draft. He was named Player of the Year for the San Francisco Bay Area and to the Topps High School All-American Team that year. He pitched 7 games (3 starts) in his first year of pro ball in addition to 50 games at first base, and would pitch in 1971, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 1985 in the minors. He pitched for Idaho Falls and Quad Cities (Halo affiliates) with a record of 2-0 and an ERA of 1.20; he struck out 36 in 30 innings.

Dan's career was profiled by Al Pepper in a book entitled Mendoza's Heroes, containing biographies of a number of major leaguers who failed to hit .200 for their career; Briggs' lifetime batting average was .195. He hit his first home run, a 2-run shot off Steve Busby of the Kansas City Royals, on September 14, 1975. During his career, he homered off these All-Star pitchers (in addition to Busby): Bill Caudill, Mike Krukow, Bill Lee, Mike Norris and Rick Reuschel. He led the Triple A American Association with 110 RBI in 1981 while playing for the Denver Bears, a Montreal Expos affiliate. Briggs played in Japan for the Yakult Swallows in 1982 and 1983. There, he led the Central League in being hit by pitches with 9 in 1983.

After his playing career, he was head coach at Denison University from 1990 to 1999.