Ken Brauckmiller

From BR Bullpen

Kenneth Richard Brauckmiller

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Ken Brauckmiller spent a season in the minors then became one of the top foreign players in Dutch baseball history. He eventually became a Dutch citizen and got one of the team's most famous wins in international competition; this is unusual in that, unlike Spain, Italy or Greece, the Netherlands has generally relied exclusively on homegrown talent instead of naturalized players born and raised abroad. He is the brother of Kurt Brauckmiller.

He was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 29th round of the 1988 amateur draft. He played one year in the minors, splitting 1988 between the Everett Giants (0-1, 7.78, 34 H in 19 2/3 IP) and the Clinton Giants (0-1, 3.97).

In 1989, he moved to the Netherlands to play for Neptunus. He was 7-1 with a 2.34 ERA and 72 K in 69 2/3 IP as a rookie but was 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in the Holland Series, where Neptunus fell to Opel Nicols Haarlem. In 1990, he became a two-way player. He hit .299 as a 1B/DH and was 3-1 with a 2.44 ERA, striking out 49 in 48 innings. In the 1990 Holland Series, he was 2 for 8 at the plate but was again lit up on the hill (5 R in 3 2/3 IP) as Neptunus lost to the Amsterdam Pirates.

At age 25, he hit .254 and went 11-2 with a 3.35 ERA, whiffing 104 in 91 1/3 IP. He led the Hoofdklasse in winning percentage. He was 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in the 1991 Holland Series, won by Neptunus; he also had a hit in his lone at-bat.

In 1992, the Portland native switched clubs to ADO fell to 6-6, 3.41 with 70 K in 68 2/3 IP, but easily had his best offensive season, hitting .408 and slugging .632 with a career-best eight homers. He was 5 for 15 with a homer to help them take the 1992 Holland Series and had a 1-0, 3.00 record on the hill in that Series.

Brauckmiller remained with ADO in 1993 and improved to 6-2, 2.70 on the mound while falling to a still-strong .397 at the plate. He led the league in ERA. He became the third foreigner to take MVP honors in the Hoofdklasse, following Scott Khoury and Darryl Brinkley. Returning to Neptunus in 1994, he had a 7-5, 3.24 record and batted .365. He was only 2 for 16 in the Holland Series and was 0-1 with a 3.18 record but Neptunus won the title.

In one game in 1994, Ken and brother Kurt pitched against each other in a Hoofdklasse contest. It would be 11 years until Nick Stuifbergen and Tom Stuifbergen became the next pair of brothers to do so in the top circuit in the Netherlands.

In '95, Ken had a 2-2, 2.96 record and hit .333 while slugging .526. He was 4 for 13 in the 1995 Holland Series and tossed two shutout innings. In 1996, Brauckmiller went 3-3 with a 4.76 ERA and hit .350.

He rebounded in 1997 to go 9-0 with a 2.80 ERA including a no-hitter on August 17. He hit .275. In '98, Ken had a 7-4, 3.48 record for Neptunus while going 2 for 3 in his limited plate action. He then batted regularly in the Holland Series, going 5 for 11 with a homer while struggling on the hill (0-1, 11 H, 7 R in 3 2/3 IP).

Brauckmiller debuted for the Dutch national team in the 1998 Haarlem Baseball Week (0-1, 3 R in 2 2/3 IP; 3 for 10 at the plate). In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, he was 4 for 6 while backing up Dirk van 't Klooster and Jeffrey Cranston at first base. On the mound in the event, he was 0-1 with 17 hits in 33 opponent at-bats and a team-worst 20.25 ERA for the Netherlands. It was a poor showing for the lone pitcher on the club with minor league experience (position player Rikkert Faneyte had played in the majors and position player Raymond Hofer in the minors).

In 1999, Brauckmiller was 8-2 with a 3.83 ERA for Neptunus; he was 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA when they won the Holland Series, his fifth title in the Netherlands. To that point, his career stats in the Hoofdklasse showed a .341 average, .488 slugging percentage, 46 doubles and 23 home runs in 853 AB, a 68-28 record and a 3.19 ERA, the best of any active pitcher in the loop at that point.

In the 1999 World Port Tournament, he was 1-0 with a save and a 2.08 ERA on the mound and was 7 for 25 with 2 doubles and 2 walks. He won the first World Port Tournament Press Award and shared MVP honors with Robert Eenhoorn. He also played in the 1999 European Championship, going 2 for 6 with two walks and allowing one run in three innings. In the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, he was 0-1 with 3 runs in five innings and went 3 for 10 at the plate.

He went 8-1 for Neptunus in 2000 to tie for 5th in the league in wins; they won the Holland Series. He represented the Netherlands at the 2000 Olympics, appearing in four games. He was a pinch-hitter in three of the contests (getting one hit) and appeared on the mound in the other, allowing one unearned run and one earned run in 8 innings and getting a win over Cuba, beating Norge Luis Vera. It was Cuba's first loss ever in the Olympics in 21 contests. The lineup he faced included Cuban legends Omar Linares, Orestes Kindelan and Antonio Pacheco as well as national team stalwarts Luis Ulacia, Ariel Pestano, Oscar Macias, German Mesa, Miguel Caldes and Yobal Dueñas. Former major league outfielder Faneyte relieved him for the 9th inning and got the save in the historic 4-2 win. Another of the first handful of Dutch citizens to play in the majors, Hensley Meulens, provided the support with a 3-run double. Brauckmiller said "This is a dream come true. The most beautiful day in my career."

He had 3 triples and 2 saves for Neptunus in a pennant-winning 2002 campaign, his final time among the league leaders though he remained active until 2006.

Sources[edit]

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