Richard Brewster

Richard C. Brewster

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 142 lb.
• School San Bernardino Valley College
• High School San Bernardino High School

• Born ~1956

Minors BR page

Biographical Information

Richard Brewster peaked at AA but won one minor league batting title and led another league in steals.

He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 14th round of the 1974 amateur draft out of high school but did not sign. He was then taken by the California Angels in the second round of the following year's January draft out of junior college. He began his pro career that summer with the Idaho Falls Angels, leading the Pioneer League with a .347 average and 61 runs scored (9 ahead of runner-up Andre Dawson) in 72 games. He also had a .448 OBP and .391 slugging percentage while stealing 34 bases in 52 tries. He had 49 walks to 15 whiffs. He was second to Andrew Dyes in steals and 4th in walks. On the negative side, he led in times caught stealing and in errors at 2B (21) while his 7 sacrifice hits tied Bret Paris for the league lead in a more neutral department. He was named the loop's All-Star 2B.

Brewster batted .294/.361/.356 with 9 triples, 73 runs and 34 steals in 45 tries for the 1976 Quad Cities Angels with just 28 K in 436 AB. He was second in the Midwest League in triples (one behind Don Pisker) and was 8th in average, between Ed Cipot and Jeff Yurak. He split 1977 between Quad Cities (.292/.386/.389, 25 SB, 38 R in 49 G) and the Salinas Angels (.326/.364/.382 in 81 G). Had he qualified, he would have been 9th in the California League in average. He tied Bobby Jones and Bobby Clark for the most triples (10) by an Angels farmhand that year, tied for 4th with 107 runs and was third in steals (38, behind Kim Allen and Dave Machemer).

Despite that performance, he returned to Salinas in 1978. He produced at a .319/.405/.356 clip with 106 runs, 70 steals (caught 15 times) and 85 walks. Splitting time between DH and the outfield, he was among the Cal League leaders in average (10th), walks (tied for 10th), steals (first by 7 over Tack Wilson) and runs (9th).

He ended his career in 1980, following two years with the AA El Paso Diablos. A full-time outfielder by '79, he hit a solid .298/.354/.387 with 9 triples, 79 runs and only 24 strikeouts in 473 at-bats. He tied Carlos Lezcano for second in the Texas League in triples, one behind Eric Grandy. He fell to .248/.351/.310 in 29 games for El Paso the next year.

Overall, he had batted .308/.383/.370 as a pro, with 446 runs and 202 steals (in 277 tries) in 600 games. He drew 292 walks and only fanned in 165 of 2,383 at-bats. The little infielder had just three career home runs.

Sources: 1976-1981 Baseball Guides