Greg Brummett closed CWS win, made ML with Giants, Twins

It was the championship game of the 1989 College World Series and Greg Brummett was on short rest, but he was still on.

After already winning two games for Wichita State in the tournament, Brummett closed it out against Texas, striking out six as he helped pitch his team to the title.

"I have my best stuff probably of the whole series," Brummett told The Associated Press afterward. "Three days rest was not enough. I was throwing on guts out there."

Brummett went on from that championship to a professional career that lasted seven seasons. It was also a professional career that saw time in the majors.

Brummett's career began shortly after that College World Series, taken by the Giants in the 11th round of the draft.

At Wichita State that year, Brummett went 18-2. His first win in Omaha came against Arkansas in a 4-2 decision. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2009.

With the Giants, Brummett played his first season between short-season Everett and single-A San Jose. He went 4-3, with a 3.20 ERA.

He played at single-A Clinton in 1990 and 1991, then returned to San Jose in 1992. He also got three outings in 1992 at AAA Phoenix.

Brummett started 1993 back at Phoenix. Then, in May, he got his call to San Francisco. In eight starts there, he went 2-3, with a 4.70 ERA.

He debuted May 29 against the Braves. He made it into the seventh inning and picked up the win after benefiting from an early lead.

"That probably helped out the most, getting that 2-0 cushion in the first," Brummett told The AP. "I just concentrated on keeping the ball down and getting some ground balls. Things worked out perfectly."

By Sept. 1, Brummett was with the Twins, sent there in a trade. He got five more starts there, going 2-1. He made it into the eighth inning Sept. 30, giving up seven hits, three earned.

That win ended up being his final game in the majors. He returned to AAA for 1994 and there was even talk he'd be called up, but he wasn't. He played out the year at AAA, missed 1995 and played one final season in independent ball in 1996, ending his career.

He's since gone on to a long coaching career in college, spending time at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, the Air Force Academy and, most recently, at Cloud County Community College in Kansas.

In February 2011, Brummett's Cloud players picked up some early wins and earned praise from their coach.

"We played very well as a team, and we got some timely hitting when we needed it." Brummett told Cloud.edu after the game. "I also think our pitching really set the tone. It put us in a position where we had a good chance of winning."

• Gainesville Sun, Associated Press, June 11, 1989: Wichita St. tops Texas for first NCAA title
• Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, May 30, 1993: Clark Quickly Calms Giants Rookie's Nerves
• Cloud.edu, Feb. 24, 2011: Baseball season hits off with wins

More: The 1990 Clinton Giants

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:1,894
Made the Majors: 877 - 46.3%-X
Never Made Majors: 1,017-53.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 374
10+ Seasons in the Minors:218

More 1990 Minor Leaguers:

 - Mike Brown believed in his players, managed 5 years, played, 12/18/20

 - Mike Brown saw six major league seasons, coached, scouted, 12/22/22

 - Paul Brown looked forward to pro baseball, saw 5 seasons, 2/20/23

 - Randy Brown experienced much over 11 seasons, made AAA, 6/20/21

 - Rob Brown got split-finger working, saw 5 seasons, AAA, 6/21/22
 - Tab Brown saw 3 minor league seasons, each with Braves, 12/18/11
 - Tim Brown threw 7-inning perfect game at AAA, missed bigs, 3/2/18

 - Tom Brown recruited Ben McDonald, later coached in minors, 5/26/13
 - Tony Brown worked to hit hard over decade-plus in pros, 12/25/16
 - Mike Browning's playing career spanned fifteen years, 7/10/16