“There are very few people that have been role models in my baseball career. My dad is number one and Mike Brumley is number two.”

Austin Riley’s former hitting instructor Mike Brumley, who visited with Riley as recently as the team’s trip to Baltimore, was killed in a car accident on Saturday.

Not a post that I want to make. Been over 36 hours and I still don’t know what to say. Mike Brumley passed away in a car accident in MS late Saturday night. When I heard early afternoon Sunday, I was in sheer disbelief. It was a bad dream. Mike was with the Braves as our minor league hitting/roving instructor for several years. He left the Braves in 2022 but was still available for advice whenever we needed it. We talked about everything under the sun, even 80’s UT baseball…a lot. He worked with my baby Braves and made several of them the successful hitters that they are today. He even flew to Baltimore last week to help Austin Riley adjust his swing because he was struggling this year. He has been a changed player since he helped him last week. He was always available to talk things through, more times than I can count. He was a wonderful family man and he will be missed tremendously. RIP Brum. Andrea Taylor Pell

BASEBALL

Former Texas shortstop Mike Brumley, who starred on 1983 CWS title team, dies in car wreck

Kirk Bohls

Austin American-Statesman

Former Texas shortstop Mike Brumley, one of the stars of the Longhorns’ 1983 College World Series championship team, died in a car crash in Mississippi on Saturday night. He was 61.

Brumley never made All-American at Texas as did five other Longhorns shortstops, but he hit the key grand slam in a big CWS win over Michigan and was voted to the CWS all-tournament team. He was a part of one of the best UT teams in school history, a slick-fielding infielder for Cliff Gustafson’s second and final national champion. That 1983 team included future major-league stars like Roger Clemens, Calvin Schiraldi and Bruce Ruffin and also included future All-American second baseman Bill Bates.

Brumley also was a highly respected major league coach and instructor after playing for six MLB teams from 1987 to 1995, including the Houston Astros briefly. He most recently served as a minor league coach and instructor for the Atlanta Braves from 2018 to 2022.

“We are saddened by the passing of former Mariners player and coach, Mike Brumley,” the Seattle Mariners posted on social media about Brumley, who played and coached for the team. “Our hearts go out to his family, friends and loved ones. Mike’s impact on the field, in our organization and across baseball, was felt by generations of players.”

Brumley followed Texas legend Spike Owen and was the Boston Red Sox’s second-round pick in the 1983 draft. He was involved in a big trade when he was shipped to the Chicago Cubs along with relief ace Dennis Eckersley for first baseman Bill Buckner in May 1984.

Brumley made his major league debut with Chicago in 1987 and later played for Detroit, Seattle, Boston, Houston and Oakland.  He batted .206 with three homers and 38 RBIs in 295 major league games. 

After retiring as a player, he became a coach for the Cubs in 2014 and worked as a minor league instructor with the Rangers and Dodgers for four seasons.

I’ve thought about how to write this post over the last 24 hours and realized that there are no words to describe how we feel. The baseball world (and world) lost a truly brilliant individual Saturday evening. Mike Brumley genuinely was a great human-being, and I cannot express in any post how much he will be missed by so many people.

I always looked forward to the days he came into the shop as he always came with a smile and a story from his coaching and playing days. I’m fortunate enough to have been here for the past year to hear some of them.

From all of us here at SR Bats, rest easy, brother.

Former MLB Player and Coach Mike Brumley Killed in Car Crash: ‘This Is a Tragic Day’

Brumley played eight seasons in the MLB before later becoming a coach for several teams, including Seattle, Chicago, and Atlanta

By

Sean Neumann

Sean Neumann is a reporter at PEOPLE. He has been working at PEOPLE since 2019. His work has previously appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, ESPN, and more.

Published on June 17, 2024 03:52PM EDT

 Mike Brumley, a former Major League Baseball player who played eight seasons before later becoming a coach, died in a car crash over the weekend.

He was 61.

Brumley was killed in a multi-car crash in Hinds County, Miss. that involved two 18-wheelers and several other cars, according to local WLBT. The crash occurred on Interstate 20 near Edwards, Miss., about 30 miles west of Jackson, the state’s capital.

He was a second-generation MLB player, following in his father’s footsteps. His dad, also named Mike Brumley, played two seasons for the Washington Senators in 1964 and 1965.

Brumley was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and later played for the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics throughout his major league career, which spanned between 1987 and 1995.

He also won the College World Series with the University of Texas in 1983.

Brumley returned to the MLB in 2010 as a third base coach for the Mariners before joining the Cubs as a coach in Chicago for one season in 2014 

“We are saddened by the passing of former Mariners player and coach Mike Brumley. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and loved ones,” the Mariners wrote in a tribute on social media. “Mike’s impact on the field, in our organization and across baseball, was felt by generations of players.”