Former MLB pitcher Tom Browning, who pitched nearly his entire major league career with the Cincinnati Reds, was found dead in his home in Kentucky this afternoon. No foul play is suspected. He was 62.
Browning's death comes less than a week after he pled guilty to operating a vehicle while impaired back in August for which he was sentenced to 180 days in jail although all but three days of that sentence had been suspended.
A 9th round draft pick of the Reds in 1982, Browning reached the majors late in the 1984 season. Browning finished runner up in NL Rookie of the Year balloting in 1985 as he became the first rookie to win 20 games in a season since Bob Grim pulled it off for the New York Yankees in 1954 (more on that in a moment). In a normal year it would have been good enough to win Rookie of the Year honors, but Vince Coleman stole 110 bases for the NL champion St. Louis Cardinals. No other major league player has come close to stealing 100 bases.
Browning is best known for tossing a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988. On a personal note, I remember Browning's perfect game because he did it on my birthday (September 16th). It was the first perfect game in the NL since Sandy Koufax tossed a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs 23 years earlier in September 1965.
Two years later, Browning earned a World Series ring with the Reds and was the winning pitcher in Game 3 en route to a sweep of the Oakland A's. Browning would earn his only NL All-Star berth in 1991. Between 1985 and 1991, Browning won in double digits each season before he lost his effectiveness. In 1993, during a trip to Wrigley Field, Browning snuck out of the ballpark, crossed the street and watched the game with fans across the street.
Browning finished his career in 1995 with a very brief stint with the Kansas City Royals. In 302 big league appearances, Browning went 123-90 with a 3.94 ERA and exactly 1,000 strikeouts.
Back to Browning's rookie season. As mentioned earlier, Browning was the first rookie to win 20 games in a season in over three decades. Not only that but he was the first southpaw to do so since Gene Bearden won 20 games with the Cleveland Indians in 1948 and the first NL pitcher to reach that figure since Larry Jansen won 21 games with the New York Giants in 1947. Just as no other MLB player has stolen 100 bases in a season since Vince Coleman, no rookie MLB pitcher has won 20 games in a season since Tom Browning. It is very possible that Browning's rookie record might stand as long as Coleman's record.
I leave you with Browning's night of perfection. R.I.P.
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