Brent Mayne

A well-traveled catcher, Brent Mayne played with the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Used primarily in a platooning role against right-handed pitchers or as a late-inning defensive replacement, Mayne was remembered more for his defense than his offense. A strong-armed catcher who wasn’t afraid to block the plate and who had a reputation for handling a pitching staff, Mayne played in 1,279 games during his 15-year major-league career and finished with a career batting average of .263 with 38 home runs, 403 RBIs, and a single victory as a pitcher.

Brent Danem Mayne was born on April 19, 1968, in Loma Linda, California, the oldest of the two sons of Michael and Patricia Mayne. Mike Mayne was a high-school and college baseball coach. After a successful coaching stint at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California, the senior Mayne coached baseball at Orange Coast College for 15 years, compiling a career record of 400-188-6. His teams won five South Coast Conference championships, two Orange Empire Conference championships, and the 1980 California State Community College Championship in 1980. He later was the pitching coach at Fresno State, where he helped the Bulldogs to the 2008 NCAA championship. He later joined the coaching staff at California State University Bakersfield. In 1993 Mike Mayne was inducted into the California College Baseball Assn. Coaches’ Hall of Fame.

Having a successful baseball coach for a father had a profound impact on the development of Brent as a baseball player. Brent characterized his father as a no-nonsense, demanding, taskmaster type of coach. He described his father as “like a Bobby Knight kind of coach … very tough, work-oriented, the full regimen. ‘If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all!’ That sort of thing.”1 Brent, who had a more carefree approach to life, often struggled with his father’s overbearing nature. Instead of being committed to putting in the time and effort to becoming a polished ballplayer, he gravitated to world of surfing.

At the same time, Mayne said he understood just how lucky he was to have a father as a baseball coach. “Personally, I lucked into [baseball]. … since we had only one car, I had to go the field every day after school till practice was over to go home – whether I liked it or not. As a result, I played and watched a lot of baseball.”2

Brent attended Costa Mesa High School. He was a slow, undersized second baseman in high school who was forced to sit out his senior year at Costa Mesa High School due to tendinitis in his shoulder. When he graduated, he was just 5-feet-6 and 135 pounds. There was no indication that he was a major-league, or even a Division I college, prospect at that time. He understood he was at a crossroads as far as baseball was considered. He had to make a decision whether to continue to pursue baseball or find something outside of sports. It was at this point that Brent’s father told him that his only chance of continuing as a ballplayer involved strapping on the tools of ignorance.

Mayne recounted his transition from second base to catcher as follows:

“At the same time I was changing positions, my father, Cal State Fullerton coach Larry Corrigan, and big-league receiver Jamie Nelson were involved in the process of breaking down the mechanics of catching and more or less reinventing it … and they needed a guinea pig for this experiment. They needed someone (preferably with no catching experience because there would be no bad habits to break) to see whether the ‘Bench style’ could be improved upon with their innovative ideas about athletic foundation, stances, and receiving and blocking techniques. With my options severely limited, I jumped at the opportunity and quickly embodied their vision of a modern catcher.”3

The transition to catcher continued when Mayne enrolled at Orange Coast College, where he played baseball for his father. After his freshman year, he transferred to California State University Fullerton. He was the Titans’ starting catcher in 1988 and 1989. He earned first-team All-Big West Conference honors both seasons and earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) second-team All-American honors in 1988, when he batted a team-high .393 with 22 doubles, 1 home run, and 31 RBIs. He batted .350 with 5 home runs and 34 RBIs in 1989 and as of 2022 held the school record with a 38-game hitting streak in 1988.4

Mayne was selected in the first round (13th overall) in the 1989 amateur draft by the Kansas City Royals. He was the third catcher taken overall, behind Tyler Houston, who was selected second by the Atlanta Braves, and Charles Johnson, who was selected 10th by the Montreal Expos. He signed on June 16 and began his professional baseball career with the Baseball City Royals of the Florida State League in 1989. He caught seven games and hit .542 (13-for-24) with 8 RBIs.

Despite the limited number of games played at the Class-A level the previous season, Mayne began 1990 with the Memphis Chicks of the Double-A Southern League. He played in 115 games, 92 as a catcher, and hit .267 with 2 home runs and 61 RBIs. When major-league rosters expanded in September, the 22-year-old catcher was brought up to Kansas City.

Mayne made his major-league debut on September 18, 1990, in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Starting at catcher and batting eighth in the Royals lineup, Mayne wasted no time collecting his first major-league hit when he singled off Twins starter Scott Erickson in the top of the third inning to drive in Sean Berry and tie the score, 1-1. Mayne ranked his first major-league hit as his favorite memory of playing baseball.5 The Twins rallied for six runs in the fifth and two runs in the eighth to best the Royals, 10-4. Mayne appeared in five games for the Royals that fall, hitting .231 (3-for-13).

The Royals broke spring training in 1991 with Mayne as the backup catcher. By the second half of the season, Mayne became the  starting catcher when Mike Macfarlane suffered torn knee ligaments. While he struggled with throwing would-be basestealers out (23 of 76, or 30 percent), he did handle the pitching staff well and was particularly impressive in the clutch, hitting .349 with runners in scoring position. He finished the season batting .251 with 3 home runs and 31 RBIs.

Mayne hit his first major-league home run on August 1 at County Stadium in Milwaukee. The Royals were trailing the Brewers 4-2 with one out in the top of the eighth when Kurt Stillwell doubled. Manager Hal McRae then called on Mayne to pinch-hit for Tim Spehr. With the count at 2-and-2, the left-handed-hitting Mayne launched a two-run home run to deep right field off right-hander Julio Machado to tie the game, 4-4. He later drove in a much-needed insurance run in the top of the 11th inning when he grounded out to second to drive in Todd Benzinger and put the Royals up 6-4. Mayne had three RBIs as the Royals hung on for a 6-5 victory.

On August 26 the rookie catcher experienced baseball immortality when he was the starting batterymate for Bret Saberhagen. That night, Saberhagen no-hit the Chicago White Sox in a 7-0 Royals victory. Years later, Mayne recalled how that evening felt like no other. “It was a unique experience, I don’t know how to explain it other than it was really intense and pins and needles, but it was also very enjoyable because coming out of the bullpen that particular game (after the 10-15-minute warm-up session) I said he’s going to throw a no hitter today, because it just felt like it was that kind of stuff.”6

Mayne was the subject of trade rumors during the winter of 1991. It was reported that the Houston Astros were interested in him and were willing to deal fleet-footed outfielder Kenny Lofton for Mayne. The trade fell through when the Royals also asked for left-handed reliever Al Osuna.

With Macfarlane recovered from the knee injury he suffered the previous season, Mayne resumed his duties as the Royals backup catcher in 1992. He experienced a bit of a sophomore slump, batting .225 and driving in 18 runs. That year Mayne became a father. He had a daughter, Dylan, from a relationship that never led to marriage.7 A year later, Mayne was introduced to a waitress named Hillary by a high-school teammate. A year later the couple were married. They have two children, a son (Noah) and daughter (Jaia).

Mayne again backed up Macfarlane during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. In 1993 he played in 71 games and hit .254 with 2 home runs and 22 RBIs. Limited to 46 games because of the players strike in 1994, Mayne batted .257, hit 2 home runs, and drove in 20 runs.

In 1995 Mayne finally became the Royals starting catcher when Macfarlane signed with the Boston Red Sox at the end of the strike in April 1995. Now 27 years old, Mayne played in 110 games and hit .251 with 1 home run and 27 RBIs.

On December 19, 1995, the Royals traded Mayne to the New York Mets for minor-league outfielder Al Shirley.8 Mayne had become expendable when a few days earlier the Royals reacquired Macfarlane through free agency.

In New York Mayne saw limited action behind the plate. He was the backup catcher to Todd Hundley, who was enjoying a career year that included 41 home runs and 112 RBIs. Mayne appeared in only 21 games as a catcher and 70 overall. In 113 plate appearances he hit .263 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs.

Mayne became a free agent in December 1996. A month later he signed with the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners signed Mayne as a third catcher who would compete for the backup catching job. At the end of spring training, he was released in favor of veteran John Marzano, who continued to back up Dan Wilson. However, Mayne’s baseball career was far from over. On April 8 he signed with the Oakland Athletics.

An avid surfer, Mayne welcomed the return to his home state. He split the A’s catching duties with switch-hitting George Williams. The pair were backed up by Izzy Molina. In 85 games Mayne batted .289, a career high to that point, and hit 6 home runs with 22 RBIs. That fall he was rewarded on the free-agent market, signing a two-year, $1.45 million contract with the San Francisco Giants to back up catcher Brian Johnson.

Mayne enjoyed two productive seasons in San Francisco. In 1998 he played in 94 games, only five fewer than Johnson, and batted .273 with 3 home runs and 32 RBIs. This may have factored into the Giants’ decision to not re-sign Johnson after the season. In 1999 Mayne was the Giants’ starting catcher, appearing in 117 games, and batted .301 with 2 home runs and 39 RBIs. He was also a reliable bat off the bench. In his two seasons in San Francisco, Mayne was 11-for-28 (.393) as a pinch-hitter.

During his time in the Bay Area, Mayne compared his approaches toward baseball and surfing. “I’m always fighting this battle about performance in baseball, like trying to duplicate a great game I had, when I’d rather just stay in the moment, trust myself and everything will be all right,” he told an interviewer. “And that’s surfing. I mean, there’s never the same wave twice. You might be out there trying to work on something, but the wave may not allow it (laughter). It commands spontaneity, the ability to just react and flow with the dynamics of the situation. I’m so drawn to all of that.”9

That December, Mayne signed a two-year contract with the Colorado Rockies worth $3.9 million. He played in 117 games for the Rockies in 2000, none more memorable than the one on August 22 at Coors Field against the Atlanta Braves.

On that night Mayne joined the small fraternity of position players who have earned a victory as a pitcher. Not in the starting lineup because of a sore wrist, he was given the opportunity out of necessity. The story begins with two outs in the top of the 11th inning.

The Braves and Rockies were tied 6-6 when Rockies manager Buddy Bell called on his last available reliever, right-hander John Wasdin, to presumably pitch the rest of the way. On a 3-and-2 pitch, Wasdin hit Andrés Galarraga with an off-speed pitch that was up and in. Galarraga, who made no attempt to get out of the way of the pitch, began making his way toward first base before charging the mound and inciting a bench-clearing brawl (despite the hit batter being the first of the game … in extra innings … on a full count … with two outs).10 

Bell called on the previous night’s starter, Brian Bohanon, to get them through the 10th inning. The left-handed Bohanon, who had thrown 99 pitches the night before, walked Brian Jordan before retiring Javy López on a fly ball to deep left. Despite throwing only 10 pitches, Bohanon had nothing more to give. 

While Scott Kamieniecki was retiring the Rockies in the bottom of the 11th, Bell, managing from the clubhouse, had no idea which of his position players could pitch. Mayne recalled his conversation with Bell as follows:

“I was up in the clubhouse after the fight, and I walked by Buddy’s office,” Mayne recalled. “He called me and said, ‘What are we gonna do? We’re out of pitchers. Who can pitch?’ He said, ‘Can Juan (Pierre) pitch?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I guess he can pitch.’ Then he said, ‘Can you pitch?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I can pitch.’ He said, ‘OK, you’re pitching.”11

Mayne speculated that perhaps Bell was thinking, “Catchers usually have strong arms, or whatever, hell, I don’t know.”12 He later admitted he had never pitched at any level, not even in Little League.13

Entering the game in the top of the 12th inning with the score tied at 6-6, Mayne stood on the mound, fulfilling a lifelong dream.14 First up was Tom Glavine, the Braves’ All-Star starting pitcher, who was called on to pinch-hit for Kamieniecki. After getting ahead with a 1-and-2 count, Mayne sailed an off-speed pitch five feet behind the left-handed-hitting Glavine. Two pitches later, Glavine hit a little nubber between the mound and first base, which Mayne fielded cleanly and tossed to first for the inning’s first out. Walt Weiss flied out to center for the second out. Things then turned a bit tense when Rafael Furcal singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Mayne then walked Andruw Jones on five pitches to set the stage for Chipper Jones, who chopped a weak, checked-swing grounder to third to end the Braves’ half of the inning.

Controversial left-handed reliever John Rocker started the 12th inning for the Braves. Perez singled to center and raced to third when Todd Helton singled to right. When Jeffrey Hammonds lined out to center, Perez played it safe and stayed at third. Braves manager Bobby Cox called on right-hander Stan Belinda to extinguish the fire and keep the game tied. After striking out Terry Shumpert, Belinda intentionally walked Jeff Cirillo to pitch to Mayne. However, Mayne was lifted for pinch-hitter Adam Melhuse. On Belinda’s first pitch, Melhuse made catcher-turned-pitcher Mayne the winning pitcher with a line-drive single to left that scored Perez. Rocker was tagged with the loss.

Mayne’s victory marked the first time a position player had picked up a win since Rocky Colavito relieved Steve Barber and pitched 2⅔ shutout innings in the first game of doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on August 25, 1968.15 As of 2022, Mayne was one of only eight position players who earned a win in their only pitching appearance.16

In a 2009 interview with David Allan, Mayne reflected on his single victory. “You know the funny thing about baseball, the way baseball is, it’s so upside down, I spent my whole life trying to be a great catcher but the thing I’ll probably be recognized most for when I die is that I won a game as a pitcher, that’s so like baseball.”17

Mayne matched his career-high 117 games played the year earlier and finished 2000 with a .301 batting average, 6 home runs, and a career-high 64 RBIs. Before 2000 he had never driven in more than 39 runs in a season. It appeared the 32-year-old left-handed-hitting Mayne had found a home behind the plate with the Rockies. However, this proved to not be the case.

After the emergence of rookie catcher Ben Petrick as the Rockies’ catcher of the future, Mayne was traded to the Royals for right-handed pitcher Mac Suzuki and catcher Sal Fasano. Mayne, who was hitting .331 at the time of the trade, hit only .241 after his return to Kansas City. He finished the year with a .285 average, 2 home runs, and 40 RBIs. At the time of the trade, Royals general manager Allard Baird spoke highly of Mayne and his ability to impact the team’s future: “He is an above-average receiver. … He has the experience we need at the major-league level to continue the development of our pitchers here as well as the guys we will bring up.”18

Mayne was the Royals’ regular catcher in 2002 and 2003, backed up by A.J. Hinch and Mike Difelice, respectively. However, his offensive production never rebounded to the level of his previous five seasons. In 2002 he hit .236 with 4 home runs and 30 RBIs. He followed this with a .245 average, 6 home runs, and 36 RBIs in 2003. He finished his Royals career with the third most games caught in team history, behind Macfarlane and John Wathan.

After the 2003 season, Mayne was granted free agency. On December 18 he signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks were coming off a third-place finish, after a World Series championship in 2001 and back-to-back AL West Division championships in 2001 and 2002. The 2004 Diamondbacks, however, failed to follow up on their success of the previous two seasons and were quickly out of pennant race. The team was 28½ games off the pace (on its way to a 51-111 record) when it traded Mayne and outfielder Steve Finley to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31. In return the Diamondbacks received minor-league outfielder Reggie Abercrombie, catcher Koyie Hill, and left-handed pitcher Bill Murphy. At the time of the trade, Mayne had played in 36 games and was batting .255 and had driven in 10 runs.

The trade took Mayne back to his boyhood home in Southern California and from the last-place Diamondbacks to the first-place Dodgers. With the departure of Paul Lo Duca, Mayne was the Dodgers’ regular catcher down the stretch. In 47 games he hit .188 with 5 RBIs as the Dodgers hung on to win the NL West by two games over the San Francisco Giants, giving Mayne his first chance to play in the postseason.

Mayne appeared in all four games of the National League Division Series matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals finished with a NL-best record of 105-57 and won the NL Central handily. Starting three games behind the plate, Mayne went 2-for-6, scoring a run in Game Three. In his final plate appearance of the series, he hit a comebacker to pitcher Jeff Suppan before being replaced as part of a double switch. The Cardinals won the series in four games.

The Dodgers and Mayne failed to reach an agreement before the January 8, 2005, deadline, signaling an end to Mayne’s career. While Mayne’s agent, Barry Meister, stopped short of officially announcing the catcher’s retirement, he did say, “Los Angeles is home for him. He really only wanted one of two things. He either wanted to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers or retire.”19

Mayne didn’t hit for much of an average, display a great deal of power, miraculously turn around pitching staffs, or even throw out would-be basestealers at a very high rate. Yet, when his 15-year career was done, Mayne had played in 1,279 games (1,143 as a catcher) and finished with a career batting average of .263 with 38 home runs and 403 RBIs. This is testament to his collective catching abilities and understanding of the game.

In 2008, Mayne wrote The Art of Catching: The Secrets and Techniques of Baseball’s Most Demanding Position. He authored the book in part because he believed there was a lack of quality information available to those interested in catching.20 The book provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the art of catching.

As of early 2022, Mayne resided in Southern California with his wife and two children, and remained an avid surfer.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also relied on Baseball-reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Bruce Jenkins, “Mayne’s the Giant Who Really Knows How to Swing,” March 21, 1998, www.sfgate.com/sports/jenkins/article/Mayne-s-the-Giant-Who-Really-Knows-How-to-Swing-3330135.php

2 Brent Mayne, The Art of Catching: The Secrets and Techniques of Baseball’s Most Demanding Position (Costa Mesa, California: Cleanline Books): 86.

3 Mayne, 15-16.

4 “Brent Mayne,” Retrieved from https://www.fullertontitans.com/athletics/Hall_of_Fame/HOF_Bios/HOF_Mayne

5 “Bent Mayne,” June 4, 2021, Letters from Home Plate, https://lettersfromhomeplate.com/2021/06/01/brent-mayne/

6 David Allan, “Interview with Former MLB Catcher Brent Mayne,” June 23, 2009, baseballreflections.com/2009/06/23/interview-with-former-mlb-catcher-brent-mayne/.

7 Jenkins.

8 Shirley was also a first-round draft pick, 18th overall in 1991. Just 21 years old at the time of the trade, Shirley struggled to make contact at the plate and never progressed beyond the Double-A level. He finished his nine-year minor/independent-league career with a .213 average. 

9 Jenkins.

10 Kevin Henry, “Colorado Rockies History: Brent Mayne Makes History on the Mound,” Fansided, August 22, 2017,roxpile.com/2017/08/22/colorado-rockies-history-brent-mayne-makes-history-mound/.

11 Jayson Stark, “The Catcher and ‘The Shade Man’ Toe the Rubber,” ESPN.com, August 30, 2017. https:// www.espn.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/703979.html.

12 Grant Brisbee, “The Time a Catcher Pitched at Coors Field and Won,” SBNation.com, August 21, 2015. sbnation.com/2015/8/21/9188267/brent-mayne-pitching-rockies-braves.

13 Brisbee.

14 Brisbee.

15 Brisbee.

16 Zachary Rymer, “Chris Davis and Top 10 Position-Player Pitching Performances of All-Time,” BleacherReport.com, May 7, 2012, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1175094-chris-davis-and-top-10-position-player-pitching-performances-of-all-time.

17 David Allan, “Interview with Former MLB Catcher Brent Mayne.”

18 Max Rieper, “The 100 Greatest Royals of All-Time – #56 Brent Mayne,” royalsreview.com, May 9, 2008, https://royalsreview.com/2008/5/8/482638/the-100-greatest-royals-of ???? -all-time  ???

19 Tony Jackson, “Mayne Not Re-Signed by Dodgers; Agent Says He Most Likely Will Retire,” Palm Springs (California) Desert Sun, January 9, 2005: 43.

20 Mayne, 8.