Brad Komminsk

The bottom of the first inning of the game between the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles on September 5, 1989, showed the athleticism of Brad Komminsk that had excited scouts and executives for over a decade. With two outs, Cal Ripken, Jr. took John Farrell’s first pitch to deep left-center field. Chasing the ball, Komminsk jumped as he reached the seven-foot-high Memorial Stadium wall, tumbling over it after appearing to catch the ball. If he had held on to the ball after hitting the ground on the other side of the wall, Ripken would have been out, but the ball fell from his glove. Much like his overall career, he was left to wonder what might have been after such a promising start.

Brad Lynn Komminsk was born in Lima, Ohio, on April 4, 1961, to William (Bill) J. and Colleen Jo (née Hydaker) Komminsk, joining older brother Mark before younger sister Kelley arrived. Bill had a strong athletic background himself as a part of the 1946 Lima Central state- champion football team before heading to college and serving in the Army in Korea. Described as a “pillar of the Lima business community,” he owned Candy Cane Corner and Bill Komminsk Pontiac.1 While Brad was excelling at Shawnee High School in football, basketball, swimming, and baseball, Bill supported him as a leader in the school athletic booster club who was often found selling programs at football games.2 Jo, while also maintaining the house, maintained a full-time job at the Lima Army Tank Plant until her retirement.3

Komminsk’s athletic prowess at Shawnee spoke for itself. He once drove in nine runs in a doubleheader against Defiance HS as a freshman and was offered a football scholarship to the University of Michigan.4 However, he was lucky to grow up in the same town as major-league scout Jim Martz.5 Martz’s son, Jeff, played with Komminsk for Lima American Legion Post 96 and suggested that his dad take a look at his teammate. It was clear to Martz that his son was right when he saw Komminsk at age 15.6

By his senior year, Komminsk was drawing serious attention from major-league scouts and was also named a preseason high school All-American.7 In a scouting report Martz submitted for the Major League Scouting Bureau on April 23, 1979, he said Komminsk had “the best combination of body, strength, power, speed, and offensive potential of any H.S. prospect I’ve seen since Dave Parker.”8

The Seattle Mariners held the first pick in the June draft, and until the 11th hour, it appeared he would be the number one pick, but the Mariners were not sure if they would be able to sign him.9 Instead, Seattle ended up drafting Al Chambers. The New York Mets selected Tim Leary with the second pick, and then the Toronto Blue Jays tabbed future NFL quarterback Jay Schroeder. The Atlanta Braves selected Komminsk at #4.

When the Braves flew Komminsk and his family to Atlanta to sign his contract, which included a $70,000 signing bonus, they gave him the red-carpet treatment. He signed his contract in owner Ted Turner’s office, had his name on the scoreboard, and was interviewed on TBS – but most exciting was that the trip was the first time he had ever flown.10

Komminsk’s sojourn to the major leagues began with the Kingsport (Tennessee) Braves in the rookie-level Appalachian League in 1979. By 1981 with the Single-A Durham Bulls, his potential became more obvious. With a .322 average, 33 home runs (breaking the team record Greg Luzinski set in 1969), 27 doubles, 104 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, and more walks than strikeouts, he earned the Carolina League MVP award.11 This led the Braves’ director of scouting, Paul Snyder, to say, “I think Brad Komminsk has the chance to be the game’s next outstanding power hitter.”12

Komminsk spent most of the 1982 season with the Double-A Savannah Braves (133 games), continuing to show good power (26 home runs, 18 doubles, 7 triples). He proceeded to hit .353 in 17 at-bats for the Triple-A Richmond Braves. The parent club had to feel good heading into spring training in 1983. Atlanta was coming off an NL West championship in 1982, and the organization’s top prospect was turning 22 on Opening Day, April 4.

However, the Braves’ Director of Player Development – Hank Aaron – determined Komminsk needed another year of seasoning at Richmond before he could make an impact at the major-league level. Aaron did nothing to lower the expectations for Komminsk, though, proclaiming, “I’d say he’s a year away from being a big league player who’ll hit .280-.300 with 25-35 home runs, 80-100 RBIs and 30-35 stolen bases every year. He can be another Dale Murphy – or better.”13

Komminsk was unfazed by the high praise from the home run king. All he did at Richmond was hit .334 with a 1.029 OPS, 24 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases in 117 games. Aaron looked like a modern-day Nostradamus as Komminsk was named International League Rookie of the Year.14 That performance led to a call-up on August 13 when Terry Harper was optioned to Richmond.15

The Braves soon inserted Komminsk into the lineup. Though he didn’t start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 14, he entered as a pinch-hitter for Ken Dayley in the bottom of the fifth inning. He stayed in the game in right field and struck out in his first two at-bats against Fernando Valenzuela. Two days later, he earned his first hit, a single to left field off the Padres’ Mark Thurmond.

There was a rumor the Braves might trade for Pete Rose to play left field, but they instead traded Brett Butler to Cleveland, opening the door for either Komminsk or Gerald Perry, each only 23, to play the position.16 Atlanta’s regular right fielder in 1983, Claudell Washington, checked himself into a treatment center for cocaine abuse, so it appeared that Komminsk might be able to stay in right, where he had made all of his appearances in the field in ’83.17 Nevertheless, Washington was back for spring training, a glut of outfielders were fighting for roster spots, and the Braves had yet to exhaust Komminsk’s minor league options, delaying his 1984 debut until May 30.18

When Washington had to serve a three-game suspension from May 28-30 for a fight against the Reds’ Mario Soto, Komminsk was recalled and spent the remainder of the year with the Braves.19 On June 2, in his fifth game after being recalled, Komminsk recorded his first career three-hit day in his home state against the Cincinnati Reds.

From June 1-12 while Washington was on the disabled list, Komminsk hit only .188 with 13 strikeouts. However, the Braves sent Harper down when Washington returned, as “the party line on Komminsk … had softened. Instead of having to play daily, [he had to] perform often.”20 That vote of confidence propelled Komminsk to a .314 average with 10 RBIs from June 12 to 29, playing in both right and left field. During that time he also hit the only grand slam of his career, a blast off the Giants’ Jeff Cornell to help the Braves to an 11-6 win on June 19. Braves manager Joe Torre praised Komminsk, saying, “He just looks like a lot better player this time. He’s more relaxed, and you can see that in his reactions. Last year, he might have been a little starry-eyed.”21

On July 20, Komminsk hit two home runs against the Phillies after a 25-minute pregame discussion with Mike Schmidt after he saw Schmidt hitting off a tee underneath the stadium.22 Komminsk initiated this conversation to try to improve his .215 average heading into the game, but advice was something he found lurking around every corner during his time in the major leagues. At various times, according to Martz, coaches including Luke Appling, Eddie Haas (also his manager in the minors), Aaron, and others were giving hitting tips to Komminsk. Haas wanted him to choke up to hit the ball to right field, and Komminsk did it because he wanted to please everyone. “Brad was the kind of kid who needed to see the ball and hit the ball,” said Martz. “The less he was tinkered with, the better he was.”23 Snyder concurred, saying, “He probably lost confidence and listened to too many suggestions” regarding how it was possible for Komminsk not to achieve the success everyone anticipated based on his tools.24

After the season, Komminsk headed to the Puerto Rican Winter League, but his winter season was limited to 60 at-bats when, according to The Sporting News, he “underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after complaining of pain. … The combination of knee problems and flare-up of an asthmatic condition … ended what [had] been a long and demanding year for [him].”25 Komminsk also played winter ball in Colombia during his career but didn’t feel like it helped. When he wasn’t playing in the winter, he would take classes at Ohio Northern University (in Ada, near Lima), work out at the school, and find time to play golf and racquetball.26

Komminsk made the Braves out of spring training for the first time in 1985, and the club hoped he would be their regular left fielder after seven men used there hit a combined .218 in 1984.27 On opening day, he finished 1-for-3 with two walks, a run, and a stolen base batting third in front of Murphy in a 6-0 win in Philadelphia. A seven-game hitting streak (9-for-28, .321) fueled a hot start to the year, but he went 7-for-40 (.175) as the regular left fielder for the rest of April.

A variety of factors brought Komminsk back to right field in the middle of May. Harper started hitting, finishing with 17 home runs in a career year with 129 games in left field. Washington, who started the year in right, faced injuries, and Haas (who had succeeded Torre) limited him to starting only against right-handers.28 Over his last 83 games of the season, starting May 15, Komminsk batted only .219 in 219 at-bats with four home runs and 14 RBIs. The Sporting News reported that he started “fielding grounders at third base during batting practice … as a contingency plan in the event Atlanta [failed] to re-sign third baseman Ken Oberkfell.” However, he never played there in a game in ‘85.29

As spring training began in 1986, the Braves weren’t giving up on Komminsk, but a TSN report said they were considering moving him to third, even going as far as comparing him to a future Hall of Famer. The team’s new manager, Chuck Tanner, “hatched the idea because Komminsk ‘has great feet, great hands, a strong arm and power.’ Tanner said he considered the switch ‘an actuality’ rather than an experiment and instantly began comparing Komminsk to Philadelphia’s Mike Schmidt and Montreal’s Tim Wallach.”30

Despite the high praise, Komminsk spent most of the 1986 season in Triple-A Richmond under the tutelage of minor-league instructor Sonny Jackson, whom Aaron picked to teach Komminsk the finer points of the hot corner.31 After 28 errors in 113 games, he returned to the outfield, but as a September call-up, he was errorless (one chance) in the only big-league game he ever started at third.

After the season, Komminsk had arthroscopic knee surgery again and was on the trading block, but he wasn’t there long.32 On January 20, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Dion James, a first-round draft pick in 1980. Brewers general manager Harry Dalton said of Komminsk, “He’s young. He has that one element we’ve been trying to bring back, and that’s power. He’s a good acquisition for us because if he starts hitting the way a lot of people think he can, he’s got to be a regular major-league player.”33

While Komminsk did provide power in ’87, it wasn’t for the Brewers. Playing exclusively in right field for the Triple-A Denver Zephyrs, he led the American Association with 32 home runs but finished 1-for-15 in seven games with the Brewers in September.34

In ’88 a thumb injury limited Komminsk to 105 games in Denver.35 After becoming a free agent at the end of the season, he signed a triple-A contract with the Cleveland Indians.36 He went on the disabled list on April 19, 1989, because of asthma and was outrighted to triple-A Colorado Springs on May 4.37 After 54 games with the Sky Sox, Komminsk was recalled to Cleveland on June 28 to play center field. This enabled the Indians to move Joe Carter to left field to replace Oddibe McDowell, who was traded to the Braves on July 2 for James.38

By the end of August, Komminsk was batting .300, including being named American League Player of the Week on July 16 after going 4 for 10 with two homers, nine RBIs, five runs and one stolen base in games July 10-16.39 Yet for the rest of the season, he batted only .086 over 20 games in September and October, finishing the season at .237 with 8 home runs and 33 RBIs.

In 1990, it was back to the National League as the San Francisco Giants claimed Komminsk off waivers from the Indians on April 5.40 After five at-bats in eight games with the Giants, he was waived; then he signed with the Baltimore Orioles. After 46 games he was demoted to Triple-A Rochester, where he spent the remainder of the season before becoming a free agent on October 5. That led to signing with the Oakland Athletics in 1991, where he was mostly a late-game defensive replacement over 24 games with 25 at-bats in the last major-league action of his career.

In addition to 74 games with Triple-A Tacoma in ’91, Komminsk would finish his playing career with 238 games with the Chicago White Sox triple-A affiliates in 1992-93, time in Italy in 1994-95, and 77 games as a player/coach with the independent Winnipeg Goldeyes in 1996. His final game came for the Toledo Mud Hens in 1997, going 2-for-3 after spending the season as the hitting coach.41

In 1999, Komminsk managed the Columbus (Georgia) RedStixx, single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. He managed as high as Double-A with both Cleveland and Baltimore, finishing with a career managerial record of 703-564, including an Eastern League (double-A) championship in 2003 with the Akron Aeros. He was also named Eastern League Manager of the Year in 2008, his first year with the Bowie Baysox. His last coaching position was with the New York-Penn League Aberdeen Ironbirds as a hitting coach in 2012.

Komminsk said, “[As a manager], I tried to remind the players how hard it was to play the game. … It looks really easy from the stands. When you’re out there day to day, it’s really hard. I never forgot that … it’s a really tough game.”42

After his playing and coaching career, Komminsk returned to his roots in cars, working as a buyer for a dealer in Columbus, Ohio.43

Komminsk and his wife, Roxi (née Erwin), have three children who all played college athletics:  Rylee (volleyball at Ohio Wesleyan), Jace (baseball at Ohio Dominican), and Carsen (volleyball at UMass-Boston).

Quick to recognize the efforts his family made to support his baseball career, Komminsk said, “It was a big sacrifice for my family. The kids enjoyed going to the ballpark, but it is tougher on family than it is for the players because it is the player’s job.”44

Even though his career didn’t turn out the way many expected, he is able to keep everything in perspective, saying, “I played four (full) years in the big leagues. It’s nothing to complain about. I would like to have played 17, but four wasn’t all bad. I appreciate the four years. I wish it had been more, but I can live with that. I don’t wake up every day thinking I got screwed.”45

Last revised: February 4, 2026

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and David Bilmes and fact-checked by Dan Schoenholz.

Photo credit: Brad Komminsk, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 “William Komminsk,” limaohio.com, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/limaohio/name/william-komminsk-obituary?id=14970767, Accessed December 15, 2023.

2 “William Komminsk.”

3 “Colleen (Jo) Komminsk,” Chamberlain Huckeriede Funeral Home, https://www.chamberlainhuckeriede.com/obituaries/Colleen-Komminsk, Accessed December 19, 2023.

4 Paul Smith, “Shawnee listed as favorite in city baseball tournament,” The Lima News, April 18, 1976: C8.

5 Brad Komminsk phone interview, December 14, 2023.

6 Jim Martz phone interview, August 27, 2022. 

7 “Honors,” Lima Shawnee Baseball, https://www.limashawneebaseball.com/honors, Accessed January 15, 2024. 

8 “Brad Komminsk scouting report,” National Baseball Hall of Fame, https://collection.baseballhall.org/objects/17427/brad-komminsk-scouting-report, Accessed January 15, 2024.

9 Martz phone interview.

10 Martz phone interview

11 Barry Jacobs, “Brad Komminsk: Budding Braves Bopper,” The Sporting News, July 18, 1981: 47.

12 Jacobs, “Brad Komminsk: Budding Braves Bopper.”

13 Tim Tucker, “Braves Face Huge Payroll,” The Sporting News, March 28, 1983: 36.

14 “Komminsk Named EL Manager of the Year,” MiLB, https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-451527, Accessed December 29, 2025.

15 Tim Tucker, “Injuries Vary Braves’ Look,” The Sporting News, September 5, 1983: 53.

16 Tim Tucker, “Turner Decides Not to Pursue Rose,” The Sporting News, November 14, 1983: 56.

17 Tim Tucker, “Drug Charges Cloud Perez’s Future,” The Sporting News, January 23, 1984: 35.

18 Tim Tucker, “Will Braves Carry 4 First Basemen?” The Sporting News, March 26, 1984: 23.

19 Gerry Fraley, “Claudell Out $10,000,” The Sporting News, July 9, 1984: 58.

20 Gerry Fraley, “Oberkfell Eases Braves’ 3B Worry,” The Sporting News, June 25, 1984: 17.

21 Gerry Fraley, “Rookie’s Hot Bat Causes Dilemma,” The Sporting News, July 2, 1984: 25.

22 Gerry Fraley, “Drs. Haas and Sain Make a House Call,” The Sporting News, August 6, 1984: 26.

23 Martz phone interview

24 Lee Lowenfish, “Paul Snyder,” SABR.org, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/paul-snyder/.

25 Gerry Fraley, “Finally, Horner Optimistic About ’85,” The Sporting News, January 17, 1985: 17.

26 Komminsk phone interview.

27 Gerry Fraley, “A Lot to Be Settled In Haas’ First Camp,” The Sporting News, March 4, 1985: 27.

28 Gerry Fraley, “Lack of Experience Hurts Braves’ Bench,” The Sporting News, July 8, 1985: 24.

29 Stan Isle, “Caught on the Fly,” The Sporting News, September 16, 1985: 48.

30 Gerry Fraley, “Komminsk at Third? Chuck Waxes Ecstatic,” The Sporting News, March 31, 1986: 41.

31 “Braves,” The Sporting News, April 21, 1986: 29.

32 “Braves,” The Sporting News, October 20, 1986: 19.

33 “Brewers,” The Sporting News, February 2, 1987: 45.

34 “Around the Minors: Brewers,” The Sporting News, September 14, 1997: 36.

35 “Around the Minors: Brewers,” The Sporting News, July 4, 1988: 22.

36 “Notebook: Indians,” The Sporting News, January 2, 1989: 50.

37 “AL East,” The Sporting News, May 22, 1989: 32.

38 “Indians,” The Sporting News, July 17, 1989: 19.

39 “Indians,” The Sporting News, July 31, 1989: 15.

40 “N.L. West,” The Sporting News, April 16, 1990: 14.

41 Komminsk phone interview.

42 Ron Morris, “Where Are They Now?: Brad Komminsk,” Baseball America, December 22, 2017, https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/where-are-they-now-brad-komminsk/, Accessed December 29, 2025.

43 Komminsk phone interview.

44 Komminsk phone interview.

45 Morris, “Where Are They Now?: Brad Komminsk.”