Cliff Brumbaugh

Clifford Michael Brumbaugh (born April 21, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player. From Wilmington, Delaware, he played college baseball for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens where he was a two-time All-American and the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Player of the Year. Drafted by the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1995, he played in the minor leagues until being called up to the majors in 2001.

After playing seven games for the Rangers, Brumbaugh was waived and claimed by the Colorado Rockies, playing 14 games with the Rockies that season. After spending 2002 and part of 2003 in the minor leagues, he requested a release and joined the Hyundai Unicorns of the KBO League mid-season. He became a top player for the Unicorns and helped them win consecutive Korean Series titles, while Brumbaugh won the Golden Glove Award and was league batting champion in 2004.

Brumbaugh played for the Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2005 to 2006 before returning to the Unicorns in 2007. After they disbanded, he played in the KBO League for the Woori Heroes from 2008 to 2009, then returned to North America and played in the Mexican League and Golden Baseball League in 2010 to conclude his career.

Early life Clifford Michael Brumbaugh was born on April 21, 1974, in Wilmington, Delaware. He attended William Penn High School in Wilmington, where he was a top baseball player. In his junior year at William Penn, he had a batting average of .451 and recorded 22 runs batted in (RBIs). He then went on a training program the following offseason and further improved, ending his senior year as the statewide leader in several categories.

College career Despite his accomplishments in high school, Brumbaugh was not selected in the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. He was offered a contract of $1,200 to join the Milwaukee Brewers, but declined it to play college baseball for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens of the University of Delaware, later declaring it to be the "est move I ever made." The following year, he batted .417 and was the leading hitter in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), posting 56 RBIs and six home runs.

As a junior, Brumbaugh batted .442, the seventh-best mark nationally. He was chosen the NAC Player of the Year, having led the conference in the categories of hits, doubles, and runs, He was the first Fightin' Blue Hen to be selected in the draft since 1984 and was the 23rd overall. He signed with the Rangers and was sent to the Class A Short Season-level Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York–Penn League (NYPL). Playing third base, he started all 74 games for the team and helped them reach the playoffs as a wildcard with a 47–27 record. He was named the league's most valuable player and a league all-star selection. He struggled some early on in the season against more difficult competition but ultimately improved as the season progressed and was one of the team's top hitters. Mid-season, he was moved from third base to being a first baseman. He joined the team two weeks into the Texas League season and immediately became a starter, seeing time as both an infielder and an outfielder as the season progressed. He appeared in 132 games for the team, which included 97 at first base, 23 at third base and 12 as an outfielder. He was named the Drillers Player of the Month for June that year while totaling 25 RBIs with a batting average of .272, and in July both played with the Texas Rangers at the Hall of Fame Game and played at the Texas League All-Star Game. He helped them reach the playoffs, and in the middle of the first round, he was called up to the Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), for whom he played with seven days. He returned to the Drillers in time for their appearance in the league championship, which they lost. He later returned to the RedHawks and had a hitting streak that lasted 12 games, two shy of the team record. With the Drillers, he appeared in seven games and batted .222 with six hits, a double, two home runs and three RBIs. After playing 51 games, in which he batted .305 and had 38 RBIs along with eight home runs, he was called up by the Rangers to the major leagues for the first time on May 28. He was at-bat twice and struck out both times in the Rangers' 11–2 loss to the Royals. After seven games, in which he went 0-for-10 at-bat, Brumbaugh was put on waivers and sent back to the minor leagues. Soon after, he was claimed by the Colorado Rockies. Brumbaugh appeared in 14 games with the Rockies before returning to the minor leagues, in which he batted .278 with 10 hits, two doubles, a home run, and four RBIs. He ultimately played 136 games for the Sky Sox that year and had a batting average of .293 while totaling 148 hits, 81 RBIs, 36 doubles and 18 home runs. He appeared in 62 games and batted .309 while having 69 hits, 30 RBIs, 13 doubles and nine home runs. After joining the Hyundai Unicorns mid-season, he appeared in 70 games and became one of the top players in the league, batting .303 with 51 RBIs and 14 home runs. He also had 80 hits, 18 doubles, and 45 runs in 264 appearances at-bat. He appeared in 132 games and led Hyundai to a repeat Korean Series championship; his batting average set a long-standing record among all foreign players, while he had 163 hits, 25 doubles, 33 home runs and 105 RBIs.

Although the team attempted to keep him, Brumbaugh announced he was leaving for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the top league in Japan, following the 2004 season. He appeared in 124 games for the Buffaloes in the 2005 season, batting .263 with 118 hits, 20 doubles, 19 home runs and 57 RBIs. Despite being 36 years old, over nine years older than the league average, he was one of the top players in the GBL and was named an all-star and the league MVP at the end of the season. With Edmonton, he batted .383, finished as the league leader with 23 home runs and totaled 90 RBIs, second in the league. Brumbaugh was selected for induction into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 2024, although his induction was later postponed.