Sid Bream

Sidney Eugene Bream (born August 3, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player who was a first baseman. From 1983 through 1994, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1983–85), Pittsburgh Pirates (1985–90), Atlanta Braves (1991–93), and Houston Astros. He is best remembered for his game-winning run scored in the 1992 National League Championship Series (NLCS) that sent the Braves to the World Series.

After attending Liberty University, Bream was drafted by the Dodgers in 1981. Though thrice ranking among the home run leaders in the minor league, he batted no higher than .184 in limited playing time before getting traded to the Pirates in 1985. In Pittsburgh, he regularly played over 100 games a year for the Pirates, hitting at least 10 home runs in four full seasons (1986–88, 1990) with them. Defensively, he set an NL record for most assists in a season with 166 in 1986. After a knee injury cost him most of the 1989 season, he hit 15 home runs in 1990 as the Pirates reached the playoffs, losing to the Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS.

Bream reached the playoffs each of the next three seasons as well, though he did so with the Braves, who signed him as a free agent after the 1990 season. The Braves defeated Pittsburgh in the NLCS in 1991 and 1992, reaching the World Series two years in a row but losing it both times. Bream received most of the starts at first base in 1991 and 1992, hitting 11 and 10 home runs, respectively. He was getting the majority of the playing time at first base in 1993 until the Braves acquired Fred McGriff in July, relegating Bream to a reserve role for the rest of the year. Bream played one more year in 1994 with the Astros as a backup to Jeff Bagwell before retiring in 1995.

Early life Sidney Eugene Bream was born on August 3, 1960, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

College Bream was "one of Liberty’s first true athletic stars," according to the university's website. As a first baseman for the Liberty Flames, he was named an All-American by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. He earned similar honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches for his play on the court. Bream set Liberty records for highest career batting average (.435) and slugging percentage (.830); he holds five other baseball records at Liberty as well. and was coached by Al Worthington, who was also Liberty's head baseball coach. Bream was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 1981 MLB draft.

In 1983, Bream spent the whole minor league season with Albuquerque, batting .307 with 149 hits. He was a September callup by the Dodgers, who hoped he would be a helpful part of their team in the future. Bream made his major league debut on September 1, pinch-hitting for Steve Yeager in an 8–3 loss to the Montreal Expos. His first major league hit, against Tom Hume of the Cincinnati Reds on September 7, 1983, tied the score in the ninth inning as the Dodgers went on to win 7–3 in extra innings. In 15 games (11 at bats), Bream batted .182 with two hits and two RBI for the Dodgers in 1983. Used mainly as a pinch hitter, he batted .167 with three RBI in 19 games (18 at bats) before getting sent back to Albuquerque. He was called up by the Dodgers again in September, getting more starts at first base this month (six), though he batted .194 with three RBI on this callup. On April 12, he hit his first major league home run against Mike Krukow in a 4–1 loss to the San Francisco Giants. He hit three home runs in April but was sent to Albuquerque after batting .114. On September 9, the Dodgers named him as a player to be named later in a trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates for disgruntled third baseman Bill Madlock, whom the Dodgers promptly signed to a contract extension.

Pittsburgh Pirates With the Pirates in 1985, Bream was used as the starting first baseman. His home run total (three) was identical to what it had been with the Dodgers earlier in the year, but Bream batted .284 with 15 RBI in the 26 games he played with Pittsburgh. In late June and July, he was part of a platoon system at first base with Mike Diaz, a right-handed hitter who got starts against left-handed pitchers. However, by August, Bream was getting most of the starts again regardless of which hand the pitcher threw with. He had four hits and two RBI on July 27 in a 7–0 win over San Francisco. In the first game of a doubleheader on August 16, he had four hits and four RBI, including a home run against Kevin Gross, in a 6–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. On August 22, he had a season-high five hits and five RBI, including a two-run home run against Cliff Speck, in a 16–5 victory over the Atlanta Braves. He set an NL single-season record with 166 assists at first base, passing Bill Buckner's season-best of 161. Bream batted .268 with 140 hits and set what would be career highs in many categories, such as games played (154), at bats (522), runs scored (73), doubles (37), triples (five), home runs (16), RBI (77), stolen bases (13, caught seven times), and walks (60).

On April 20, 1987, Bream had four hits and three RBI, including home runs against Rick Aguilera and Randy Myers, in a 9–6 victory over the New York Mets. Against the Giants on May 1, he had two hits and three RBI, including a two-run home run against Mark Davis in a 4–2 victory. He had to leave a game against the Expos on June 24 after grounding out to end the sixth inning; Bream missed three games and did not get a start at first base until nine games later. On July 25, he had three hits and five RBI in a 9–3 victory over the San Diego Padres. That was his only game in 1987 in which he had four or more RBI, but he had six other three-RBI games.

Bream was again platooned at first base in 1988, this time with Randy Milligan, who got the Opening Day start because left-hander Shane Rawley was pitching for the Phillies. Ultimately, Bream would get the bulk of the starts, and Milligan was sent to the minor leagues for the rest of the season after July 29. Against the Cardinals on April 10, Bream hit a fourth-inning home run against Joe Magrane, then doubled against Todd Worrell in the top of the 10th inning, scoring the eventual winning run one batter later when Mike LaValliere drove him in with another double. In the 12th inning of a 1–1 tie against the Padres on May 6, he hit a walkoff home run against Davis, giving the Pirates a 4–1 victory. Against the Expos on June 23, he had three hits and four RBI, including a two-run home run against John Dopson in a 6–4 victory. On August 9, he had two hits and four RBI in a 10–8 victory over the Expos. He was batting .294 through August 15, but he batted .174 in his final 36 games.

Entering the 1989 season, John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times reported that Bream might platoon with Gary Redus. Bream played the first nine games of the season at first for Pittsburgh before tearing cartilage in his right knee on April 14 while trying to run back to first base. After a month on the disabled list, he returned on May 14 but played only 10 games before having to undergo season-ending knee surgery. In only 19 games, he batted .222 with no home runs and four RBI. He had four hits on June 12 but did not score a run or drive one in; however, the Pirates beat the Cardinals 6–3. Against the Expos on July 24, he had three hits and three RBI, including a two-run home run against Gross as the Pirates won 5–3. On July 31, Bream had three RBI, including a two-run home run against Shawn Boskie, in a 9–1 victory over the Cubs that moved Pittsburgh into a tie with Chicago for the NL East lead. Four days later, he had four hits and three RBI, including a two-run home run against Don Carman as the Pirates beat the Phillies 11–0. Five times he had a season-high three RBI.

The Pirates won the NL East and faced the Reds in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). Bream only played in four of the six games of the series (starting just two), but he batted .500. In Game 1, he hit a two-run, fourth-inning home run against José Rijo that tied the game; Pittsburgh scored the only other run to win by a score of 4–3. The Pirates lost the series in six games.

Following the season, Bream became a free agent. He wanted to stay with the Pirates, as he and his family had moved into a newly-built home in the area, but he wanted more money than the Pirates were willing to give him. As a result, he signed with the Atlanta Braves. "It was a very, very difficult time for my wife, Michele, and I," Bream recalled in 2017. "We went to bed that night and literally cried all night thinking that we were leaving Pittsburgh."

Atlanta Braves 1990–92 After batting .241 in April 1991, Bream turned into one of Atlanta's best hitters, batting .306 with seven home runs and 26 RBI over the next two months. Facing the Pirates on May 17, he hit his first career grand slam against Bob Patterson in a 9–3 victory. He had to leave a game on June 18 while running the bases, however, and after pinch-hitting on June 25, he underwent knee surgery. He pinch-hit in two games in early August, but those were his only appearances until August 29, when he again took over as the regular first baseman. In the midst of his struggles, he did have a five-RBI game against the Dodgers, including a grand slam against Ramon Martinez in a 9–1 victory. In 91 games, he batted .253 with 32 runs scored, 67 hits, 11 home runs, and 45 RBI. Bream only played four (and only started two) of the seven NLCS games, batting .300 as the Braves defeated the Pirates, becoming the first NL team to win the pennant after finishing in last place the year before. In the World Series, Bream had a mere three hits in 24 at bats. On June 7, he had three RBI in a 9–4 victory over the Padres. He batted .250 in the first half of the season, though with only two home runs and 21 RBI. Assessing the likelihood of a Twins-Braves World Series rematch, Jim Donaghy of the Associated Press wrote in midseason that part of the key for the Braves was "a better second half from David Justice and Sid Bream." After the All-Star break, Bream's average rose to .272, and he hit eight home runs. The next day, he again had four RBI as the Braves beat the Dodgers 4–3. In Game 1 of the series, Bream had two hits, scored two runs, and had an RBI in a 5–1 victory. He hit a home run against Tim Wakefield in Game 3, which the Braves lost 3–2. However, the most famous moment of Bream's career came in Game 7. Twenty-one years later, Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated called it "the most damaging play in the history of the Pirates."

1993 Bream was Atlanta's starting first baseman in 1993, but he got off to a poor start. "I've been struggling, very much so," he said in June. One bright spot came on May 8 when he pinch-hit for Cabrera against Willie Blair of the Colorado Rockies. On a pitch in which he checked his swing, Bream hit a grand slam through the thin air at Mile High Stadium, tying a game the Braves had trailed 6–0 but won 8–7. He had a four-hit, three RBI game on June 21 in an 8–1 victory over the Phillies, but the performance only raised his batting average to .243. In 117 games (277 at bats), he batted .260 with 33 runs scored, 72 hits, nine home runs, and 35 RBI. This time, he made just one appearance in the NLCS against the Phillies, entering as part of a double switch in Game 2, singling against Larry Andersen in the ninth, and scoring a run in Atlanta's 14–3 victory. The Braves lost the series in six games, and Bream became a free agent after the season. In a start against the Cubs on July 3, he had a season-high three hits and one RBI in a 12–6 victory. His last appearance of the year came on July 27, when he pinch-hit for John Hudek in the 10th inning of a game against the Reds and singled against Jeff Brantley in Houston's 12-inning, 7–1 victory. The 1994 MLB strike brought a premature end to the season on August 12. In 46 games (61 at bats), Bream batted .344 with seven runs scored, 21 hits, no home runs, and seven RBI.

Career statistics In 1088 games over 12 seasons, Bream compiled a .264 batting average (819 hits in 3108 at bats) with 351 runs scored, 191 doubles, 12 triples, 90 home runs, 455 RBI, 50 stolen bases, 353 walks, 450 strikeouts, a .336 on-base percentage, and a .420 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .992 fielding percentage. In 28 postseason games, he batted .250 (20 hits in 80 at bats) with nine runs scored, three home runs, eight RBI, and 12 walks. The couple have four children, including an adopted daughter Shay from Russia. One of their sons, Austin Leyland, was named in honor of Jim Leyland, Bream's last manager with the Pirates, and also attended Liberty University. Another son, Michael, attended Liberty University.

After retiring, Bream became a motivational speaker for Christian Sports International. Bream was hired in 2008 to be the hitting coach for the State College Spikes, a Pirates' affiliate in the New York-Penn League, but he only served one year in that capacity. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported it was because he wanted to spend more time with his family; Sports Illustrated said it was because "fans complained," remembering "The Slide." Though still a Pirates fan, Bream has a painting of "The Slide" hanging in his living room. He is close friends with several of his teammates from the Pirates, including Drabek.