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Hoping for a big-league shot

Emil Brown has skills, and he's happy to have another chance to show them off.

[Times photo: Toni L. Sandys] Emil Brown hasn't shined as a major-leaguer, but Rays manager Hal McRae said: "He has what we're looking for."

By KEVIN KELLY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 23, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Emil Brown couldn't talk his brother out of tagging along on a 17-hour car ride from Chicago this week.

"I told him that these can be long, boring days," Brown said. "It was kind of a hard sell and he didn't believe it. So I actually let him come down here and see what we do."

What was perceived as fresh and exciting for his 19-year-old brother, William, is altogether familiar for Brown.

Another spring. Another chance. The continued hope of establishing himself as an everyday major-league player.

"I'm going to be completely honest," said Brown, who signed with the Rays as a free agent in the offseason. "I never really thought about coming here. I just want to be out there playing. It's the only thing I care about.

"I don't care who I'm competing with and I never really thought about it. I just want to play and let my play dictate what happens. It's out of my hands."

Having spent the bulk of his major-league career with the Pirates, Brown presents an intriguing option for the Rays.

"He has what we're looking for," manager Hal McRae said.

The 27-year-old, who grew up on Chicago's South Side, is what coaches and scouts deem a tools player.

Brown has the size (6-2, 198 pounds), arm strength and bat of a legitimate major-leaguer. Should everything come together, the Rays would have quite a find and an easy decision about the makeup of their outfield.

"Emil has shown outstanding physical ability during his short stays at the major-league level," Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said. "We wanted to create as much competition in the outfield as possible. And if he's able to use the ability that he has, he has a chance to make our club."

Of the 209 major-league games he has played since making his debut against the Giants in 1997, all but 13 were in a Pirates uniform.

"He's got outstanding tools and he's a speed player with power," said Cam Bonifay, Rays director of player personnel and former Pirates general manager. "He can play all three outfield positions and has one of the strongest arms in the game. Hopefully he shows us enough that we'll have to make a decision."

What Brown lacks is experience.

"I've never fully had a chance," he said.

Drafted by the Twins in high school and by the A's while at Indian River Community College in 1994, the Pirates picked up Brown through the Rule 5 draft in 1997.

Pittsburgh kept him on its major-league roster that season because of the limitations on Rule 5 players, who are basically stuck between the majors and minors. Pittsburgh kept him on the major-league roster rather than risk losing him, because before he could be sent to the minors other teams would have a chance to claim him on waivers.

One season removed from Class A, he batted .179 in 66 games.

"It's been a slow, steady learning process putting it together," Bonifay said. "He lost a year of development when he was in the big leagues. Slowly, step by step, he made improvements in his ability to play the game."

The Pirates sent Brown back and forth from the minors, where he thrived in an everyday role, the next four seasons.

He batted .318 over 325 minor-league games from 1998-2001. Brown's best minor-league season was 1998 with Carolina of the Southern League, when he hit .330 with 31 doubles and 67 RBIs.

Impressive but bewildering compared to his stats with the Pirates in that span. He played 130 games with Pittsburgh and San Diego and hit .162.

"I've never struggled in the minor leagues," he said. "I don't know what else I could've done. I want to play. It's easy to see if somebody can do something or not when you're playing.

"All I want is the chance to see if I can play every day or not. Don't just sit me on the bench because you think I can't play."

And because Brown thinks he has the tools, he also believes the most significant moment of his career lies ahead, not behind.

"It's kind of hard to explain, but in my mind I know what it is," he said. "When you sign a contract and it's just a major-league contract. That would make me pretty happy."

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