Former Phillie of the Day - Warren Brusstar

I remember some of the weirdest, most trivial, useless stuff. My wife will attest to that.

I got to thinking about the 1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies and some of the lesser-remembered members of the team. And then, the highlight video from that season popped into my head. I could swear I heard broadcasting legend John Facenda doing the narration, and talking about the Phillies bullpen and describing them as "the men with the gunslinger eyes." And I thought he was talking about Warren Brusstar. So I went to the video. When Facenda said that line, Brusstar was shown in action. Here's the clip if you're interested. Why do I remember this crap? Beats the hell out of me.

Brusstar was a right-hander from Northern California who was drafted four different times (Giants in 1970, 27th round and 1971, 6th round; Mets, 1973, 33rd round; and Phillies, 1974, 4th round) before signing. He pitched for Napa Valley College and Cal State Fresno before turning pro.

He was a starter in the minors and threw 31 complete games in 1975 and 1976, with an ERA well below 3. But control was an issue. In 361 innings in those two seasons, Brusstar walked 197 hitters. But he still got the call to the majors.

Brusstar's first appearance for the Phils came on May 6, 1977 against the Dodgers, who roughed up starter Larry Christenson, who gave up 7 runs on 7 hits (2 home runs) in 1.2 innings. Brusstar relieved Christenson, and pitched 2.1 innings. He gave up just 1 hit, walked 1, and struck out 2–a solid debut. And this has nothing to do with anything, but the dude had an amazing mustache.

Six days later, he got called on again and struck out 5 San Diego Padres in 2.2 innings, allowing 3 hits and a run and walking one. Brusstar pitched in 46 games for the year, with a 7-2 record and 3 saves in 71.1 innings and a 2.65 ERA. He struck out 46 and walked 27. He pitched 2.2 innings in the playoffs against the Dodgers.

In 1978, he made the team out of spring training and appeared in 58 games, throwing 88.2 innings. He only gave up 74 hits, but walked 37. Still, he finished with a 6-3 record and 2.54 ERA. He pitched in 3 games in the playoffs against the Dodgers.

Shoulder and elbow problems plagued Brusstar after that. He only appeared in 13 games in 1979, 26 in 1980, and 14 in 1980. But he did pitch in the NLCS against the Astros in 1980, and pitched 1 game in the 1980 World Series. He retired 7 of the 8 hitters he faced in Game 4, allowing just one walk.

In 1982, he was purchased by the White Sox and he was with the Cubs from 1983 to 1985. His last game was Oct. 3, 1985.

Brusstar worked in the Phillies organization as a minor league pitching coach for a few years and even participated in the team's Phanatasy Camp. Brusstar worked as pitching coach for Napa Valley College. His wife is president and CEO of the Tug McGraw Foundation. McGraw was Brusstar's good friend and teammate for several years in Philadelphia.