finalyear bats birth_place debutyear finaldate statvalue team position finalteam statlabel debutdate birth_date number article_title debutteam name throws
2001 left turners falls , massachusetts 1992 july 16 .269 106 458 los angeles angels of anaheim first baseman / coach atlanta braves batting average home runs runs batted in august 8 18 april 1970 92 rico brogna
 detroit tigers rico brogna left
rico brogna

rico joseph brogna -lrb- born april 18 , 1970 -rrb- is a former major league baseball -lrb- mlb -rrb- first baseman who played for the detroit tigers , new york mets , philadelphia phillies , boston red sox , and atlanta braves in his career starting in 1992 , and from 1994 to 2001 .
he was drafted in the first round -lrb- 26th overall -rrb- by the tigers in 1988 .
brogna attended watertown high school in watertown , connecticut ; where he played baseball , basketball and football .
he was named to the all-state team as a quarterback and won the state championship in 1986 .
he was recruited as a quarterback by clemson university , but chose to pursue a career in baseball .
in 1999 , he hit a career high 24 home runs for the phillies .
he also hit the first home run out of coors field .
brogna was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis , a form of spinal arthritis , in 1991 , and had to take medication for the condition on a daily basis .
concerns surrounding his condition contributed to the decision of the mets to trade him to the phillies during the 1996 offseason , but he recovered sufficiently to be an offensive contributor for several seasons thereafter .
brogna retired in 2001 .
in 2006 brogna managed the post university baseball team .
the eagles finished with a record of 13-40 overall and 6-19 in central atlantic collegiate conference play .
he coached for the nonnewaug chiefs , a high school football team in woodbury , connecticut .
he coached the watertown high school boys basketball team from 2006 to 2009 .
overall in watertown , connecticut , his win -- loss record was 10 -- 41 .
soon after the conclusion of the 2008 football season , brogna resigned as coach of the chiefs and took a volunteer job as wide receivers coach for the wesleyan university football team .
in 2010 he managed the mobile baybears , the arizona diamondbacks double-a minor league affiliate .
in 2011 he was named the head football coach at notre dame-fairfield high school in connecticut , and stated he had retired from baseball -lrb- as a coach/executive -rrb- to concentrate his football duties year round .
brogna resigned as head coach in 2012 following a 1-9 record in his only season , and took a scouting job with the tampa bay rays .
in 2013 , rico brogna returned to the watertown high school gridiron as the special teams and defensive line coach .
after the 2013 season brogna was hired as special assistant to jerry dipoto , general manager of the los angeles angels of anaheim .
in august 2014 brogna was named the angels player-information coach .
he `` felt a growth '' during spring training in 2015 , which was later diagnosed as testicular cancer .
five days after being notified of his condition , brogna underwent surgery on may 13 .
brogna married melissa shuhart , whom he had met in high school , in 1992 .
they have two children , alexa grace and hunter .
