Bob Brenly hit two walk-off homers in his nine-year career with the San Francisco Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays.
The second blast was in the finale of the 1987 as Brenly and the Giants were preparing for the National League playoffs as the West Division champs.
Brenly capped a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves with his homer against Jim Acker leading off the bottom of the 10th inning in Candlestick Park. Unfortunately, the Giants wouldn’t gain any momentum from the win as they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals, who would eventually take the World Series.
While that long ball may be memorable, it’s Brenly’s first walk-off homer that ended what was destined to be the catcher’s worst game in the majors on Sept. 14, 1986.
Ironically, on that day the Giants were also entertaining the Braves with Brenly starting at third base.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth when Brenly’s defensive ability at third … well, let’s just say there were some problems.
The situation was well documented in the following day’s edition of the Sacramento Bee by writer Bob Padecky.
Padecky quoted Giants manager Roger Craig, “That was the greatest display of courage I have ever seen by one player in a game. Other guys would have gone into their shell after that fourth inning.”
Good thing Brenly wasn’t a turtle trying to hide in its shell as he set tied a major league record held by three others with four errors in one inning. Yep, it probably would have been better if he was wearing his catcher’s gear. Brenly’s miscues led to four runs.
“When I came back to the dugout after the inning,” Brenly said to Padecky, “I told the team, ‘I owe you four,'”
Brenly became paying the debt with a solo homer in the fifth inning before his single in the seventh knocked in two runs to tie the contest. Even better news for Brenly was that he went behind the plate in the top of the eighth.
With two outs in the ninth, Brenly’s debt was paid in full as he described his afternoon to Padecky.
“I should get Comeback Player of the Year for just one game,” he said. “I went from the outhouse to the penthouse in one afternoon. I’ve never had a game like this.”
Brenly’s solo homer gave the Giants a 7-6 victory and likely an ability to forget the whole day except the Hollywood ending.
An All-Star and World Champion
Brenly would serve as the starting catcher for most of his time with the Giants.
The Ohio native had his best season in 1984 as he played in the All-Star Game that summer when the NL won 3-1 in San Francisco.
He posted career-best numbers with 20 homers, 80 RBI and a .291 batting average. He was with the Giants during his entire career except for the first part of the 1989 season he spent in Toronto. He was released by the Blue Jays and later signed with the Giants to finish his career that year.
From 2001-04, Brenly managed the Arizona Diamondbacks as he led the team to the World Series title in his first season. He was honored by the Giants as a member of team’s Wall of Fame in 2008.
Others with Four Errors
There are two other third basemen with four errors in one inning. Strange as it seems each occurrence was in the fourth inning.
Lew Whistler was the first to do it with the New York Giants in 1891, while Jimmy Burke set the American League mark in 1901 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The three shortstops who have also had four miscues in a frame are Shorty Fuller (Washington Senators 1888), Ray Chapman (Cleveland Naps 1914) and Lennie Merullo (Chicago Cubs 1942).
Doggie Miller, who was a catcher, set the NL mark with four errors behind the plate in 1895 with the St. Louis Browns. (Yes, I looked it up. The Cardinals were known as the Browns prior to 1900).