It’s looking set to be another productive season for the Charros de Jalisco’s Brian Broderick, last year’s Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (LMP) “Reliever of the Year.”
The 29-year-old Phoenix, Arizona native already has four saves this year.
Even though he’s having to live out of a hotel along with the other five foreigners on the team – all but one are from the United States – Broderick is clearly enamored with Guadalajara.
“It is absolutely beautiful. Everything about the city I enjoy. Also, the people and the fans are amazing,” he told the Reporter in an interview.
Broderick played his college ball at Mesa Community College in 2006 and Grand Canyon University in 2007, both colleges in Phoenix. He was chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 21st round of the 2007 major league draft.
“I was speechless,” he recalls from that day. “I was sitting on the couch just watching TV with my mom. Getting that phone call, your heart starts racing. It was amazing.”
Broderick was taken in the “Rule 5” draft by the Washington Nationals before the start of the 2011 season. He made his big league debut in April of that year against the Atlanta Braves and appeared in 11 games for the Nationals.
Following a second stint with the Cardinals and another with the Nationals, Broderick signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in January 2014.
After pitching for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2014, Broderick signed another minor league contract, this time with the Los Angeles Angels after the 2014 season.
Then came the chance to join up with the Charros.
“I felt I wasn’t getting enough ‘looks’ in the Atlantic League that would lead back to the big leagues and I heard that people were being signed out of winter ball. I chose Mexico over the Dominican Republic because it was closer to home.”
Pitching in Mexico is not much different from the United States, he says.
“There is good talent in both leagues from the former big leaguers to the newest players. The talent is there.”
The language barrier has not been a problem for Broderick. “I don’t speak Spanish.” he admitted. “But pretty much the entire team speaks Spanish and English. The manager, Juan Navarrete, coaches at the major league level and the pitching coach too. They speak perfect English.”
The end of Broderick’s first season with the Charros was somewhat disrupted. The Angels traded him to the Kansas City Royals on December 19. That meant he left the Guadalajara-based team before last year’s playoffs, when the Charros eventually finished as LMP runners up. He explains: “I had thrown a lot of pitches and I needed to rest my arm and ensure I was healthy going into spring training.”
Fortunately, his absence didn’t stop the Charros fan favorite from being named Reliever of the Year.
The Charros currently lie in third place in the LMP standings, with a 9-7 win-loss record. The next home game series at the Telmex Stadium in Zapopan is against Los Cañeros de Los Mochis on Friday, October 30, 7 p.m.; Saturday, October 31, 5 p.m. and Sunday, November 1, 1 p.m. The following weekend the Charros play the Aguilas de Mexicali on Friday, November 6, 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 7, 5 p.m. and Sunday, November 8, 1 p.m. Tickets range from 20 to 500 pesos. They re available the gate or through Ticketmaster. The stadium is at Av. Santa Lucía 373, Colonia Tepeyac, Zapopan, two blocks from the Auditorio Telmex, which provides ample parking.