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- Year:
- 1986-1987
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- Sports Played:
- Baseball Athlete
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- Induction Year:
- 2010
Bio
One of several former Orange Coast College baseball players to make it to the Major Leagues, Brent Mayne managed a long and memorable career in the bigs, while playing the toughest position to hold any type of longevity – catcher. After an outstanding prep career at second base for Costa Mesa High School, Brent headed across the street to play for his father, Mike Mayne, in 1987. That year, Brent moved behind the plate and batted .297, helping the Pirates to a 35–13 record, an Orange Empire Conference championship and a trip to the State Baseball Championships. His strong play as a freshman earned Brent a baseball scholarship to Cal State Fullerton, where he earned All–Big West Conference honors for two seasons as well as a spot on the 1988 All–America Team. His .373 career batting average was, at the time, third all–time, behind fellow big leaguers Mark Kotsay (.404) and Tim Wallach (.392).
His strong play behind the plate and an impressive 38–game hitting streak as a junior made Brent a hot commodity and in the 1989 MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals proved that point by selecting him in the first round, 13th overall. From there, Brent played 15 seasons in the bigs, playing for the Royals (1990–95; 2001–03), New York Mets (1996), Oakland Athletics (1997), San Francisco Giants (1998–99), Colorado Rockies (2000–01), Arizona Diamondbacks (2004) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2004).
He finished with a .263 career batting average with 38 home runs and 403 RBI in 1,279 games. His 1,143 games caught is 75th all time in MLB history, while his amazing .993 fielding percentage is fourth–best all time (6,686 chances, only 45 errors). His career highlights include catching Bret Saberhagen’s no–hitter on Aug. 26, 1991 and picking up a win as a pitcher following a scoreless inning of relief on Aug. 22, 2000. Brent’s win on the mound was the first win by a position player in the big leagues since 1968.
Following his playing career, Mayne has gone on to serve on the board of directors of the Braille Institute, and the Center for Hope and Healing. He is also the author of a book titled The Art of Catching. In 2005, Brent was inducted into OCC’s Hall of Fame.
