NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Austin Riley was devastated by the text he received on June 16 at 2:30 a.m. ET. Mike Brumley, the invaluable personal hitting instructor who had worked with the Braves third baseman just a few days before, had been killed in an auto accident.
“Mike knew my swing better than anybody,” Riley said. “Being a hitting coach is the hardest thing to do, because you’ve got to relate to players and understand their kicks and their clicks and what works for them and what doesn't. It just seemed like me and Mike always saw eye to eye.”
Brumley was a roving hitting instructor in the Braves’ organization who began improving Riley’s swing in 2018. Once the third baseman reached the Majors in May '19, the two stayed in touch. They continued to communicate after the '21 season, when Brumley’s choice to not get vaccinated forced him to leave the club.
Nobody impacted Riley’s career as positively as Brumley. It was a special relationship, one that will be continued through the work the Braves' slugger will continue to do with Mike’s son, Logan Brumley. Logan traveled to Riley’s Mississippi home in late January to fill the void created by his father’s death.
“The last couple years, every time Brum had come in, Logan had come to work with us as well,” Riley said. “So I just felt comfortable working with him. A lot of the tendencies Mike had, Logan has. In a sense, it feels the same.”
Logan Brumley was present when his father traveled to Baltimore to work with Riley on June 10, an off-day situated between the Braves’ series against the Nationals and Orioles. Riley was scuffling big time, having hit just three homers through his first 50 games of the season.
This was yet another time when Mike Brumley helped Riley get rolling. It was also the last.
Mike Brumley was killed in a car accident as he was driving through Mississippi at approximately 7 p.m. ET on June 15. Logan survived the crash. He sent the text to Riley a few hours later.
Riley tossed and turned the rest of the night and then played with a heavy heart as the Braves hosted the Rays during the afternoon hours. The 27-year-old, two-time All-Star had homered both of the previous days. It was no coincidence these home runs came just a few days after his work with the Brumleys.
As for the game-tying, eighth-inning homer Riley hit during the series finale against the Rays, it served as a fitting tribute to his mentor who had passed away less than 24 hours earlier.
“When something like that happens, you don't want to believe it,” Riley said. “It's crazy and unfortunate. When I'm around Logan, it just brings back a lot of memories. I’m thankful I got the time to work with Brum and learn from him. He’s a big reason I got the contract and he’s a big reason I’ve had some success.”
Riley was given a 10-year, $212 million deal on Aug. 1, 2022, a little more than a year after he had to battle Johan Camargo for the third-base job. Brumley’s influence helped Riley overcome his early struggles against sliders and become the feared slugger who hit 30-plus homers in three consecutive seasons (2021-23).
Riley is now aiming to bounce back from a frustrating injury-plagued season. He missed two weeks in May with a sore left oblique. Brumley’s midseason tutorial helped Riley hit 16 homers and produce a .940 OPS over a 56-game stretch from June 14-Aug. 17. But thoughts of a fourth straight 30-homer season vanished on Aug. 18, when the surging slugger’s right hand was fractured by a pitch.
“It was an uphill battle the whole year,” Riley said.
Riley started to feel like he had regained all of the strength and mobility in his hand around the start of the New Year. To be safe, he has stayed away from golf, even declining an invitation to play in the famed Waste Management Open Pro-Am. But the early weeks of camp have given him confidence his hand won’t provide any lingering issues.
As for the time he spent with Logan Brumley a few weeks ago, it just reminded him of how fortunate he was to have crossed paths with Mike Brumley.
“Whether I’m at the plate or in the [hitting] cage, I'm always thinking of little things that he said to kind of help me get it back,” Riley said. “Whether it’s on the golf course or wherever, he’ll definitely be around my memory forever.”