Bart Braun, one of the most popular and well-respected men in baseballs scouting community, died suddenly at his home in Northern California on Friday. He was 64.

Braun, a former minor-league pitcher, began his scouting career in 1983 and worked for five teams, including the Phillies.

He joined the Phillies in October 2012 as a special assistant to the general manager and was still serving in that capacity at the time of his death.

Like any scout, Braun was all about finding good players. He lent his eyes and insights to the Phillies amateur scouting staff as it prepared for the draft every year and he scoured the majors and the minors for players the team might be interested in acquiring through trades, free-agent signings or waiver claims.

Braun was known for his sense of humor and a tireless work ethic that fueled many miles on baseballs scouting trail. His feel for players, what made them tick and how they might perform as the challenges and the competition became tougher, was legendary. He was adept in the evaluation of both pitchers and position players and general managers from Detroit to Pittsburgh to Atlanta to Tampa Bay to Philadelphia leaned onhim for insights and guidance.

Brauns impact on this current Phillies team can be seen in J.T. Realmuto.

Late in 2014, Ruben Amaro Jr., then the Phillies general manager, and Mike Ondo, the teams director of pro scouting, dispatched Braun to the Dominican Republic to look at a Cuban catcher named Lednier Ricardo.

A workout had been arranged at the Phillies academy in Boca Chica. Luis Garcia, one of the Phillies scouts in the Dominican Republic, was responsible for providing a couple of pitchers so Ricardo could take batting practice.

Braun watched Ricardos workout and was not really impressed.

But he couldnt take his eyes off of one of the pitchers that Garcia had brought in to throw batting practice. The pitcher was a 16-year-old in the process of converting from shortstop. Braun loved the kids quick, loose arm, his sound delivery and his easy velocity. He turned his attention away from the catcher and asked the kid who was pitching batting practice how much it would take to get his name on a contract. The kid said $35,000. Braun ran it up the flagpole to international scouting director Sal Agostinelli and Carlos Salas, another Phillies scout in the Dominican. Done deal.

Within a few years, Sixto Sanchez, the batting practice pitcher that day in the DR, was the Phillies top prospect. He was used as a key chip to acquire Realmuto in a trade from the Miami Marlins in February 2019.

I remember calling Ruben and Mike and telling them, Were not going to sign the catcher, but we might have found a pitcher," Braun recalled a few years after that workout in the DR. It was kind of an accident, a luck deal. We were in the right place at the right time. Sometimes when you keep workingyou bump into stuff.

Thats a classic scouting tale and we tell it at a time when the scouting industry, populated by some of the best people in the game, is being hit hard by cutbacks and layoffs, all in the name of that longed-for place called efficiency. There could be a drastic reduction in the number of minor-league teams as soon as next year and that will mean fewer players and therefore fewer scouts to find them and fewer instructors to develop them. On the scouting side, many teams are using more video and data-based player-evaluation methods. These clubs are saving money but theyre losing some of their soul, the invaluable human qualities of wisdom, experience, passion, instinct, work ethic, dedication and love of the game that scouts bring. Scouts like Bart Braun.

Braun's death has hit the scouting community hard.

"He was a character for sure," said one longtime friend and rival scout. "He had a heart of gold. The last time I saw him was on an airplane. He gave up his first-class seat so I could sit there next to my wife.

"We competed in the Dominican Republic endlessly. He never slept."

Another heartbroken scout friend had this to say about Braun and his tireless commitment to the art of unearthing players:

"He was a true 'dirt scout' and that's the ultimate compliment you can pay a scout."

Phillies general manager Matt Klentak praised Braun's impact on the organization as a person and as a professional.

"Bart was a legend in the scouting world, and his evaluations played a role in virtually every player acquisition that the Phillies have made in recent years," Klentak said."But what many of us will miss most is Bart's energy, his laugh, his loyal friendship, his passion for life and his love for the game of baseball. On behalf of all of Bart's friends and colleagues at the Phillies, I extend our deepest condolences to Patty and Bart Jr."

Braun is the second loss to hit the Phillies scouting staff in the past year. Back in June, the club dedicated its draft to Will Brunson, a member of the scouting staff who died at age 49 in the fall of 2019. Brunson, who pitched in the majors, covered south Texas for the Phillies.

Subscribe and rate the Phillies Talk podcast:Apple Podcasts/Google Play/Spotify/Stitcher/Art19/YouTube

See original here:

What it's like being one of the few dozen people in the park with Phillies playing - NBC Sports Philadelphia