When the Yankees gave Andrew Brackman, their first-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, a franchise record $3.35 million signing bonus, they expected to eventually see the 6-foot-10 right-hander become a major part of their starting rotation.
What they never could have expected was to see Brackman, almost two years later, give up 10 walks and five wild pitches in 3 1/3 innings for Low-A Charleston.
“I think I have a [South Atlantic League] record that will never be broken,” Brackman said, cracking a smile.
But, for a long time, Brackman couldn’t smile about his performances on the mound. After the Yankees drafted him out of North Carolina State, Brackman underwent Tommy John surgery. Following a 2008 season completely lost to rehabbing from the surgery, he went 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA in 106 2/3 innings for Charleston in 2009.
His struggles in Charleston led to a lot of long, sleepless nights, along with plenty of questions about whether he had made the right choice to give up basketball after his sophomore season at N.C. State to concentrate on pitching.
“There were some nights where I’d call my dad and be like, ‘Did I make the right decision?’ ” Brackman said.
Those days were just as hard for Brackman’s parents, Mark and Mary, who both are retired Cincinnati public school teachers. Mark said he struggled to find a way to help his son through the first prolonged struggles of his athletic career.
“It was as tough on me as it was on him, probably,” Mark Brackman said. “It was a lot of sleepless nights, and a lot of thinking about what I could do to help him verbally, and say things that would be positive and help him head in the right direction.
“It was a gut-wrenching experience for me and my wife, because we both are so close to him. … It was a trying experience to say the least.”
But after the struggles Brackman endured in 2009, he rebounded just as strongly in 2010. He went 10-11 with a 3.90 ERA between High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton last season, striking out 126 and walking 39 in 140 2/3 innings.
“Coming back for that second season, I knew how to do everything,” Brackman said. “I think that first season was kind of just go out there and see how it is. The second time around just made the experience in Tampa and Trenton that much easier.”
Yankees vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman said that after watching the way Brackman went through the rehabilitation process from his Tommy John surgery, he wasn’t worried about Brackman’s ability to bounce back from his disappointing year in Charleston.
“After getting to know him, and after what he went through with the rehab process, no, we had confidence in his mental strength,” Newman said. “He fought through a lot in rehab, and fought through a lot in that season. It all probably falls under the category of that which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.
“If you can draw up the development plan for a player, which you can’t, you want them to struggle,” Newman added. “You want them to have to fight through some stuff, because they’re going to have to fight through stuff at the big league level. He’s had that, he’s dealt with it and he’ll have to deal with it again.”
Now that Brackman has gotten back on track and reached Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, where he is 1-0 with a 6.20 ERA in 10 innings this season, he has his sights set on not just taking the last step and reaching the big leagues in 2011, but having an impact on the pennant race for the Yankees.
“When I was with the team in Toronto [in September], and they were popping champagne [after clinching a playoff berth]. I was sitting in the corner, and I wanted to celebrate, but I didn’t really help them get there.
“So my goal for this year is, in September and October, to be in that locker room and to be able to participate and say I was a part of it. I want to be in that locker room, be a part of it, and say I helped the team out.”