Monday, December 7, 1998

Braggs has his
act together

The former UH baseball player
has taken his talent to the
television screen

By Al Chase
Star-Bulletin

Did you catch Glenn Braggs in the Outback Restaurant commercial? How about the Mystic Tea commercial?

Maybe you watched him play the role of a pitcher in Arliss, an HBO program about a sports agent.

If you thought you saw him in two En Vogue videos, you were right.

"I've been doing a little bit of acting, if you can believe that," the former University of Hawaii outfielder said with a sly chuckle.

It all started when his wife Cindy said her agent had a part he wanted Glenn to read for.

"I went and read. I figured they would say 'thank you' but they asked me to come back and read for the producers and directors (of Arliss)," Braggs said. "That's how it all started. So now they are loving me."

Cindy, a member of the funky pop singing group En Vogue, has encourage her husband to take acting lessons, but he isn't sure that is his next career stop.

However, when he sees former Milwaukee Brewers teammate Rob Deer doing some acting, the possibility intrigues Braggs.

He did a national commercial for Intel recently and also completed one for Nike with Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher Chan Ho Park that will be shown in Korea and Taiwan.

But, at least for this year, while he ponders a future career, Braggs is enjoying being a father and family man to the couples' seven-month old daughter, Jordan, and their four and a half year old son, Donovan.

"This year I've been spending time with my family," Braggs said. "This is the first time I haven't had to work in the summer. This is something I've been aching to do for years. Things have been really good with my wife and kids."

When none of the 30 major league teams was willing to invite him to spring training for a look this past spring, Braggs knew his baseball days were over.

He finished four productive seasons in Japan that were financially rewarding in 1996. But four years playing on Japanese fields took a toll on his chiseled 6-foot-4, 220-pound muscular body. Not only that, Braggs was an inviting target for opposing pitchers.

"I must have been hit (with the pitch) more than 40 times," he said. "The last time it was my left knee and it exploded."

When the BayStars announced they weren't going to resign Braggs, there was a deluge of letters from fans begging management to change its mind. However, Braggs knew it was time to return to southern California.

"The money was actually very good in Japan, a lot more than I ever made in the states," he said. "The fans were great. That was the best part about playing in Japan, They are the most loyal fans I've ever come across."

He had surgery on his injured knee, but rehabilitation was slow. He wasn't ready to rekindle his career in this country when spring training started in 1997. Then the best offer he got this past spring was to come to camp as a nonroster player. If he didn't make the big league roster, he would go to Mexico to play.

Braggs said "Thanks, but no thanks."

He didn't hesitate when asked to name his career highlights.

"Obviously winning the (1990) World Series would have to be the pinnacle. To contribute to winning that was a dream come true," he said. "And, my parents were able to see every single game. In fact, they spent the last three months of the season with me in Cincinnati. And I brought my father a World Series ring and my mom a pendant which was made from the top of the ring."

The Reds swept the heavily favored Oakland Athletics to win the series.

"The next highlight isn't from baseball, but I was able to buy my parents a new home after the World Series," he added.

"The second highlight was making the game-winning catch to clinch the National League pennant against Pittsburgh."

That occurred in the ninth inning of the sixth game of the NL Championship Series when Braggs went high above the Riverfront Stadium right-field wall to rob Pittsburgh's Carmelo Martinez of a two-run homer to preserve the Reds' 3-1 victory.

"The third highlight was when I was called up to the big leagues (by Milwaukee in 1996).

"It's been an interesting ride," he said.

For someone who played just one year of youth baseball ...

For someone who played only his senior year in high school because, as the second youngest of 12 children, he had a part-time job ...

For someone, who by his own admission was the rawest of raw recruits when he turned out for the Rainbows in 1980 ...

For someone who developed as a Rainbow and was the first UH player to make the big leagues and the first one to appear in a World Series ...

For someone who was selected twice to play in the Japanese all-star game ...

It has been one incredible ride.