2014 Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame Series: Brian Bogusevic
Nov 10, 2014 | Baseball
This is the second of a five part series featuring the 2014 Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame Class. The 2014 induction ceremonies will take place on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 6-9 p.m. at Yulman Stadium.
By Curtis Akey, Tulane Athletic Communications
It's no coincidence that some of the best years in the illustrious history of Tulane's baseball program occurred during the tenure of one of the program's greatest players, Brian Bogusevic.
The Chicago, Illinois, native starred for the Green Wave from 2003-05, helping lead Tulane to a Super Regional appearance in 2004 before taking the program to its second College World Series appearance the following year. The program's win total of 141 over Bogusevic's three-year span are the second-most in any three consecutive years in Tulane history, overshadowed only by one additional win by the 1999-2001 teams.
Bogusevic certainly did his part on those teams, hitting .330 with 14 homers and 129 RBI while swiping 20 bases in addition to posting a 25-11 record on the hill to go along with a 3.65 ERA and 239 strikeouts.
For all of his efforts at the plate and on the mound for the Green Wave, Bogusevic will be inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday, Nov. 13, alongside teammate Micah Owings and Green Wave stars Matt Forte, Kim Lewis and Gloria Asumnu.
"It's kind of crazy (on being nominated to the Hall of Fame) because I don't feel like I've been gone that long," stated Bogusevic. "For things like this to start happening puts things in perspective. To be considered to go into the Hall of Fame is overwhelming, and it is definitely an honor."
Earning accolades and recognition for his work on the diamond is nothing new to Bogusevic. He was named a First-Team All-American by Louisville Slugger in 2005 while also picking up second-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and College Baseball Foundation. That same season, Bogusevic was also an All-NCAA Regional selection, a semifinalist for the Dick Howser and Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Awards and the Roger Clemens Pitcher of the Year Award, as well as a first team All-Conference USA and C-USA All-Tournament team pick. In 2004, Bogusevic picked up MVP honors at the Oxford Regional, while also being named to the C-USA All-Tournament team.
For everything he accomplished throughout his baseball career, Bogusevic has stayed humble.
"When I was a freshman at Tulane, I was just happy to be at Tulane," Bogusevic said. "(Winning awards) never even crossed my mind when I was at Tulane. The only thing we ever thought about was trying to go to the College World Series and to win the next game we had. Individual awards or career-encompassing awards were never on the radar."
Following his selection in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros, Bogusevic was used solely as a pitcher in the Astros organization from 2005-08. After the 2008 season the Astros converted Bogusevic to an outfielder and he made his Major League Debut with the Astros on Sept. 1, 2010. Bogusevic spent parts of 2010-11 with the Astros before playing 146 games for the Astros in 2012, recording seven home runs, 28 RBI and 15 stolen bases.
Bogusevic had a chance to return home in 2013 when he signed a contract with his hometown Chicago Cubs, playing 47 games in the outfield for the team, hitting .273 with six homers and 16 RBI. In Dec. 2013, he was shipped to the Miami Marlins organization, where he played in his collegiate hometown with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs in 2014.
Despite being back in the city where he enjoyed such success, it wasn't as memorable as his time spent on the Uptown campus.
"I had been back to New Orleans for weekends, or even when I played against the Zephyrs," Bogusevic said on his year-long return to the Big Easy. "But being back in New Orleans for a long period of time was a little weird, because a lot of the people I went to school with and knew from my time at Tulane weren't in New Orleans anymore. I enjoyed it, and I love the city, and I always have. It just wasn't like 2005 all over again."
For the 2015 season, Bogusevic is taking his talents up north, as he inked a minor-league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies just last week.
"My agent called me and said that Philadelphia was interested in me," Bogusevic recounted. "There was a little back and forth between us before we got the deal done."
With the signing, Bogusevic will be a part of his fourth organization in as many years. While there is a chance he makes the Phillies' Opening Day Roster, he could also play for his 11th minor league team at the start of the 2015 campaign, as Bogusevic is coming off a season in which he battled a few minor injuries while playing at `The Shrine' on Airline.
But while the towering lefty has played in close to 300 games across four Major League seasons, as well as traversing the country while starring in the minors, Bogusevic's finest memories of playing the game he loves has come while donning the Olive and Blue.
"Winning the Super Regional at home in Turchin Stadium in 2005 was huge, especially since the 2001 Super Regional was at Zephyr Field," Bogusevic reminisced. "That was the last game on campus for a few years so that is something that I remember well. The stadium was just packed. That is probably my favorite memory."
However, the 2005 season wasn't a flash in the pan to Bogusevic.
"The 2005 season was a special year, but it really wasn't just one year," Bogusevic said. "(The 2005 season) was a couple of years in the making. Looking back on it now, individual games don't stand out, but the three or four months of having a group of guys who were really close with one another. We were a really close team. Everyone hung out with everyone, on and off the field. It was like a big group of friends who just happened to be on the same baseball team."
His impact at Tulane greatly affected others, too.
In 2004, five other players in the order hit over .310 with Bogusevic's bat protecting the lineup when he hit .339 with a team-leading 68 RBI while adding 10 homers. The following season - when he was more effective on the mound - he helped preserve the bullpen when he pitched. Of the 19 starts he made in his final season, he pitched 7.0 innings or more, including two complete games.
Prior to the 2005 season, Bogusevic - along with fellow Hall of Fame inductee Owings - was featured on the cover of Baseball America, garnering attention to one of the best up-and-coming baseball programs in the nation.
Tulane's 2005 season saw the program ranked No. 1 from the beginning of the campaign all the way to their second appearance in the College World Series, when they were the No. 1 National Seed. Rick Jones, Bogusevic's skipper, picked up National Coach of the Year honors from Baseball America in 2005. All of this happened in large part to Bogusevic's work.
"There is no question about it," stated Jones when asked whether the program's outlook would have been different without Bogusevic. "He made plays that changed the game. If you look at some of the big games he pitched for us, he was outstanding. In the 2004 Oxford Regional, he beat (Washington's) Tim Lincecum. He was just so good. He was not a good outfielder; he was a great outfielder. He was one of the greatest baserunners. Scouting directors always asked me if I thought he was a better pitcher or a hitter. Well, he did both in the pros. He was just a great athlete who put his time in every day."
Whenever it was time to play, Bogusevic was always ready to put on the Tulane uniform to either head to the mound or to the plate.
"I was there to do whatever I was asked to do," Bogusevic said. "There were certain times throughout my time there where I was more one than the other. But I never really gave it much thought as to whether or not I had to focus on one or the other. I just wanted to do whatever they needed me to do."
That mindset made Jones' job all the easier.
"Brian's work ethic was off the charts," Jones said. "He was such a hard worker and so bright. He was a tremendous student and teammate. He's one of the greatest players in all of college baseball. I never had to worry about him for one second off the field. He was a coach's dream."
For all he did at Tulane - as well as for Tulane - there is no coincidence as to why Brian Bogusevic will forever be known as a Tulane Athletics Hall of Famer come Thursday.
