Brooks..
Who is brooks? Did he make the majors or whatever, and where is he now?
Was he even a real player, I can't find a damn thing..
According to baseballreference.com, there is no player named Brooks that was on the Devil Rays' roster in 1999...Brooks was just a player added for the effect when Jimmy got called up to the big club.
BTW, imdb's picture for the actor (Russell Richardson) who played Brooks is incorrect...the picture looks like ESPN baseball analyst Harold Reynolds.
Wow you are right that does look like Harold Reynolds!!
shareOne, that is Harold Reynolds, not the actor, I am definitivly sure. 2, based on the timeline (the 1999 season), I can make an educated guess that "Brooks" was actually current Devil Rays Outfielder Carl Crawford. I am not 100% sure he was in AAA in 1999, but I know he made his MLB debut in 2000. Hope that helps
shareI'm afraid you're incorrect on both counts about Crawford. 1999 was his first professional season, and he played for the Princeton Devil Rays, Tampa Bay's Rookie League affiliate. He did play at Durham in 2002, but that was after Morris had retired, and he did not make his MLB debut until 2002, either.
If you read the book by Morris himself, he doesn't mention anybody who really resembles the Brooks character. I think it's pretty clear he was written into the script for dramatic effect. I can see what you mean about Crawford, though. He seems to fit the description, but it seems unlikely the writer had him in mind since the script was written long before Crawford made it to the big time.
From http://espn.go.com/page2/s/closer/020410.html:
In reel life: When Morris arrives in Arlington after being called up, he enters the empty ballpark early with "Brooks," a teammate who'd been called up at the same time. This gives them time to register awe at The Ballpark at Arlington's towering arches and then enter the locker room and gaze in awe at jerseys reading "Canseco" and "Boggs" and "McGriff" on the back.
In real life: Morris, who was called up with Steve Cox, met the team at their hotel, and they all knew of his story and greeted him with enthusiasm. Both Wade Boggs and Fred McGriff hugged him when they met him, and Jose Canseco shook his hand. Morris took the team bus to the stadium.