Several Bradley alumni are set to play roles in the 2020 Major League Baseball postseason, whether they be on the field, in the booth or on the coaching staff. Let’s take a look at which Braves are where as the league begins its chase for baseball’s ultimate prize.
Editor’s Note: The Chicago White Sox are now eliminated from the postseason.
Mike Tauchman – Outfielder, New York Yankees
The lone player on this list, Tauchman has beaten the odds and become a key part of the Yankees’ recent success. Acquired via trade from Colorado before the 2019 season, the Palatine, Illinois, native has played in over half of New York’s games during his time in the Bronx. He enters the postseason with a .242 batting average and has provided solid service in the field this season with no errors in 248 innings.
Tauchman was drafted by the Rockies in the 10th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. During his senior season at Bradley, Tauchman led the Missouri Valley Conference in runs created and runs scored and became the first Brave since Mike Dunne to win the Joe Carter MVC Player of the Year award.
Perhaps the best nugget of Tauchman’s career comes not from baseball but on the gridiron; while he was in high school, the one-time cornerback intercepted a pass thrown by opposing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Charley Steiner – Broadcaster, Los Angeles Dodgers
Alongside Rick Monday, Charley Steiner is set to call the Dodgers down the stretch on the radio. The namesake of Bradley’s Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication is in his 16th season as the radio play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. His 16 years spent in Hollywood follow a very successful career behind the microphone for the 1971 Bradley graduate.
Perhaps best known for his time on SportsCenter, Steiner was in Bristol during the formative years of ESPN. He starred in various editions of the now-legendary “This is SportsCenter” campaign, including my personal favorite wherein he calls the viewer to freedom in a spoof of Y2K hysteria.
After leaving ESPN in 2002, Steiner spent a few seasons as the radio voice of the New York Yankees. Steiner has also called national baseball for ESPN Radio and served as the play-by-play voice for the New York Jets.
Andy Masur – Broadcaster, Chicago White Sox
The second of two radio play-by-play broadcasters with ties to Bradley, Masur will call the White Sox to the finish line alongside analyst Darrin Jackson. Masur, who had been the pregame host and backup play-by-play announcer for the last two seasons, was named to his current role in June following the death of Ed Farmer.
A 1989 Bradley graduate, Masur has also broadcasted for the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, doing mostly pregame and postgame work for the Cubs while specializing in play-by-play for the Padres. Masur would occasionally work games in place of Pat Hughes while with Chicago and also filled in on television for Dick Enberg while with the Padres. Masur was also the radio play-by-play voice of the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers men’s basketball team from 2002 until 2007.
Curt Hasler – Bullpen Coach, Chicago White Sox
The second White Sox and the lone coach on this list, Curt Hasler was drafted out of Bradley by the White Sox in the 21st round of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native never made it to the big leagues as a player, but he was promoted to the majors as the Sox’s bullpen coach in 2017.
The promotion came in his 30th year with the organization. After playing several years in the minor leagues with mixed results, Hasler became the bullpen coach for Rookie and Class A White Sox affiliates in 1992. He became the minor league pitching coordinator in 2011, overseeing all of the organization’s minor league levels until his ascension to the big leagues in 2017.
