WRAL Sports Fan

Mudcats

Former Reds pitcher Browning to coach Mudcats

Jan 21, 2009

Zebulon, NC - The Cincinnati Reds have named former major league pitcher Tom Browning as the pitching coach for the Carolina Mudcats for the 2009 Southern League season.

Browning, 47, won 123 games over a 12-year career, including throwing a perfect game in 1988 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The perfect game remains the only one thrown in the history of the Cincinnati Reds. Browning was a National League All-Star in 1991, a year after assisting the Reds to a World Series upset championship over the Oakland A's.

Browning, who made his major league debut in 1984 under then-manager Pete Rose, won his first-ever start defeating former National League Cy Young winner Orel Hershiser 1-0, pitching 8 1/3 innings.

Browning has worked in various capacities over the past few years, co-authoring a book "Tales From The Reds Dugout", released in 2006, along with broadcasting Dayton Dragons games for the Reds' Low-A affiliate in the Midwest League before returning to coaching in 2007 as the pitching coach for the Billings Mustangs.

Browning joins manager David Bell and hitting coach Ryan Jackson as Carolina's first-ever Cincinnati Reds field staff.

The Mudcats host the Reds on Friday, April 3rd in a Futures Game at Five County Stadium before opening the Southern League season on Thursday, April 9th at Mississippi. Carolina's home opener is on Monday, April 20th against Huntsville at 7:15 PM ET.