Beak Briefing's Special Guest: Seth Brown and His Baseball Journey



Oakland A’s outfielder Seth Brown started his baseball career at OSU as a walk-on and soon realized Linn-Benton would be a better fit due to struggling with academics, so he made the switch.


When sophomore year came around, however, Brown left LBCC and took that year off from school and baseball. He ended up working at a gravel pit in Medford.


Student athletes, coaches, former teammates, and fans from the Linn-Benton community listened as Brown shared his journey full of tears, sweat, and hard work -- a journey that all started right here at LBCC.


Every month Linn-Benton athletics hosts a “Beaks Briefing” live via Zoom with updates on athletics from head coaches, stories from student athletes, and an “Alumni Spotlight” where a former student athlete from LB shares their story. On Feb. 10 listeners enjoyed catching up with Brown, the former Linn-Benton baseball player who now plays for the Oakland A’s.


“It’s important to embrace our (LBCC) history,” said Mark Majeski, athletics director at LBCC, “and not forget where we came from.”


In the live Zoom call, Brown described what was going through his head while he was working at the gravel pit.


“I was in a weird place mentally,” he said. “I was thinking my days of playing were over and realized what a huge mistake I made.”


Soon enough, Coach Greg Hawk, Brown’s baseball coach at Linn-Benton, gave Brown another chance. Hawk called him up and offered him the opportunity to come back and Brown took it. Brown built good habits at LBCC and was in the process of getting his degree in criminal justice.


At the end of Brown’s years at LBCC, Hawk recommended that he continue his baseball career at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.


“Lewis State showed me the person I wanted to be,” Brown said.


Brown redshirted his first year at Lewis-Clark due to being far behind in school and got eligible to play his junior year. His last year at Lewis-Clark he knew he had to put in extra work in the batting cage.


“All the cliche things you guys hear as student athletes (about putting extra work in),” he said. “I truly immersed myself in the baseball and school aspect of it.”


He was drafted by the A’s in the 19th round of the 2015 draft and continued to put in that extra work by lifting weights harder, running harder, and showing up early. As a result, he continued to move up in the minor league baseball ranks.


“Embrace the things that are hard,” he said.


Brown was in the minor leagues for five years when a spot in Triple A -- the highest level of the minor leagues -- opened up for him.


“I was excited and pumped, it felt like I was going to the big leagues just getting called to Triple A,” he said.


When Brown got to Triple A he was informed that he was only going to be playing two days a week. But that did not phase Brown one bit. He continued to work hard while showing improvements and he started to get more playing time. September call-ups rolled around and Brown’s manager told him he was going to be a big leaguer.


“I’m pretty sure I almost fainted, I was frozen and didn’t know what to do,” Brown said.


After he received this outstanding news, his first phone call was to his dad.


“I immediately lost it, I mean I couldn’t even get words out. All I could end up getting out to him was I did it,” Brown said.


“You kept outperforming everyone,” Hawk told Brown during the Zoom meeting. “You made it with hard work and effort.”


Brown elaborated on overcoming negative thoughts by having a positive mindset while having fun in the present.


“Even though you have goals, enjoy where you are at,” Brown said.







At a Glance:

When are the meetings: Monthly

Next meeting: Undetermined, sometime in March

Mark Majeski’s email: mark.majeski@linnbenton.edu

Watch live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lbccroadrunnerathletics

Seth Brown’s stats: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownse01.shtml

Beak Briefings: https://athletics.linnbenton.edu/general/2020-21/releases/beaks_briefing_Feb_2021



Seth Brown:

Bats left handed and throws left

Position: Leftfielder, Pinch Hitter, and First Baseman

Brown is 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds 

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