Bronson Heflin

Bronson Heflin pitched in three games for the 1996 Phillies.

Bronson Wayne Heflin was born August 29, 1971, in Clarksville, Tennessee. He went to high school at Donelson Christian Academy in Nashville, where he pitched and was also the kicker for the football team. After graduating in 1990 he pitched for Nashville Twitty City in the Connie Mack amateur baseball Southeast Regional, then entered Central Florida Community College. He pitched the 1991 season at Central Florida, after which he was drafted in the 45^th round by the Yankees. He didn’t sign, and instead in the fall of 1991 he committed to the University of Tennessee, choosing the Vols over Mississippi State; the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported that his fastball had been clocked as high as 90 MPH.

Apparently, though, Bronson changed his mind and pitched one more season for Central Florida, going 9-3, averaging a strikeout an inning, and being selected North Central Florida Conference Pitcher of the Year. In June 1992 he recommitted to Tennessee. On February 14, 1993, the News-Sentinel reported that he would possibly be the opening day starter, adding:

Heflin, once drafted by the New York Yankees, has the basic repertoire—fastball, curve, slider and change-up—with added emphasis this season on developing his off-speed pitch.

“They’ve really stressed the change-up,” he said. “They want me to use it a lot more. I’m happy about the way I’ve been able to locate it.”

Bronson started the Vols’ third game of the year, combining with two relievers on a one-hitter. On March 20 he was taken out after six innings, to his chagrin, with a no-hitter going; the win gave him a 3-0 record and a 1.93 ERA. He finished the season with an 8-4 record and 4.17 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings; Tennessee made the NCAA tournament but lost in the second round, as reported in the May 30 News-Sentinel (and were eliminated from the double-elimination tournament in the third round):

Troll’s luck doesn’t hold in UT loss

It was a bad hair day for Tennessee.

The good-luck troll doll with the long orange hair in UT’s dugout wasn’t voo-doo enough, as the Vols fell to Kansas 3-2 in Saturday’s second round of the NCAA Mideast Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Pitcher Bronson Heflin—who won the first game of the tournament for the Vols on Friday—tugged, twisted and pulled on the locks of the troll to try to bring his team good luck.

With Tennessee trailing 3-1 in the eighth, the troll was placed inside a circle Heflin drew in the gravel in front of the dugout. No luck.

Then in the ninth, it looked like he had something going. Heflin held the troll by its hair and waved it in a hexing motion at Kansas pitcher Jamie Splittorff. Fred Carr tripled and scored on Todd Helton’s sacrifice fly. The troll was in business.

Heflin handed the good-luck charm off to coach Rod Delmonico’s five-year-old son, Tony. Before long, young Tony had the troll looking like boxing promoter Don King with orange hair.

But the supernatural powers of the dwarf wilted when Rob Curry flied out to center for the third out…

Bronson had a better year for the Vols in 1994. From Gary Lundy’s column in the May 12 News-Sentinel:

‘Road Warrior’ provides spunk for Vols’ staff

He wore a mohawk haircut with a huge “K” shaved into one side of his head, and his baseball number buzz-cut over the other ear.

Opposing teams weren’t quite sure whether the “K” was shorthand for strikeout or kook. See this guy on the mound, and you’d have to think twice before digging in the batter’s box.

“I was a ‘Road Warrior,’” Tennessee pitcher Bronson Heflin said of his days at Central Florida Community College. “That’s what we all called ourselves. I look back now and can’t believe I did that stuff.

“I had a ‘bad boy’ image. Other teams thought I was cocky and had a bad attitude. Somebody from the other team would yell something at me, and it was like pouring gasoline on a fire.”

The fire is still burning in his senior season at Tennessee, but it’s more of a controlled burn. The flamboyance of youth has subsided a bit, and the Road Warriors are but a memory.

Heflin has 76 Ks this year, and his head doesn’t have any.

His 2.16 ERA is best among the starters for the fifth-ranked Vols. The No. 2 pitcher in the rotation, he’ll make his final regular-season start Saturday when UT takes on Florida at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Known as “B” or “B Rock”—a nickname he says he picked up in junior college from being as hard-nosed as a rock—Heflin is a fierce competitor…

When he’s not on the mound, Heflin finds it difficult to stay still in the dugout. He paces, yells and kids his teammates.

“Yeah,” he says. “I get a little fired up. I like to show my spirit.”

Ever the Road Warrior at heart.

Bronson went 13-4 with a 2.43 ERA, with 106 strikeouts and just 83 hits in 126 innings. He got a win in the Mideast Regionals, but the Vols lost in the regional championship game. He was named to the All-SEC first team, and on June 6 he was drafted in the 37^th round by the Phillies, with whom he signed a contract. He was sent to the Batavia Clippers of the Short Season Class A New York-Pennsylvania League. From the July 12 News-Sentinel:

Heflin, Helton like wood

Ex-Central star hits .300 at Cape Cod

By Gary Lundy

In the New York-Penn League, rookie pitcher Bronson Heflin likes a wooden bat because he can saw it off in hitters’ hands.

In the Cape Cod League, Todd Helton seems to like the wood as well—for a different reason…

In the New York-Penn League, Heflin and Bubba Trammell, former UT teammates, have posted some solid numbers in their first month of pro baseball…

“I’m pitching a lot better than I felt I was at Tennessee. I really like throwing against the wooden bats. You can jam hitters inside and I’d say I’ve broken 15 or 20 bats already. I’m throwing about 88 to 91 mph. At UT, I was around 88 the whole time.”

Heflin said an exercise regimen prescribed by the Phillies’ major-league trainer has strengthened his arm and enabled him to pitch without worrying about soreness the next day.

“By the second day after a start, I’m throwing in the bullpen again,” Heflin said. “I’ve added a sinker and it has been real effective in the ‘pen, but I haven’t tried it in a game yet.

“One thing I really like is that you call your own pitches. I’m putting my heart into every pitch and feeling more and more confident.”

Bronson had a 3.58 ERA in 83 innings in 14 games, 13 of them starts, for the Clippers, striking out 71 and walking just 20. In 1995 he was moved to the bullpen with the Clearwater Phillies of the Class Advanced A Florida State League, where he led the league with 21 saves; he had a 2.95 ERA with 84 strikeouts and 21 walks in 61 innings. He also pitched one hitless inning for the Reading Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League.

Bronson started 1996 with Reading, where he had a 5.22 ERA in 29 1/3 innings with an uncharacteristic 15 walks; despite those numbers he was promoted to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons of the International League. He did much better there, and was called up to Philadelphia at the end of July.

Bronson made his major league debut on August 1, at home against the Cardinals. He pitched the eighth and ninth and allowed the final run in a 7-1 loss; he retired six of the seven batters he faced, the exception being Ron Gant leading off the ninth with a home run. From the August 8 News-Sentinel:

Pinpoint control reason Heflin earns spot in Phillies’ bullpen

Ex-Vol beats odds by mastering sinker

By Nick Gates

The fastest way to the major leagues for a pitcher is to throw strikes. Just ask Philadelphia’s Bronson Heflin.

The Phillies had an opening on their ravaged staff and the main reason the former University of Tennessee right-hander was called up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last week was his impeccable control. Heflin, who will turn 25 later this month, did not walk a batter in 27 innings in Class AAA.

“I’m just throwing strikes and letting them (the hitters) beat the ball into the ground and get themselves out,” the Nashvillian said.

Heflin plans to use the same philosophy with the Phillies.

His call-up came out of the blue.

“Disbelief,” he said. “It’s something you always wanted to hear. You dream about it all of your life. When the time comes, you don’t know how to act.”

UT coach Rod Delmonico wasn’t completely surprised.

“He always believed in himself,” Delmonico said. “That’s the key many times.”

So how did Philadelphia’s 37^th -round pick in the 1994 draft, who signed for virtually nothing, make such a meteoric rise in the farm system?

Heflin, who always has had a powerful arm, relied on a nasty slider in college. But the development of a sinker at Class AA Reading was the pitch he needed to hold his own against left-handed hitters.

Once Heflin mastered the two-seam fastball, he was on his way. In fact, he is so confident in his new pitch, he claims to throw it more than the slider.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder credits Reading (Class AA) pitching coach Larry Andersen for the expert tutelage.

“Larry was the main reason,” he said. “I started throwing it (sinker) every day on the side. He was that type of pitcher and he caught me every day and kept tracking the movement.”

Andersen, who was a sinker-balling relief specialist on two Philadelphia World Series teams (1983 and 1993), made certain Heflin didn’t lose confidence in the sinker.

“I was closing at Scranton,” Heflin said. “It’s nothing new for me. I started out last year (at Class A Clearwater) doing that and had a decent season.”

…But he started 1996 at Reading in a middle relief role because of the presence of Wayne Gomes, Philadelphia’s top pick in 1993.

“It was a different situation with Gomes there,” Heflin said. “I really didn’t know what role I had.”

But after a midseason promotion to Scranton, Heflin was closing again.

The Phillies are bringing Heflin along slowly. Manager Jim Fregosi won’t thrust his rookie into any game-winning or game-saving situations.

“I know I’m not going to be closing,” he said. “He didn’t say much to me, except to congratulate me on getting to the big leagues. He told me to do what I’ve been doing and get people out.”

Heflin’s debut was in a mop-up role last Thursday in the second game of a doubleheader against St. Louis. He retired the Cardinals 1-2-3 in the eighth.

“It gave me some confidence to build on,” Heflin said. “I didn’t really expect it to be easy.”

Heflin made his first mistake in the ninth. Ron Gant homered into the seats.

“It was a first-pitch fastball,” Heflin said. “It was a terrible pitch about belt high and he did what any major-league hitter would do—he hit it out.”

Heflin kept his composure and retired the next three Cardinals.

“I thought it would rattle me, but it didn’t,” he said.

His teammates were quick to console him in the dugout. They pointed out that Gant’s homer wasn’t his first nor would it be his last.

“It made me feel good, but you never want to give up any runs,” he said.

The Phillies have a 47-66 record and are mired in the National League East cellar. But Heflin said you’d never know the team was struggling unless you checked the newspaper.

“I’ve only been here a week, but if I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t think this was a last-place team,” he said. “The team plays hard on the field and is trying to get better. Nobody is giving up.”

With friends and family in the stands Tuesday night in Atlanta, Heflin was understandably jittery. The Braves scored two runs on four hits off him in 2 2/3 innings. He led to his downfall with a pair of walks.

However, it would take more than two runs to tarnish the thrill.

“My parents were here to see me in a major league uniform for the first time,” he said. “A lot of people were watching me at home on TV.

“There is no feeling in the world like it,” he said. “It’s the ultimate. But now that I’ve made it, I want to set higher goals for myself and maintain my status in this league.”

The night before this story appeared Bronson had made his third Phillies appearance, pitching the fourth and fifth innings of a 14-1 loss to the Braves and allowing four runs, two of them earned. This gave him a 6.75 ERA in 6 2/3 innings and, it turned out, concluded his major league career; he was sent back down to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Between his two stints there he had a 2.61 ERA in 38 innings in 30 games, allowing just 25 hits and three walks, and saving twelve games.

Bronson played winter ball in Venezuela, and in 1997 he returned to the Red Barons and spent the entire season there. He had a 2.28 ERA in 43 1/3 innings in 35 games, with 13 saves; he allowed just 29 hits but his walks skyrocketed to 25.

Bronson started the 1998 season back with the Red Barons, but after a bad start he was released, in late May. He was signed by the Cardinals and sent to the Arkansas Travelers of the Class AA Texas League, where he pitched two games before being promoted to the AAA Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League. From Thomas Harding’s Redbirds column in the June 14 Memphis Commercial Appeal:

Redbirds righthanded pitcher Bronson Heflin’s luck has quickly changed for the better.

Heflin started the season with Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Philadelphia’s Class AAA team, but he knew his days in the Phillies organization were numbered. This year’s difficult start—0-0, 7.20 ERA—led to his being released.

The Cardinals signed him and sent him to Little Rock for a brief stint. Right before he was called up to Memphis, he suffered a groin pull.

But Heflin finally pitched a perfect inning Friday night in the Redbirds’ 6-5 loss at Oklahoma.

Even before the successful debut, Heflin was all smiles. He is getting a fresh opportunity in his home state, after playing high school ball at Donelson Christian Academy near Nashville and college ball at Tennessee.

“I finally can relax and just pitch,” Heflin said. “Being in my home state and in the Cardinals organization is a great opportunity for me.”

The same night that column appeared, Bronson made his second Redbird appearance and allowed a three-run homer. On June 20 he was released.

In April 1999 Bronson signed a contract with the Madison Black Wolf of the independent Northern League Central. He had a 3.34 ERA in 29 2/3 innings in 25 games, finishing fifth in the league in saves with eight.

Bronson returned to the Black Wolf in 2000, and had a 3.00 ERA with 17 saves in 26 games, striking out 43 batters in 30 innings. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and assigned to the Nashville Sounds, their AAA affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. He pitched 4 2/3 innings in four games in September, allowing no runs and just one baserunner. After the season the Pirates signed him to a minor league contract for 2001.

On March 30, 2001, Bronson was cut from the Pirates’ minor league camp, ending his professional baseball career.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Pheflb001.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/heflibr01.shtml