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Brian Traxler Passes Away

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Brian Traxler Passes Away
I was saddened by the news of former Daiei Hawks' first baseman Brian Traxler's death at the age of 37. I was lucky enough to meet him one time in Roppongi in the summer of 1994 when he was hanging out with teammates Kevin Reimer and Bobby Thigpen. He was very approachable and didn't have an attitude (neither did Reimer and Thigpen).

I thought Daiei handled his release very poorly in March of 1995. They brought Traxler into spring training only to release him when they signed Kevin Mitchell, who bailed on the team after a couple of months. The Hawks would've been much better off if they had kept Traxler instead of signing troublemaker Mitch.
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Re: Brian Traxler Passes Away
[ Author: Guest: Bernie Gorczynski | Posted: Dec 26, 2004 11:03 PM ]

I first saw Brian in 1990. He was at Vero Beach, Florida participating in Dodger Spring Training. My wife and I kind of adopted him as a prospect to keep an eye on because he had a special presence about him. Since we lived in the Portland, Oregon area we were able to see Brian every time the Albuquerque Dukes played the Beavers. He was a very good hitter and was called up by the Dodgers a few times.

I had the opportunity to attend the Adult Dodger Fantasy Camp in 1992 and happened to run into Brian in the locker room one day. He recognized me and we chatted.

I was happy to learn years later that he was the batting coach for one of the Dodgers' minor league teams. I was very sad when I read yesterday that Brian had passed away. Ironically he died on my birthday.
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