Player Profile: Bruce Berenyi

I have fourteen cards of Bruce Berenyi. This one is from 1983 Fleer.

Playing career: Bruce Berenyi was a decent starting pitcher for the Reds and Mets in the early 1980s. In 142 games he went 44-55 with a 4.03 ERA. Unfortunately for Berenyi, he had his best years with some bad Reds teams, and when he got traded to a good team, the Mets, he suffered rotator cuff injuries that ended up killing his career. A fuller account of  his career can be found at the 1983 Topps blog.

Where he is now: He is a golf professional in New Hampshire, and also plays in a classic rock band called Rusty Loadz with relatives and childhood friends from Ohio.

Interesting facts: His uncle, Ned Garvin, won 129 games for the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, KC A’s and LA Angels from 1948 to 1961.

After his playing career he used the insurance money from his arm injuries to buy a condo with cash. He then declared bankruptcy, taking advantage of a Florida law that allowed bankruptcy filers to keep all of the equity in their home.

While living in Florida, Berenyi apparently came out as homosexual and played for a gay softball team. However, this was only reported on the league’s website, which has been down for over a decade, and has not been confirmed anywhere else.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is fourth when you type Bruce Bere, between Bruce Beresford-Resman, a TV producer, and Bruce Beresford IMDB, referring to a film director. There do not appear to be any other prominent Bruce Berenyis.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Dave Berg.