Former New York Yankees outfielder Brian Dayett has died. He was 68 years old.
Dayett, who played with both the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs in his five-year major league career, had Parkinson’s disease.
Former teammate Jody Davis announced Dayett’s death on Facebook.
“I am saddened to share with you the loss of another friend and teammate,” wrote Davis, who played with Dayett on the Cubs from 1985 to 1987.
“Brian fought a 25-year battle against Parkinson’s disease, with the loving support of his wife Christine and their two sons. He became critically ill in early 2024 and held on fiercely for an amazing year and a half — to be with those he held dearest and to continue watching baseball, a game which he loved until the end.”
Dayett, a New London, Conn. native, graduated from Valley Regional High in Deep River and played at Saint Leo College in Florida before he was drafted by the Yankees in 1978.
Prior to making his major league debut in 1983, he was named the Southern League MVP in 1982 after slugging 34 home runs — including a walk-off championship winner — for the Nashville Sounds, the Yankees’ then-Double-A affiliate. He was traded to the Cubs before the 1985 season.
Dayett hit for a .258 batting average, with 14 home runs and 68 RBIs across his five seasons in MLB. He also played three seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan.
After retiring, Dayett became a minor league manager and hitting coach. He retired after spending the 2014 season as a coach with the Texas Rangers.
Deep River named its Little League program after Dayett in 2011.
“I came from a small town,” Dayett told MiLB.com in 2011. “I’m not a very big guy, just 5-foot-10, 180 pounds. I worked my tail off. I was a walk-on in college, a 16th round draft pick and didn’t get much money to sign. My first contract called for me to receive a pair of spikes and a glove. They took that out in the second year. It’s the type of game where a small guy can make it. If a kid really wants to make it, he has to be determined and have the desire. He can do whatever he wants.”
