Mike Brito, a well-known international scout for the Dodgers, died on Thursday. He was 87.
Brito, who joined Los Angeles in 1978, spent nearly four and half decades helping to bring elite players to the team that include signing Mexican pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who led the Dodgers to a title in 1981 and won an NL Cy Young Award.
Before Brito signed players like Valenzuela in 1979, there were fewer than 40 Mexican-born players in the league. Beyond Valenzuela, Brito signed more than 30 players who ended up playing in MLB, most recently the likes of Yasiel Puig, Julio Urias, Victor Gonzalez and countless others.
His meritorious contributions to the Dodgers’ organization and MLB landed him some of baseball’s highest achievements, such as being named to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, winning the 2014 International Scout of the Year award and Baseball America’s Tony Gwynn Award for his lifetime achievements in 2021.
Valenzuela shared his thoughts about the man who played an “instrumental” part in his baseball success in a statement.
“No one loved the Dodger organization more than Mike [Brito],” Valenzuela said, per ESPN. “My heart is very heavy today.”
Prior to Brito being a prominent agent for the Dodgers, he played in the Washington Senators’ minor league system and played professionally in Mexico in the 1960s.
