Darryl Brinkley, an American who played 16 seasons as a professional in the Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Italy, and Canada, has been named manager of the Pericos de Puebla in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
Brinkley, a native of Stamford, Connecticut, has 16 seasons of coaching experience, and most recently served as hitting coach with the LMB’s Toros de Tijuana.
As a player, Brinkley started his career in independent ball and was the MVP of the 1996 Caribbean Series, a season that also saw him win Baseball America’s Winter Player of the Year award. He then signed with the San Diego Padres and played parts of the next six seasons in affiliated baseball, rising as high as Triple-A in the Padres, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations. He was called up to the Orioles in September 2001 but never appeared in a Major League Baseball game, having already traveled to Australia for the winter ball season, he was stuck across the Pacific when the September 11 terrorist attacks shutdown air travel to and from the United States.
As a coach, Brinkley has also worked in Mexico with the LMB’s Broncos de Reynosa and Tigres de Quintana Roo, as well as with the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico’s Yaquis de Obregon.
The Pericos won the 2023 Serie del Rey, but finished in fourth place in the LMB’s Zona Sur in 2025 with a 44-47 record in the regular season before being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the eventual champion Diablos Rojos del Mexico in a four-game sweep.
Photo: Darryl Brinkley was named manager of the Pericos de Puebla for the 2026 season. (Photo courtesy of the Pericos de Puebla)
