| Kevin Brown | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Brown with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1965-03-14)March 14, 1965 (age 60) Milledgeville, Georgia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 30, 1986, for the Texas Rangers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 23, 2005, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 211–144 |
| Earned run average | 3.28 |
| Strikeouts | 2,397 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James Kevin Brown (born March 14, 1965) is an American former professionalbaseball right-handedpitcher who played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2005 for theTexas Rangers,Baltimore Orioles,Florida Marlins,San Diego Padres,Los Angeles Dodgers, andNew York Yankees. Brown led theAmerican League in wins once and led theNational League inearned run average twice. He was a six-timeMLB All-Star and threw ano-hitter in 1997.
Brown attendedWilkinson County High School inIrwinton, Georgia, and was a student and a letterman infootball,baseball, andtennis. Brown played three years of college baseball atGeorgia Tech fortheir baseball team.
TheTexas Rangers selected Brown in the first round, with the fourth pick overall, in the1986 Major League Baseball draft. Starting in1989, Brown was second in the Rangers' rotation behind aceNolan Ryan and posted a 12–9 record with a 3.35 ERA and 104strikeouts in 1989 and a 12–10 record with a 3.60 ERA and 88 strikeouts in1990. By1992, Brown had improved his record with the Rangers to a 21–11 with 173 strikeouts and a 3.32 ERA, was tied for the league lead in victories and was the first sinceFerguson Jenkins in1974 to win 20 games in a Ranger uniform.[1]
Brown became a free agent following the strike settlement in1994 and signed with theBaltimore Orioles for a season, posting a 10–9 record with 117 strikeouts and a 3.60 ERA.[2]
Following the1995 season, Brown again became afree agent, signing with theFlorida Marlins for $12.9 million over three years.[3] In his first season with the Marlins, Brown posted a 17–11 record with 159 strikeouts and an MLB best 1.89 ERA, finishing second in theCy Young Award voting.[4]
In1997, Brown threw aone-hitter against theLos Angeles Dodgers in his first appearance[5] and ano-hitter against theSan Francisco Giants on June 10, 1997. The only base runner in the game for the Giants came via aHBP with two outs and two strikes in the eighth inning.[6]
In the1997 National League Championship Series, Brown, while sick with the flu, pitched acomplete game in Game Six to defeat theAtlanta Braves and reach theWorld Series.[7] Brown was the losing pitcher in both his starts against theCleveland Indians.[8]
Following the disassembly of the Marlins' championship team, Brown was traded to theSan Diego Padres forDerrek Lee and prospects, where he pitched one season.[9] He posted an 18–7 record with a career-high 257 strikeouts and a 2.38 ERA, finishing third in the Cy Young Award voting.
Masterful during theNational League Division Series against theHouston Astros,[10] San Diego won both of Brown's starts by a 2–1 score.[11] As the Game 1 starter opposingRandy Johnson, he allowed no runs in eight innings and struck out 16 Astros, a career-high, and second to that point in MLB playoff history only toBob Gibson's 17-strikeout performance in the1968 World Series.[12]
He helped lead the Padres to theWorld Series with a three-hit shutout against the Braves in the NLCS,[13] though he did blow asave in Game 5 during a rarerelief appearance.[14] Brown was ultimately the losing pitcher in Game Four as theNew York Yankees swept the Padres in the 1998 World Series.[15]
Following the1998 season, Brown again became a free agent. He signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 7 years/$105 millionUSD, becoming the first $100 million man in baseball. Enrique Rojas ofESPN Deportes called the contract "one of the worst deals ever from a team's point of view" because Brown averaged only nine wins per season and was frequently injured during the seven years of the deal.[16]
In Brown's first season in Los Angeles, he posted an 18–9 record with 221 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA. After leading the NL in ERA during an injury-plagued2000 season, his performance began to dwindle as Brown was hampered by injuries and poor run support. In2003, Brown rebounded, producing a respectable 14–9 record with 185 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA.[17]
On December 11, 2003, Brown was traded to theNew York Yankees as part of a deal that sentJeff Weaver,Yhency Brazobán,Brandon Weeden, and $2.6 million in cash to Los Angeles.[18] In 2004, he posted a 10–6 record with a 4.09 ERA, but experienced health problems throughout the season.[19] Toward the end of the season, he punched a concrete column in frustration, breaking his hand.[20] He returned to the rotation near the end of September but failed to get out of the first inning in a start atFenway Park.[21]
During that season's playoffs, Brown pitched well in theDivision Series, but then lasted only two innings in his first start of the2004 American League Championship Series (ALCS) against theRed Sox.[22]
However, it was Brown's performance in Game 7 of the ALCS (with the Yankees trying to avoid being the first team in baseball history to lose a series they led three games to none) that he is perhaps most negatively remembered for in New York: Brown lasted less than two innings while being charged with five earned runs, including a two-runhomer toDavid Ortiz in the first inning. He left with the bases loaded in the second inning (allowingJohnny Damon to subsequently hit the first pitch fromJavier Vasquez for a grand slam).[23]
Brown attempted to come back in2005 but missed several games during the season due to injury. He went 4–7 with a 6.50 ERA.[24] On February 20,2006, Brown announced his retirement.[25]
TheMitchell Report named Brown as one of a group ofLos Angeles Dodgers implicated in steroid use. The report documents allegations byKirk Radomski that he sold Brownhuman growth hormone andDeca-Durabolin over a period of two or three years beginning in either 2000 or 2001. Radomski claims he was introduced to Brown byPaul Lo Duca. Radomski's claims were supported by an Express Mail receipt dated June 7, 2004, addressed to Brown. The report also contains notes from a meeting of Dodgers executives in 2003 during which they question the medication Brown takes and include a note stating "Steroids speculated by GM". Brown declined to meet with the Mitchell investigators.[26]
Bill Plaschke states that by 2003 "it was obvious to me...(and) Dodger management that...(he was) probably on steroids. We would even talk about it while watching their bulging, straining bodies from the dugout during batting practice. But the players would admit nothing, so there was nothing I could write."[27] Brown's temper tantrums, Plaschke notes, may have in fact been "roid rage."
Brown was a pitcher who had the rare talent of relying both on movement and velocity. His main pitch was a sinkingfastball that averaged 91–96 mph, with tremendous tailing, downward movement. He could spot it to either side of the plate. Batters facing him generally pounded this pitch into the ground or missed it entirely. He complemented this pitch with a sharpslider in the high 80s and a solidsplit fingered fastball he used against left-handed hitters or for another look.[28]
Over his career, Brown won 211 games and finished his career with a 127 ERA+ (27% better than the league-wideearned run average). Only seven pitchers have won between 200 and 220 games with an ERA+ between 120 and 135.[29] Of those seven,Stan Coveleski (215 wins, 128 ERA+),John Smoltz (213/125),Don Drysdale (209/121), andHal Newhouser (207/130) are in theBaseball Hall of Fame. OnlyCurt Schilling,Eddie Cicotte (209/123) ofBlack Sox infamy and Brown have been excluded.
Brown resides inMacon, Georgia, with his wife, Candace, and four sons: Ridge, Grayson, Dawson, and Maclain. He is currently an assistant baseball coach atTattnall Square Academy.[30]
Since retiring, Brown has been involved in multiple handgun-related incidents. In August 2006, his neighbor reported that Brown pulled out a gun during a dispute over yard debris. No charges were filed.[31] In June 2018, Brown held two suspected mail thieves at gunpoint until police arrived.[32]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | American LeagueAll-Star Game Starting Pitcher 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher June 10,1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Los Angeles DodgersOpening Day Starting pitcher 1999–2000 2002 | Succeeded by |