Kevin Brown (right-handed pitcher)

Infobox MLB retired
name=Kevin Brown
position=Pitcher

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width=200
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1965|3|14
Milledgeville, Georgia
debutdate=September 30
debutyear=by|1986
debutteam=Texas Rangers
finaldate=July 23
finalyear=by|2005
finalteam=New York Yankees
stat1label=Win-Loss record
stat1value=211-144
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.28
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=2,397
teams=
* Texas Rangers (by|1986-by|1994)
* Baltimore Orioles (by|1995)
* Florida Marlins (by|1996-by|1997)
* San Diego Padres (by|1998)
* Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1999-by|2003)
* New York Yankees (by|2004-by|2005)
highlights=
* 6x All-Star selection (1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003)
* World Series champion (1997)
* 1998 NL TSN Pitcher of the Year

James Kevin Brown (born March 14, 1965 in Milledgeville, Georgia) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. (Because two other MLB players named Kevin Brown had careers that overlapped with his, he is sometimes incorrectly referred to in baseball documents as Kevin J. Brown.)

High School Years

Brown attended Wilkinson County High School in Irwinton, Georgia and was a student and a letterman in football, baseball, and tennis.

Pro career

Texas Rangers

In by|1986, Brown was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round (fourth pick overall). Starting in by|1989, Brown was second in the Rangers' rotation behind ace Nolan Ryan and posted a 12-9 record with a 3.35 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 1989 and a 12-10 record with a 3.60 ERA and 88 strikeouts in by|1990. By by|1992, Brown had improved his record with the Rangers to a remarkable 21-11 with 173 strikeouts and a 3.32 ERA, was tied for the league lead in victories and was the first since Ferguson Jenkins in by|1974 to win 20 games in a Ranger uniform.Fact|date=August 2007

Baltimore Orioles

Brown became a free agent following the strike settlement in by|1994 and signed with the Baltimore Orioles for a season, posting a 10-9 record with 117 strikeouts and a 3.60 ERA.

Florida Marlins

Following the by|1995 season, Brown again became a free agent, signing with the Florida Marlins. 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 the Cy Young Award voting. In by|1997, Brown threw a one-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first appearance and a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on June 10, 1997, one HBP shy of a perfect game.

In the 1997 National League Championship Series, Brown, riddled with the flu, proceeded to pitch a complete game in Game Six, defeating the Atlanta Braves and helping the Marlins reach the World Series, which they eventually won over the Cleveland Indians.

an Diego Padres

Following the disassembly of the Marlins' championship team, Brown was traded to the San Diego Padres where 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. He helped to lead the Padres to the 1998 World Series, but not before blowing a save in Game 5 of the NLCS during a rare relief appearance.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Following the by|1998 season, Brown again became a free agent. He signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 7 years/$105 million USD, becoming the first $100 million man in baseball. Many fans, both in San Diego and nationally, were taken aback by the immensity of the contract given to a player in his mid 30's (almost $40 million more than the Padres offer, the next highest offer he received), and also the choice of team, given Brown expressed a desire to play in a city closer to his Georgia home than San Diego during the season. Enrique Rojas of ESPN 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. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=2518991 ESPN - Pavano, Beltre haven't lived up to contracts - MLB ] ]

His 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-plagued by|2000 season, his performance began to dwindle as Brown was hampered by injuries and poor run support. In by|2003, Brown rebounded, producing a respectable 14-9 record with 185 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA, although as Bill Plaschke noted following the release of the Mitchell Report "(his numbers that year are) no longer believe(able)." [cite news |firstname=Bill |lastname=Plaschke |title=A sullied part of Dodgers' history |publisher=Los Angeles Times |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschkela14dec14,1,5849997.column?page=3&ctrack=1&cset=true&ctrack=1&cset=true |date=2007-12-14 |accessdate=2007-12-14 ]

New York Yankees

On December 11, 2003, Brown was traded to the New York Yankees as part of a deal that sent Jeff Weaver, Yhency Brazobán, Brandon Weeden, and $2.6 million in cash to Los Angeles. He went on to a 10-6 record with a 4.09 ERA, but experienced health problems during the season. Toward the end of the season, Brown, leaving Yankee manager Joe Torre's office in anger, punched the wall outside, breaking his left hand. Brown would be out of action for the remainder of the season. He would pitch in the post season, pitching six innings against Minnesota and only allowing one run in the Division Series. But it was his performance in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series that he is remembered for, lasting less than two innings, giving up a two run homer to David Ortiz.

Brown would attempt to come back in by|2005, but missed several games during the season due to injury. He would go 4-7 with a 6.50 ERA. On February 20, by|2006, Brown announced his retirement. [ [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/mlbnews.asp?articleID=158040 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: MLB ] ] He currently resides in Macon, Georgia.

Mitchell Report

The Mitchell Report named Brown as one of a group of Los Angeles Dodgers implicated in steroid use. The report documents allegations by Kirk Radomski that he sold Brown human growth hormone and Deca-Durabolin over a period of two or three years beginning in either 2000 or 2001. Radomski claims he was introduced to Brown by Paul 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. [cite web | url = http://assets.espn.go.com/media/pdf/071213/mitchell_report.pdf | title = Mitchell Report pp. 214-17| format = PDF]

LA Times sportswriter 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."cite news |firstname=Bill |lastname=Plaschke |title=A sullied part of Dodgers' history |publisher=Los Angeles Times |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschkela14dec14,1,5849997.column?page=2&ctrack=1&cset=true&ctrack=1&cset=true |date=2007-12-14 |accessdate=2007-12-14 ] . Brown's temper tantrums, he notes, may have in fact been "'roid rage."

Pitching

Brown was a pitcher who had the rare talent of relying both on movement and velocity. His main pitch was a sinking fastball that averaged 93 - 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 sharp slider in the high 80s, and a solid split fingered fastball he used against left-handed hitters or for another look. Fact|date=August 2007

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
* List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
* List of Major League Baseball wins champions
* List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
* Top 100 Major League Baseball strikeout pitchers
* List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report

References

External links

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