Kevin Brown

James Kevin Brown (born March 14, 1965) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2005 for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees.

Brown led the American League in wins once and led the National League in earned run average twice.

As the Game 1 starter opposing Randy 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 to Bob Gibson's 17-strikeout performance in the 1968 World Series.

He helped lead the Padres to the World Series with a three-hit shutout against the Braves in the NLCS, though he did blow a save in Game 5 during a rare relief appearance.

That contract was once listed as the 82nd largest in the history of sports, tied with NBA Star Juwan Howard.

In Brown's first season in Los Angeles, he posted an 18–9 record with 221 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA.

The Texas Rangers selected Brown in the first round, with the fourth pick overall, in the 1986 Major League Baseball draft.

Starting in 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 1990.

By 1992, 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 since Ferguson Jenkins in 1974 to win 20 games in a Ranger uniform.

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

Following the 1995 season, Brown again became a free agent, signing with the Florida Marlins for $12.9 million over three years.

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.

He was a six-time MLB All-Star and threw a no-hitter in 1997.

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

Brown played three years of college baseball at Georgia Tech for their baseball team.

In 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.

The only base runner in the game for the Giants came via a HBP with two outs and two strikes in the eighth inning.

In the 1997 National League Championship Series, Brown, while sick with the flu, pitched a complete game in Game Six to defeat the Atlanta Braves and reach the World Series.

Brown was the losing pitcher in both his starts against the Cleveland Indians.

Following the disassembly of the Marlins' championship team, Brown was traded to the San Diego Padres for Derrek Lee and prospects, where he pitched one season.

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 the National League Division Series against the Houston Astros, San Diego won both of Brown's starts by a 2–1 score.

Brown was ultimately the losing pitcher in Game Four as the New York Yankees swept the Padres in the 1998 World Series.

Following the 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.

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.

After leading the NL in ERA during an injury-plagued 2000 season, his performance began to dwindle as Brown was hampered by injuries and poor run support.

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.

In 2003, Brown rebounded, producing a respectable 14–9 record with 185 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA.

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.

In 2004, he posted a 10–6 record with a 4.09 ERA, but experienced health problems throughout the season.

Toward the end of the season, he punched a concrete column in frustration, breaking his hand.

He returned to the rotation near the end of September but failed to get out of the first inning in a start at Fenway Park.

During that season's playoffs, Brown pitched well in the Division Series, but then lasted only two innings in his first start of the 2004 American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Red Sox.

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-run homer to David Ortiz in the first inning.

He left with the bases loaded in the second inning (allowing Johnny Damon to subsequently hit the first pitch from Javier Vasquez for a grand slam).

Brown attempted to come back in 2005 but missed several games during the season due to injury.

He went 4–7 with a 6.50 ERA.

On February 20, 2006, Brown announced his retirement.

The Mitchell Report named Brown as one of a group of Los Angeles Dodgers implicated in steroid use.