Kevin Brown — Revisited

[Edgy MD]

He came to mind when Ashie mentioned that the 1986 Mets were taking on the 1998 Pads. I didn't like the guy either, but he had a heckuva career for somebody who got the one-and-done treatment from the Baseball Hall of Fame. I don't even see or hear his name come up, but it probably wouldn't be hard to find 10 starting pitchers enshrined for lesser careers.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I assume you're not talking about Kevin Dewayne Brown, who pitched two innings for the 1990 Mets?

[Edgy MD]

I nominate him for the Dewayne Hall of Fame!

[ashie62]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownke01.shtmlhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownke01.shtml



Kevin Brown. 19 years with many teams. His numbers remind me of Jack Morris. Not a compiler, just that Maddux type good as I recall

[MFS62]

He finished second in the Cy Young voting to John Smoltz one year because Smoltz had, you guessed it, many more wins and strikeouts. But Brown had an ERA+ of 2.15!!! Amazing.

If he had pitched these days, with voters looking at more advanced metrics (as in the case of DeGrom) he might have won it, and with it, more HOF consideration.

Later

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

He developed a rep as a mercenary then got done in by signing a contract in his mid-30s he couldn't possibly live up to. More the Dodgers fault than his but I think that's the narrative of his career.

[nymr83]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownke01.shtmlhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownke01.shtml Kevin Brown. 19 years with many teams. His numbers remind me of Jack Morris. Not a compiler, just that Maddux type good as I recall

his numbers destroy Morris' on a per game bass, though Morris did pitch 500+ more innings



As lunch said, I best remember him for the contract (highest paid pitcher at the time and the first to get a 100 mil deal if i reccall?) - how much money a guy made or didnt make shouldnt play one iota into his hall chances though, unless this is the "negotiating hall of fame"

[Edgy MD]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: He developed a rep as a mercenary ...

This is way true. If a team in that period thought they needed one more starter to put them over the top, the first two calls they'd make would be about Brown or David Cone.



A downside of being a mercenary is that, after you retire, there's no natural constituency of fans and sportswriters to advocate for you.



I have to say that I wouldn't recognize the guy from Adam. Great pitchers from that era — Maddux, Johnson, Clemens, Schilling, Pedro, Rivera, and even lesser lights — if they all put on masks, I'd recognize them from their motion, their pitches, and their body types. I don't think I'd have any luck at all picking Brown out. I guess that's in part a byproduct of moving around, but he got into two straight World Series so I should remember something about the guy.



On the other hand, the 1997 World Series was about the snoriest one ever.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

He always seemed to toil for teams known more for their offense too

[Frayed Knot]

Also not exactly known as a warm & fuzzy guy.

[Fman99]

The best thing he ever did was to roll over and pitch like dogshit in game 7 against the BoSox in 2004.

[stevejrogers]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I assume you're not talking about Kevin Dewayne Brown, who pitched two innings for the 1990 Mets?

FWIW that reminds me of a perfect example of shoddy radio research. Brown was in midst of a hot stretch with the Rangers in the early 1990s (most likely his All-Star season of 1992), and someone called WFAN to complain to the host (I want to say Richard Neer) about how the Mets had "let this guy go" because he recalled that the Mets had "Kevin Brown" a few years earlier. The host said they'd look up to see how the Mets lost the Kevin Brown that was currently hot for the Rangers, and have that info by the end of the show. They never did! *rolls eyes*



This was before the days of Baseball-Reference.com, but being a sports radio station, you'd think they'd have access to MLB guide books, encyclopedias, etc. Hell, as the Mets FLAGSHIP STATION they'd get the Mets PR staff on the horn and find out "Oh, the Mets had a guy with the same name, and they sent him to Milwaukee in the trade for Charlie O'Brien. There's the answer! Oh and the Kevin Brown doing well for the Rangers has been there since being drafted and signed by them in 1986"

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Richard Neer probably said "you may have a point there" and moved onto the next caller who surely may have had a point there.

[stevejrogers]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Richard Neer probably said "you may have a point there" and moved onto the next caller who surely may have had a point there.

FWIW, I'm going to go under the belief that the caller to this day thinks that not only did the Mets let a pretty darn good starter in Brown go for nothing, but had Pedro Martinez (no middle initial, 5 games in 1996) both before he became PEDRO MARTINEZ, and as he was starting his decline!

[Edgy MD]

For what it's worth, I'm going to go under the belief that had the caller made that call yesterday, WFAN really wouldn't have acquitted themselves much better.