American baseball player (born 1973)
Baseball player
Kevin Lee Brown
(born April 21, 1973) is a former
Major League Baseball
catcher
who spent parts of seven seasons (
1996
to
2002
) with four MLB teams but who never got into more than a handful of MLB games each season except for
1998
with the
Toronto Blue Jays
, for whom he played 52 games that season. He finished his career with a .254
batting average
with a .311
on base average
and .450
slugging percentage
in 85 games.
[1]
Professional career
[
edit
]
Texas Rangers
[
edit
]
Brown was drafted 56th overall in the second round of the
1994 Major League Baseball draft
, by the
Texas Rangers
.
[2]
He advanced quickly through the minors, batting .261 with 43
home runs
in 306 games in from 1994 and 1996.
Brown made his Major League debut in the 9th inning of a blowout loss against the
Milwaukee Brewers
on September 12, 1996. He was
struck out
by
Alberto Reyes
in his only plate appearance of the game.
[3]
Brown spent the majority of 1997 on Texas' AAA affiliate, the
Oklahoma City 89ers
, where he posted a .241 batting average with 19 home runs.
Toronto Blue Jays
[
edit
]
With only about 2 weeks left before the start of the 1998 season, Brown was traded to the
Toronto Blue Jays
for
relief pitcher
Tim Crabtree
. Brown spent 1998 as a backup for Toronto's newly acquired starting catcher,
Darrin Fletcher
. During this time he batted .254 with 2 home runs during 52 games in the Majors.
Milwaukee Brewers
[
edit
]
On July 25, 2000, Brown was traded to the
Milwaukee Brewers
for outfield prospect Alvin Morrow.
[4]
Between the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Brown played a total of 22 games with Milwaukee, with the rest of his time spent with the AAA
Indianapolis Indians
.
After the 2001 season, Brown was granted
free agency
. On January 24, 2002, he signed a minor league contract with the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
[
edit
]
After playing only 6 games with Tampa Bay's AAA affiliate, the
Durham Bulls
, he was released from the team in favor of other catching prospects
Paul Hoover
and
Toby Hall
.
During his brief stint with Durham, Brown bat .150, with 2 of his 3 hits being home runs.
Boston Red Sox
[
edit
]
Three days after being cut, Brown signed with the
Boston Red Sox
. Brown was assigned to Boston's AAA affiliate, the
Pawtucket Red Sox
, where he became the team's starting catcher in 2002. Despite his success in AAA, Brown only made 1 plate appearance at the Major League level. This would also be the last Major League appearance of his career.
Brown was granted free agency on October 14, 2002.
St. Louis Cardinals
[
edit
]
Brown signed a minor league contract with the
St. Louis Cardinals
, but would only appear in 7 games for their A+ affiliate, the
Palm Beach Cardinals
. He was released on August 1, 2003.
Personal life
[
edit
]
After retiring from professional baseball, Brown coached for his alma mater, the
University of Southern Indiana
.
[5]
Brown's son Logan was drafted by the
Atlanta Braves
in the 35th round of the
2018 Major League Baseball draft
.
[6]
External links
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]