Late Nineties Mets Pitcher: Brian Bohanon (1997-1998)

Brian Edward Bohanon was born August 2, 1968 in Denton, Texas. The big six foot two left hander was a first round draft pick (19th pick overall) for the Texas Rangers in 1987.

He began his career in 1990, as a starter in Texas, going 4-7 over two seasons. He spent five seasons with the Rangers and then moved on to the Detroit Tigers. He made 52 appearances going was 1-1 in ten starts .

Next it was off to Toronto where he was primarily a middle reliever for the Blue Jays in 1996. For 1997 he signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.

Bohanon made his Mets debut on April 6th 1997, in the sixth game of the year. He earned a win, pitching seven innings allowing just two runs against the Giants in San Francisco. He lost his next game coming in relief in the 14th inning of a game in Los Angeles. As the month went on he got hit hard, allowing two runs in each of his next four outings. He was sent to AAA Norfolk & had his best minor league season there, going 9-3 earning him a Mets call up again by late July.

He would get put into the starting rotation & pitch into the 7th inning four times in his first five games. But in that time only got one win while losing twice. He finished out the year 3-1 from August 30th on, winning two games in September. He ending up with a 6-4 record, posting a 3.82 ERA, allowing 95 hits in 94 innings pitched, striking out 66 batters. He pitched beyond the 5th inning ten times in 14 games that he started, giving up less than two runs in five of those games.

In 1998 he was back in the Met bullpen and after going 2-4, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Greg McMichael. The first time he went up against the Mets again he took a loss, even though he only allowed one earned run through six innings of work.

Bohanon went on to the Colorado Rockies, enjoying success in 1999 & 2000. He was a 12 game winner both seasons pitching over 177 innings both years, including a career high 197 in 1999. In his last outing against the Mets in 2001 he gave up eight runs at Coors Field, taking the loss. He retired after the 2001 season.

In a 12 year career he pitched in 304 games, with a 54-60 lifetime record, posting two saves and a 5.19 ERA. He struck out 671 batters while walking 489 in 1116 innings of work.