Brian Lawrence: Late 2000's Mets Pitcher (2007)

Brian Michael Lawrence was born on May 14th, 1976, at Fort Collins, Colorado. The six-foot right hander attended Northwestern University getting signed by the San Diego Padres in the 17th round of the 1998 draft.

MLB Career: Lawrence debuted in 2001 going 5-5 with a 3.45 ERA. He earned his way into the Padres rotation for the next three years getting into double figures in wins each time. In 2002 he was 12-12 then fell off to a 10-15 year in 2003.

In 2004 he had his best season, tying Jake Peavy for the team lead in wins (15) going 15-14 (9th most wins in the NL & the 4th most losses) with a 4.12 ERA while leading the team in innings (203) & starts (34).

That season he allowed 226 hits (4th most in the league). On June 12 in an inter-league game against the Baltimore Orioles he became the 24th pitcher in MLB history to strike out three batters on nine pitches. 

The next season his arm began to give him trouble as he fell to a 7-15 record with a 4.83 ERA and was rated as having the slowest fastball of any starting pitcher in the majors, averaging at 83 mph.

After the 2005 season he was traded to the Washington Nationals for Vinny Castilla. His arm problem got worse from there as he would miss all of the 2006 season due to a torn rotator cuff. The Nationals released him that winter and he was signed by Colorado & then released after Spring Training. 

Mets Career:
In May 2007 he was signed by the New York Mets. The Mets assigned him to AAA New Orleans where he went 8-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 13 gams as a starter.


On August 2nd he made his first MLB start in almost two years, going against the Brewers in Milwaukee. He went five innings earning the win, although he gave up three runs the Mets had a big day scoring 12 runs en-route to a 12-4 victory. 

His next start at Shea Stadium against the Florida Marlins would be his best, allowing just two runs in six innings with six strike outs, unfortunately the Mets lost the game 4-3 as Billy Wagner blew the save. 

Lawrence would start four more games for the Mets taking the loss in two of them finishing up at 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA, with 18 strike outs in 29 innings pitched.


Career Stats: In his MLB six-year career he is 50-63 posting a 4.19 ERA, with seven complete.
games &three shut outs. 

He has 597 strike outs & 268 walks in 963 innings pitched in 168 games in 152 starts.


Retirement:  After pitching in the minor leagues with the Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants & the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim he pitched in Independent League baseball. He then became a coach in the Frontier League & California League.

Family: Brian & his wife have two daughters.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Mets History: (1977) The Felix Millan / Ed Ott Brawl In Pittsburgh

Remembering Bobby Ojeda's Tragic Boating Accident (1993)

Remembering Vixen Founder / Guitarist; Jan Kuehnemund (1961-2013)

Fictional Mets Infielder Chico Escuela ( of SNL) Visits Mets Spring Training (1979)

The History of Yogi Berra & Yoo-Hoo