Jamie Brown

“I’ll be part of that team for the rest of their life. Even though I wasn’t a big part of the team, I’m still connected with it.” – Jamie Brown, on his time with the 2004 Red Sox1

Jamie Brown pitched four games in the major leagues, all with the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox. He was in his eighth professional season at that point as injuries had wreaked havoc on one season and the better part of two more. A steady control pitcher, Brown had an impressive 3.22 strikeout/walk ratio and 1.16 WHIP in eight minor-league seasons, but never had much opportunity at the major-league level. He finished his career overseas and found success in the Korean Baseball Organization.

Jamie Monroe Brown was born on March 31, 1977, in Meridian, Mississippi, to Charles Arnold Brown Jr., and Jenny (Thead) Brown. Charles worked as an electrician. Jenny worked as a hairdresser for a while until becoming a stay-at-home mother for her sons, Jamie and his brother, Aaron.2

Brown played high-school ball at West Lauderdale High School in Collinsville, Mississippi, and impressed his coach, local legend Jerry Boatner. “He threw strikes when he was in high school as a freshman,” Boatner said. “I had one scout tell me that he was the best freshman he had ever seen.”3 As a freshman, Brown was the winning pitcher as West Lauderdale (33-5) won the state 3A championship, 8-1, over Ripley.4 The team repeated as champion in 1993 by defeating Pontotoc. Sophomore Brown finished 13-0 that season.5 He was undefeated (10-0, 0.94 ERA, 94 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched) and batted .367 his junior year and pitched the Knights (29-4) to a third straight title, 5-2, over Senatobia. “My arm felt good today, but my back was giving me troubles,” Brown said after averaging 88-91 MPH on his pitches in the clinching game. “I was kind of nervous at the beginning.”6 Brown was selected as an all-state athlete and qualified for the National Amateur All-Star Tournament.7

Brown’s senior year included an 18-strikeout game vs. Florence and a two-hit playoff victory against Forrest AHS. He finished the season 9-3 (1.90 ERA, 144 strikeouts), giving him a remarkable 43-5 high-school career record. In Game One of the playoffs, Brown threw a three-hitter while striking out 15 in a 4-2 victory over Simmons. The strikeout total propelled him to first place all-time in school history, surpassing Jay Powell, a native of Meridian who had an 11-year major-league career and won Game Seven of the 1997 World Series. “That was one of my goals when I started playing here,” Brown said of the record. “I just came out with the fastball and then tried to keep them off balance.” The Knights (30-5) later clinched their fourth straight state title.8

Brown was followed by Cleveland Indians scout Max Semler and selected in the 34th round of the June 1995 amateur draft by Cleveland, but he did not sign. He instead attended Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Niceville, Florida (later renamed Northwest Florida State College). He pitched masterfully for the Raiders, going 11-1 with a 1.90 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 77 innings. Brown was chosen as a third-team NJCAA All-American.9 He transferred back home to Meridian Community College and was drafted by Cleveland again in the 21st round of the June 1996 draft. He continued his college career at Meridian CC and started 5-0 with a 2.32 ERA.10 On May 15, 1997, he officially signed with Cleveland, and was assigned to Watertown of the short-season Class-A New York-Penn League.

Brown’s professional debut came on June 19 when he allowed just two hits in five innings in a 15-0 thumping of Williamsport. “I was expecting to be nervous, first time out, first professional start,” Brown said, “but I got out there and cleared my mind and everything.” He threw 66 pitches, struck out two and walked none.11 “He’s got three quality pitches right now and he’s got a plus arm,” pitching coach Carl Willis said. “I think the ability is there, the arm’s there, it’s just a matter of, like everyone else, learning how to pitch. When to use the stuff you have.”12 Brown finished the season 10-2 with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.

Brown spent most of the 1998 season with Kinston of the Class-A Carolina League, where he went 11-9 in 27 starts with a 3.81 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 172⅔ innings pitched. He finished the season with one start for Akron of the Double-A Eastern League. He arrived on such short notice that the seamstress didn’t even have time to sew “Brown” on his uniform. The nameless pitcher allowed just two earned runs in seven innings. “I didn’t even know my name was not on the shirt,” he said. “I was more concerned with going out there and having a good game.”13

Brown wouldn’t be nameless in Akron for long, as he spent four seasons (1999-2002) in the Rubber City. He was added to the Cleveland Indians’ 40-man roster in 1999 and threw 2⅓ scoreless innings in spring training. “I’ve learned how to pitch in front of a big crowd and against better hitters than what I was used to at Kinston,” Brown said. “Coming into this season, I know what to expect at this level.”14 In 1999 he went 5-9 with a 4.57 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, winning his first three decisions but losing nine of his last 11, one being a wasted 10-strikeout performance against Portland on June 14.15 Tendinitis in his right shoulder landed him on the disabled list most of July. Brown finished the season pitching one game for Triple-A Buffalo, winning with a five-inning relief effort.16 He pitched over the winter and went 0-4 with a 5.55 ERA in eight starts with Maryvale of the Arizona Fall League.17

Brown added a sinker to his pitching repertoire in 2000. “Carl Willis worked with me on changing my delivery, which allows me to throw from a downhill plane and I’m getting more movement and sink on the ball,” he said.,18 He started off hot in the chill of April, going 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA. “He’s got a big-time sinker,” said Willis.19 Brown suffered soreness in his back and missed most of May but was still a strong 5-1 with a 2.63 ERA in early June. The same bad back forced him to miss August and September. No doubt the injury affected his final numbers: 7-6 with a 4.38 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.20

Brown was plagued with arm problems, which cost him most of the 2001 season. He was limited to four starts (5.03 ERA) and had Tommy John surgery in August. He was ready to pitch again by June of 2002.21

After returning, Brown went 9-5 with a 2.78 ERA in 103⅔ innings with a 1.10 WHIP. He won six straight starts in June and July with a 1.93 ERA over that span. From July 21 to August 5, he pitched at least seven innings in four straight starts. Brown allowed five hits in six shutout innings as Akron clinched the Eastern League Southern Division title on August 21. After a playoff victory, he became the winningest pitcher in Akron’s history.22

In 2003 Brown began the year with Triple-A Buffalo (International League) and made his first start in late April after two relief appearances, throwing five scoreless innings. “This is my seventh year and I’ve always been a starter,” he said. “I’ve never come out of the bullpen. It’s a different feel. I’m still getting used to being a reliever. But I could do whatever, as long as I’m pitching.”23 He went 4-4 in 13 games with a 3.82 ERA and 1.01 WHIP for Buffalo before being traded to the Red Sox on June 22 for infielder Angel Santos. Brown moved from Buffalo to Pawtucket, the Red Sox’ affiliate in the International League, where he was used in relief in 15 of 18 games with a 2.26 ERA and minuscule 0.87 WHIP. In 51⅔ innings, he struck out 39 while walking just five. “I try to throw strikes and hit my spots,” Brown said. “My game is throwing strikes. I think I used to be a power pitcher before. After the surgery, now it’s more location, location, location. I’ve always had pretty good control, but my velocity’s down a little bit.”24

Brown and a handful of other prospects were invited to Boston in January 2004 for a first-year winter development program. To avoid the shell shock rookies face of ordinary Boston realities such as traffic and directions, the Red Sox provided them an early look at the city. “The stadium’s not the easiest to find and being here before for a couple of days and getting familiar with the area, it helped a lot,” Brown said. “We were here for four days. We had a workout and some interview sessions and classroom work. And the main reason was to just learn the area of Boston.”25 It certainly helped, because Brown would soon return.

Brown began the 2004 season with Pawtucket and continued his effectiveness, going 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in six starts, striking out 27, and walking only two in 38 innings while limiting opponents to a .199 batting average. Those numbers were more than enough to impress the Red Sox, who needed pitching help. Reliever Byung-Hyun Kim had been ineffective with a 6.23 ERA and was sent to Pawtucket and Brown was called up on May 12. “This is a dream come true,” he said enthusiastically. “I was just waiting for the call. The last couple of years, I feel like I’ve had good numbers.”26 He had a good locker spot, between Pedro Martínez and Keith Foulke, and his first few hours in the clubhouse he spent playing cribbage with Scott Williamson. “We had an off day,” Brown said of his interrupted Pawtucket schedule, “and I was just going to spend it with my family before I go off on a road trip.”27 Instead, Brown set off on a road trip with the Red Sox, visiting Toronto and Tampa Bay, where he made his major-league debut. After parts of eight seasons in the minors, the Mississippi native got his chance in the major leagues. The first-place Red Sox were 24-16, a half-game ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East.

On May 20 the Red Sox trailed the Devil Rays, 8-6, in the bottom of the seventh. Brown came in for his major-league debut. He surrendered a ground-rule double to Geoff Blum and a single to Brook Fordyce as the Red Sox fell behind, 9-6. Brown pitched a scoreless eighth and Rocco Baldelli became his first strikeout. The Red Sox mustered no comeback and lost, 9-6. “I was just a little nervous and a little tense out there,” Brown said. “I was anxious to get in there and get the first one out of the way.”28

Brown had three more relief appearances in May. He threw a scoreless inning against Oakland on May 25 in a 12-2 Red Sox blowout. On May 27 he was knocked around for six hits and three runs in 2⅔ mop-up innings by the A’s, who defeated Boston, 15-2. His final appearance was again in a mop-up role, finishing the last two innings of a 13-4 loss to Baltimore. Brown had no record in his four appearances with a 5.87 ERA and a 2.48 WHIP.

On June 9 left-hander Mark Malaska was activated from the disabled list and Brown was sent back to Pawtucket. He never returned to the major leagues. Malaska was not the left-hander the Red Sox wanted as they drove toward a postseason berth. In early August they acquired lefty specialist Mike Myers from Seattle and to make room for him on the 40-man roster, Brown was designated for assignment.29 He returned to Pawtucket and struggled, finishing the season 4-6 with a 4.82 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. The Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years, and Brown received a World Series ring.30 Although his time with the Red Sox was short, Brown enjoyed the experience and said Boston was a “one-of-a-kind place to play.”31

Brown spent 2005-2008 overseas with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League and the Samsung Lions and LG Twins of the Korean Baseball Organization. His overall record in these four years was 28-23 with a 3.66 ERA and 1.26 WHIP, starting 71 of 76 games. His 11-9, 2.68 ERA, 1.050 WHIP (sixth best in the KBO) in 2006 helped Samsung win the Korean Series championship. Brown retired after the 2008 season.

Brown married Melissa Lang in 2000. He started his own investment firm, Munro Investments, LLC.32 He also went back to his roots and became the pitching coach for his alma mater, West Lauderdale High School. As of 2022, their son Dylan was a star baseball athlete at West Lauderdale and signed with East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi. The Browns also have a younger son, Ridge.33

Sources

College statistics were taken from the baseballcube.com. Besides sources listed in the Notes, the author was aided by the following:

Baseball-reference.com

“Brown, Lang,” Franklin County Times, February 25, 2001. Retrieved June 26, 2022. m.franklincountytimes.com/2001/02/25/feb-18-2001-5/

Familysearch.org

Findagrave.com

Retrosheet.org

Notes

1 Jeff Edwards, “Diehard Red Sox Fan Fulfilling Dream … One Name at a Time,” Meridian (Mississippi) Star, January 16, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2022. meridianstar.com/sports/diehard-red-sox-fan-fulfilling-dream-one-name-at-a-time/article_b1a40cce-8abb-5196-b9b8-ddedffadb9a1.html.

2 Jamie Brown, interview with the author, July 10, 2022.

3 Austin Bishop, “Red Sox Call Up Jamie Brown,” Franklin County Times, May 13, 2004. Retrieved June 14, 2022. Franklincountytimes.com/2004/05/13/red-sox-call-up-jamie-brown/.

4 “Mooreville Wins 2A Title,” Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion-Ledger, May 29, 1992: 4C.

5 Robert Wilson, “West Lauderdale Rains Over Pontotoc in 3A,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, May 29, 1993: 1C, 4C.

6 Todd Kelly, “Warriors Can’t Pierce Knights’ Title Armor,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, May 20, 1994: 4C.

7 “Briefly,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, June 2, 1994: 2C; Bill Spencer, “Rolison Commands All-American Kudos,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, February 24, 1995: 4C

8 Spencer, “Rolison Commands”; “Clinton Blanks Biloxi; Tupelo Nips Brandon,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, April 28, 1995: 4C; “No. 4 Prep Puts Heat on No. 3 Hillcrest Christian,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, May 3, 1995: 4C; Todd Kelly, “West Lauderdale Moves 1 Step Closer to Four-Peat,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, May 17, 1995: 4C; Derrick Mahone, “West Lauderdale Wins Crown 10-3,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, May 19, 1995: 4C; “Clarion-Ledger All-State Baseball,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger, June 4, 1995: 6D;

9 “MCC Team Members Sign to Various Colleges,” Clarke County Tribune (Quitman, Mississippi), November 27, 1996: 8A.

10 Steve Swogetinksy, “Talking Sports,” Clarke County Tribune, March 26, 1997: 1B.

11 Rob Oatman, “Taylor Touches Off Tribe’s 15-Run Tirade,” Watertown (New York) Daily News, June 20, 1997: 15.

12 Rob Oatman, “Indians Losing Money,” Watertown Daily Times, September 7, 1997: D5.

13 David Lee Morgan Jr., “Nameless, Not Winless,” Akron Beacon Journal, September 6, 1998: D5.

14 David Lee Morgan Jr., “Brown Will Be the Man in Bowie,” Akron Beacon Journal, April 8, 1999: B6.

15 David Lee Morgan Jr., “Morgan Still Fighting to Move Up,” Akron Beacon Journal, June 15, 1999: D3.

16 David Lee Morgan Jr., “Many Are New to Young Team,” Akron Beacon Journal, April 7, 2000: E13.

17 2004 Boston Red Sox Media Guide, 75.

18 David Lee Morgan Jr., “Cold nor Wait Keeps Brown from Shutout,” Akron Beacon Journal, April 12, 2000: C5.

19 David Lee Morgan Jr., “Brown Undefeated as Aeros Win, 8-3,” Akron Beacon Journal, April 27, 2000: D8.

20 2004 Boston Red Sox Media Guide, 75; David Lee Morgan Jr., “Aeros’ 14-13 Victory a Long Time in Coming,” Akron Beacon Journal, June 12, 2000: C3.

21 David Lee Morgan Jr., “Aeros Notes,” Akron Beacon Journal, April 19, 2001: C3; David Lee Morgan Jr., “White, Bullpen, Lead Aeros to 6-3 Victory Over Ravens,” Akron Beacon Journal, June 2, 2002: D9; Tom Reed, “Brown Records Bittersweet Record for Aeros,” Akron Beacon Journal, September 2, 2002: C1.

22 2004 Boston Red Sox Media Guide, 75; David Lee Morgan Jr., “Aeros Clinch Southern Division,” Akron Beacon Journal, August 22, 2002: C1, C5; “Brown Records Bittersweet Record.”

23 “Brown Helps Herd Salvage Split with PawSox,” Buffalo News, April 25, 2003: C7.

24 Matt Kalman, “Baseball – Brown Turns Right – Finds Way to Big Leagues,” Boston Herald, May 13, 2004: 102.

25 Kalman.

26 Austin Bishop, “Red Sox Call Up Jamie Brown.”

27 Gordon Edes, “He’s All for Long Tossing,” Boston Globe, May 13, 2004: 66.

28 Bob Hohler, “Hurling a Stinker,” Boston Globe, May 21, 2004: D6.

29 Nick Cafardo, “Daubach Down, Malaska Called Up,” Boston Globe, June 10, 2004: C6; Jeff Horrigan, “Baseball – Red Sox Notebook – Sox Add Myers to the Mix,” Boston Herald, August 7, 2004: 41.

30 Jeff Horrigan, “Baseball – Red Sox Notebook – Sox Don’t Blink an Eye – Series Rings to get Opening Showcase,” Boston Herald, February 24, 2005: 108.

31 Brown interview with the author.

32 Brown interview with the author.

33 Drew Kerekes, “Jason Smith Credits Assistants, Players for West Lauderdale’s Title,” Meridian Star, June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2022. infoweb-newsbank-com.hpld.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/18312A866888FFB8; Drew Kerekes, “West Lauderdale Sends 3 Baseball Players, 1 Soccer Player, to Next Level,” Meridian Star, November 10, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2022. infoweb-newsbank-com.hpld.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/18634794F0C35A48; Brown interview with the author.