Monday, October 31, 2016

no. 591 - jackie brown


Who is the man: After nine years in the minors, Jackie Brown made his first appearance in the major leagues in 1970, pitching in 24 games for the Senators.

Can ya dig it: One of my favorite cards from those first 1971 Topps cards I owned as a young teen. The dark background drew me instantly (it could be a night card, but I'll probably never know for sure). And the Senators were such a strange team to a young kid in the late '70s. Who were they?

Right on: Rookie card!

You see that cat Brown is a bad mother: Brown spent most of his major league career as a reliever, but was a starter for most of 1974 with Texas and 1976 with Cleveland. In 1974, he outpitched the Angels' Nolan Ryan with a 5-0 victory, causing Brown's teammates to start calling him "ace". It didn't last long, though, as Brown ended up back in the bullpen.

Shut your mouth: Brown was the White Sox's pitching coach in the early 1990s. In explaining pitcher Alex Fernandez's turnaround season in 1993, Brown explained it simply: "If your objective is to not let the hitters hit the ball, it's going to be a long year."

No one understands him but his woman: The Expos traded for Brown in 1978, sending the Indians Andre Thornton in exchange. Thornton would go on to multiple 30-home run seasons for Cleveland.


(A word about the back): Brown's brother Paul pitched in 36 games for the Phillies between 1961-68 (there was a 5-year visit to the minors between 1963-68). He went 0-8 in his career.

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