Brian Ernest Gordon (born August 16, 1978) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played for the Texas Rangers and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), and for the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

and

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Champ ...

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

(KBO).

Personal life

His parents are Ernie Gordon, who grew up a Yankees fan in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Frankl ...

, and Wendy Abrahamsen. They have since divorced. His father was an Army engineer stationed at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

when he was born, but the family moved to

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...

, before he was 2 years old. At

Round Rock High School Round Rock High School is a public high school located in Round Rock, Texas, a suburb of North Austin. Founded in 1867, it is the oldest high school in the Round Rock Independent School District. As of 2021, it is the largest high school in the Gr ...

, his career record was 43-3, and his team, the Dragons, won the Texas class 5A state championship in 1997. Gordon and his wife, Amanda, have a daughter, Finley and a son, Riggs.

Professional career

Gordon was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

in the 7th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. With the Diamondbacks organization, he made it as high as Triple-A

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

in and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the season. Gordon signed with the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

where he played in the next two years with their Triple-A affiliate,

Salt Lake Stingers Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of Salt (chemistry), salts; salt in the form of a natural crystallinity, crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. ...

. After the season, Gordon signed with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

organization. Playing the entire year in Triple-A, he batted only .241, and after the season decided to convert to pitcher with the help of Hall-of-Famer

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

, who was a special assistant to the Astros. Gordon began with the Double-A

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

. In 30 relief appearances, he had an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 2.88 and received a promotion to Triple-A

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County, Texas, Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of ...

. In , Gordon started the season with Double-A Corpus Christi, but after just one appearance, he was released. He signed with the Texas Rangers and did not allow a run in 22 innings pitched for Double-A Frisco. He was promoted to Triple-A

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

where he started and pitched in relief. Gordon was a September call up for the Rangers in and made his major league debut on September 17. Gordon attended

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

for the 2008–2009 season with

Tiburones de la Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

, posting a 4-2 record with a 1.79 ERA in 45.1 innings. In his last home game before returning to the US, Gordon faced hard rivals

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

in front of a crowd of 20,000, posting 8 innings with 1 allowed run and 9 strikeouts. After the game ended, all la Guaira fans shouted Brian's last name, with Gordon walking out of the dugout and kissing the team's shirt in one of La Guaira's most emotive moments of the season. Gordon was granted free agency after the 2009 season and he signed with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for the 2010 season. He remained with the Phillies for the start of the 2011 season. On June 14, 2011, Gordon opted out of his minor league contract with the Phillies and signed with the New York Yankees, who promoted him to the major leagues. In his first MLB start, Gordon pitched innings for the Yankees, allowing two earned runs in a Yankees 3-2 victory in 12 innings at Yankee Stadium. He made history by wearing a non-leather glove, the first major leaguer to do so. When

Bartolo Colón Bartolo Colón (born May 24, 1973), nicknamed "Big Sexy," is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher. He has played for 11 different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Cleveland Indians (1997–2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago ...

was activated from the disabled list on July 2, he was optioned to the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

. He was purchased by

in Korea on July 8, 2011. On January 13, 2012, Gordon opted to stay in Korea, signing with the

. Gordon was signed by the

to a minor-league contract on December 3, 2013. On June 15, 2014, the Yankees released Gordon.

References

External links

, o
Korea Baseball Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Brian 1978 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Arizona League Diamondbacks players Baseball players from New York (state) Corpus Christi Hooks players El Paso Diablos players Frisco RoughRiders players High Desert Mavericks players Lancaster JetHawks players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Oklahoma RedHawks players People from West Point, New York Sportspeople from Orange County, New York Round Rock Express players Round Rock High School alumni Sacramento River Cats players Salt Lake Stingers players Samsung Lions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players South Bend Silver Hawks players SSG Landers players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Sidewinders players