Brian Mark Kowitz (born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

from 1990 to 1996.

Early and personal life

Kowitz grew up in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and is married with 3 children- a boy and two girls. He attended Jemicy in 1982 before graduating Boys' Latin School of Maryland in

in 1987, where he competed in varsity football, basketball, and baseball. In 2012, Kowitz was inducted into the BL "Hall of Fame". He is Jewish.

Baseball career

College

Kowitz was awarded a scholarship to play baseball for Clemson University where he won an ACC Championship, earned All ACC and Academic All American honors, and an ACC Player of the Year award as well as All American honors. He attended Clemson and as a freshman in 1988, Kowitz claimed one of the starting outfield spots for the Tigers and won a dramatic game against the Georgia Bulldogs at home with a blast over the center field wall in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the game. Kowitz was an

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

ALL Tournament Team selection as a freshman. As a sophomore in 1989, Kowitz was named to the ACC ALL Tournament Team and to the second Team All ACC Team. Clemson won the ACC Championship. As a junior 1990 at Clemson, Kowitz was named ACC Player of the Year as he hit .403 and was among the leaders in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

in runs (87, second, first in ACC) and tied for 7th in hits (102, first in ACC). He stole 34 bases (first in ACC) in 66 games and drove in 60 runners. In 1990 Kowitz also lead the ACC in doubles and triples. His 37-game hitting streak was the best in NCAA Division I in 1990. In addition, this amazing hitting streak was the second longest in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history, as well as second in Clemson history to Hall of Fame (HOF) Rusty Adkins. He was second in the ACC in batting average and made the ACC All-Star team as an outfielder. In addition Kowitz was named to the All Regional Team in Austin TX in their quest to reach the College World Series. Kowitz was also an ACC ALL Tournament Team selection. ''

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'' named him as a second-team All-American outfielder. Kowitz had a 37-game hitting streak which was the 2nd-longest in Clemson University's history. In 2019, he was inducted into the Clemson "Hall of Fame".

MiLB

Kowitz began his minor league career as a left-handed outfielder with the 1990 rookie-league

Pulaski Braves Pulaski may refer to: Places * Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas * Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys * Pulaski, Georgia, a town * Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in th ...

. He batted .324/.382/.538 with 13 steals in 43 games. He was 8th in the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

in average and made the Appalachian All-Star team as an outfielder; he was selected as the 8th-best prospect in the league by the managers. Before the end of the season, he was promoted to Class AA Greenville. Kowitz started the 1991 season with the Class A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

where he hit .254/.303/.353 with 18 steals. He returned to Durham once more in 1992 and posted a .301/.373/.429 line with 22 steals. He was 6th in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

in average and made the league's All-Star team. He became a regular for the Greenville club in 1993 and batted .278/.363/.378 with 13 steals. He made it to AAA that year with the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

and batted .267/.340/.422 for Richmond, scoring 10 runs in 12 games with them.

MLB

He was drafted by the

in the 8th round of the 1990 amateur draft. Kowitz was promoted to the Atlanta Braves on June 3, 1995 when All-Star outfielder

David Justice David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1989–1996), Cleveland Indians (1997–2000), New York Yanke ...

was put on the disabled list. Kowitz made his debut the very next day. He was used a pinch hitter in the 5th inning, in a game against the Houston Astros. He doubled down the left-field line for his first at bat, but the Braves lost 6-2. He appeared in only 9 more games, until David Justice returned, then Kowitz returned to Richmond. Kowitz's coach was

Ned Yost Edgar Frederick Yost III (; born August 19, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals. He played for the Brewers, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos. Early life Yost was born on ...

who later became the head coach for the World Series Champions, Kansas City Royals. On December 5, 1994 he was again drafted by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

as part of the Rule 5 draft but was sent back to the Braves on April 25 of that year when he failed to stay on 25-man major league roster. Kowitz signed with the

in 1996. He played in spring training with the Tigers. He was sent to the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. Kowitz was released in May, and was signed by the

. He finished the year with the Syracuse Chiefs. Kowitz retired from baseball at the end of the 1996 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kowitz, Brian 1969 births Living people Aberdeen Arsenal players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Baltimore Clemson Tigers baseball players Clemson University alumni Jewish American baseball players Jewish Major League Baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Australia Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players Pulaski Braves players Richmond Braves players Syracuse Chiefs players Toledo Mud Hens players 21st-century American Jews