Brandon J. Duckworth (born January 23, 1976) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

, who is currently a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. He played in

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) for 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

. Since 2014, Duckworth has worked for the

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 ...

professional scouting department.

Career

Duckworth graduated from

Kearns High School Kearns High School is a public high school located at 5525 S. Cougar Lane (4800 W.) Kearns, Utah, United States. It was opened in 1966 with its first graduating class graduating in 1967. It serves 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. The off ...

Kearns, Utah Kearns ( ) is a metro township in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Named after Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns, it had a population of 36,723 at the 2020 Census. This was a 2.8 percent increase over the 2010 figure of 35,731. Kearns is ho ...

, in 1994. He attended the

College of Southern Idaho College of Southern Idaho (CSI) is a public community college in Twin Falls, Idaho. It also has off-campus programs in Jerome, Hailey, Burley and Gooding. Until the foundation of the College of Western Idaho in 2007, CSI was one of only two ...

and

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. In 1997, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Brook ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. On August 13, 1997, Duckworth signed with the

as an amateur

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 ...

. He made his MLB debut with the Phillies on August 7, 2001, in a home game versus the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, at Philadelphia's

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...

. From 2001 through 2003, Duckworth compiled a 15–18

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

. On November 3, 2003, the Phillies traded Duckworth, along with minor leaguers

Taylor Buchholz Taylor Buchholz (born October 13, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Biography Buchholz stands 6 feet 4 inches tall, and weighs 220 lbs. He bats and throws right-handed. He grew up and lives in Springfield, Pe ...

and

Ezequiel Astacio Ezequiel Franklin Astacio (born November 4, 1979) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in MLB for the Houston Astros in 2006. Career Philadelphia Phillies Astacio begin his professional career by signing with the Philadelphia Ph ...

, to the Houston Astros for

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Phil ...

. After spending the next two years in Houston, with limited playing time, Duckworth signed as a free agent with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, in December 2005. Without playing for the Pirates in 2006, Duckworth was traded by Pittsburgh to the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations. In his first two seasons with the Royals, his record was 4–10 with a 5.37

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). In 2007, Duckworth picked up the only save of his MLB career, going 3 innings of shutout baseball to close out a 8–3 victory over the Mariners. He held down the win for starter

Gil Meche Gilbert Allen Meche (; born September 8, 1978) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Meche pitched for the Seattle Mariners for six seasons. With the Kansas City Royals, Meche made three straight Opening Day starts an ...

. In January 2008, Duckworth was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Royals to make room on the organizational roster for free agent signee

Brett Tomko Brett Daniel Tomko (born April 7, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Ange ...

. Duckworth passed through waivers, and on February 1, the Royals announced that he had accepted an assignment to the Triple-A

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. On August 24, 2008, Duckworth was recalled by Kansas City to start; in his first game, he went 5 innings, giving up 3

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

, and was credited with the win. In October 2009, Duckworth was granted free agency. In January 2010, Duckworth signed a minor league contract to play with the Phillies organization. In December 2010, Duckworth signed a minor league contract with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. On July 25, 2012, the Red Sox granted his release, so he could play in Japan. Duckworth pitched for the

in 2012 and 2013. After the 2013 season, Duckworth joined the

as a scout. As of 2019, he remained in the employ of the Yankees professional scouting department.

References

External links

Brandon Duckworth
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Brandon 1976 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Salt Lake City Brewster Whitecaps players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Clearwater Phillies players Houston Astros players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Royals players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Yankees scouts Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Philadelphia Phillies players Piedmont Boll Weevils players Reading Phillies players Round Rock Express players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Southern Idaho Golden Eagles baseball players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Wilmington Blue Rocks players People from Kearns, Utah Mat-Su Miners players