J. Brent Cox (born May 13, 1984) is an American former

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 ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Career

Cox attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. With the

Texas Longhorns baseball The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's baseball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The University of Texas began varsity interc ...

team, Cox set the record for the most appearances in the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

with 13 and in 2005 tied the UT record with Charlie Thames for most saves in a single season with 19.Former Horns star Cox still finding a way to impact Texas baseball
www.statesman.com Cox was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2nd round of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

. Cox had a 6-2

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 ...

and a 1.75

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 ...

for the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League in 2006. That year, Mark Feinsand of ''

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

'' wrote, "Some are projecting him as the eventual replacement for all-world closer

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

." In 2006, Cox was named to the

Olympic Qualifying Team Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

roster. He pitched in three games for the U.S. national team, allowing one run in 5.2 innings. In 2007, Cox was listed as the eighth best prospect in 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 ...

organization and owning the best slider in the farm system. The Yankees invited Cox to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2007, but rescinded the invitation after he broke a bone in his pitching hand in a bar fight in December 2006. He had elbow surgery and missed the entire 2007 season. After a bad game in June 2009, Cox left the Thunder without permission. He returned to Texas to complete his college degree. Noticing that his arm was beginning to feel better, he returned to professional baseball in 2010. In September 2010, he got into an altercation with Thunder

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Tony Franklin after Franklin removed him from a game. He retired after the season. Cox was hired as a volunteer student assistant for the Texas Longhorns after retiring from playing.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, J. B. 1984 births Living people People from Bay City, Texas Baseball players from Texas Texas Longhorns baseball players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Tampa Yankees players