James Robert Brower (born December 29, 1972) 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 ...

. He played for eight

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) teams: the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(-),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(-),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(2002),

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

(-),

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 ...

(),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(),

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 ...

(2006), 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 ...

().

Playing career

Brower was originally drafted by 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 ...

out of

Minnetonka High School Minnetonka High School, or MHS (locally referred to as Tonka), is a four-year public high school located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The school enrolls about 3,444 students, and offers four ...

in the 56th round of the amateur draft, but did not sign, choosing instead to attend the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, where he was named a

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

All-Star and Dave Winfield Award recipient in 1994. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 6th round of the 1994 draft, and signed on June 5. He spent nearly four years in the Rangers system before being released early in 1998. He quickly signed with the Cleveland Indians, spending the 1998 season in AA, then splitting the next two seasons between the Indians and their AAA club. Brower was traded to the Cincinnati Reds following the 2000 season. In June 2002, the Reds traded him to the Montreal Expos for pitcher

Bruce Chen Bruce Kastulo Chen (born June 19, 1977), is a Panamanian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astr ...

. In March 2003, he was traded to San Francisco in the trade that sent

Liván Hernández Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera (; born February 20, 1975) is a Cuban-born former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. Over a 17-year career, he played for nine different teams and was named to two Major League Baseball All-S ...

to the Expos. In 2004, he tied the Giants' team record and led MLB in appearances with 89. Following a slow start to the 2005 season, Brower was released by the Giants on June 12, and signed by the Atlanta Braves. He signed a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

contract with the Baltimore Orioles in February 2006 and made the Opening Day roster, but was later released. On May 11, Brower signed with the San Diego Padres, who traded him to the Florida Marlins on August 1. He did not pitch for the Marlins at the Major League level, but appeared in 16 games for their AAA club. Brower signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the 2007 season, but was given his release to sign a minor league contract by the New York Yankees, and served as the closer for their AAA club, posting a 1.65

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 ...

and earning 20 saves. On August 6, 2007, he was promoted by the Yankees, replacing

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollyw ...

on the 40-man roster. In December, Brower agreed to a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. On May 30, 2008, Brower was traded by the Reds to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

for cash considerations. Brower was released in July and 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 ...

. After making only two appearances with 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 ...

, Brower had his rights sold to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of

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 ...

. He split the 2009 season between three teams: the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League, the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

's St. Paul Saints, and the Venezuelan team

Caribes de Anzoátegui The Caribes de Anzoátegui ( en, Anzoátegui Caribs) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League based in Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui. Franchise history In January 1987, a local businessmen group based in Puerto la Cruz, ...

. Brower pitched one final season in 2010, with

Telemarket Rimini The Rimini Baseball Club is a team that played in Serie A1 Italian Baseball League. The team is based in the city of Rimini and plays its home games at the Stadio dei Pirati since 1973. Rimini has won 13 national championships and three European ...

of the

Italian Baseball League The Italian Baseball League (IBL; Italian: ') is a professional baseball league that is governed by FIBS (Italian Baseball & Softball Federation), which has its headquarters in Rome. The IBL is a wood bat league in which both composite and alumi ...

before ending his playing career.

Coaching career

In 2010, Brower was hired by the

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 ...

to be a minor league pitching coach. In 2016, Brower became the Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Chicago Cubs. The

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

hired him to be their bullpen coach on the major league staff before the 2018 season and he was fired after the 2019 season.

Personal life

Brower and his wife had their first child in August 2007. Currently he resides in Deephaven, MN.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brower, Jim 1972 births Living people Akron Aeros players Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from Minnesota Baseball players from Minnesota Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston RiverDogs players Charlotte Rangers players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Hudson Valley Renegades players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Long Island Ducks players Louisville Bats players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball coaches Montreal Expos players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players People from Edina, Minnesota Portland Beavers players Richmond Braves players Rimini Baseball Club players American expatriate baseball players in Italy Round Rock Express players San Francisco Giants players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners coaches Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Sportspeople from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area St. Paul Saints players Tulsa Drillers players Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players