Kevin Patrick Beirne (born January 1, 1974) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He is the son of

Jim Beirne James Patrick Beirne (October 15, 1946 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver. He played college football at Purdue University, where he was an 1966 College Football All-America T ...

, who played with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

of the NFL from 1968 to 1976.

Career

Beirne was a star outfielder and wide receiver for

McCullough High School The Woodlands High School is a public high school in The Woodlands CDP, in unincorporated Montgomery County, Texas and is a part of the Conroe Independent School District. Some of the Montgomery County portion of The Woodlands and a portion of ...

The Woodlands, TX The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with por ...

where he was a teammate of future NFL player Larry Izzo. In 1989 as a sophomore, Beirne caught 18 passes in a game against

Westfield High School Westfield High School may refer to: * The Westfield School, Perry, Georgia * Westfield High School (Westfield, Indiana) * Westfield High School (Massachusetts), Westfield, Massachusetts * Westfield Technical Academy, Westfield, Massachusetts * West ...

, at the time placing him second all-time in Texas high school football history for receptions in a single game. He was a first team all-state receiver his senior year and was ranked the #5 high school receiver in the class of '92 in Texas by the

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

. He signed with

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, where he played both baseball and football. Drafted by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in the 11th round of the

MLB 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), ...

amateur draft, Beirne switched from the outfield to pitching in part because a pitcher's schedule fit in better with his football. He did not begin to learn to pitch until he was 21 and playing professionally. Beirne would make his

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), ...

debut with the

on May 17, 2000. Beirne pitched 29 games, all but one of them in relief, for the White Sox that season. His lone start came in late September against 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 ...

. In January , he was traded with Mike Williams,

Brian Simmons Brian Eugene Simmons (born June 21, 1975) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of North Caroli ...

, and

Mike Sirotka Michael Robert Sirotka (born May 13, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He is an alumnus of Louisiana State University. Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 15th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft, Sirotka ...

to the

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 ...

for

Matt DeWitt Matthew Brian DeWitt is a former major league pitcher who briefly played in 29 games with the Toronto Blue Jays (2000–2001) and the San Diego Padres (2002). He also pitched in the minor leagues for the Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers a ...

and

David Wells David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered on ...

. Beirne appeared in only five games for the Blue Jays in 2001 and was granted

free agency 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. He signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in December and had his best and final Major League season for the Dodgers, posting a 3.41 ERA in 29 innings. His last three appearances in the Majors came as a starter. Beirne played professionally in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

from 2003 to 2006.

External links

Fab 55Dodgers article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beirne, Kevin 1974 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Auburn Doubledays players Baseball players from Houston Birmingham Barons players Bristol White Sox players Calgary Cannons players Charlotte Knights players Chiba Lotte Marines players Chicago White Sox players Gulf Coast White Sox players Hickory Crawdads players Las Vegas 51s players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes players Orix Buffaloes players South Bend Silver Hawks players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Texas A&M Aggies baseball players Texas A&M Aggies football players Toronto Blue Jays players Vero Beach Dodgers players Winston-Salem Warthogs players