Kevin Michael McGowan (born October 18, 1991) is an American professional

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 t ...

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 a free agent. He has 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

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Career

New York Mets

McGowan attended Nashua High School North in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he played four years of baseball at Holman Stadium and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

. He was named the ''

Nashua Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', for most of its existence known as the ''Nashua Telegraph'', is a daily newspaper in Nashua, New Hampshire. It was founded as the ''Nashua Daily Telegraph'' in 1869, although a weekly version dates back to 1832. Through the 20 ...

'' Baseball Player of the Year as a high school senior. McGowan played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional preparation. The school gained university stat ...

. He was drafted by the

in the 13th round of the

2013 MLB Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. McGowan was called up to the majors for the first time on August 13, 2017 after the Mets traded infielder Neil Walker to the Milwaukee Brewers. McGowan was demoted to the minors on August 17 without having appeared in a game. McGowan was recalled to the majors on August 22 after Steven Matz was placed on this disabled list. He made his major league debut that night at

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in relief of

Tommy Milone Tomaso Anthony Milone ( ; born February 16, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewe ...

. He 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 ...

on January 18, 2018. He was released on September 25, 2018.

Sugar Land Skeeters

On March 19, 2019, McGowan signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In four starts with the Skeeters, McGowan went 2–2 with a 2.29 ERA.

Washington Nationals

On May 21, 2019, McGowan's contract was purchased by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. He was assigned to the minor leagues and became a free agent at the conclusion of the 2019 season.

Eastern Reyes del Tigre

In July 2020, McGowan signed on to play for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the

Constellation Energy League The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for minor league players. History The league consisted of ...

(a makeshift 4-team independent league created as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

) for the 2020 season.

Lexington Legends

On February 26, 2021, McGowan signed with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends ha ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He only appeared in 5 games during the season, posting a 4–1 record with a 4.50 ERA and 22 strikeouts. McGowan was released by the Legends on September 3, 2021.Atlantic League Transactions
/ref>

Personal life

McGowan grew up a

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 eigh ...

fan and his favorite baseball players were David Ortiz,

Manny Ramírez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with ...

and

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

. His uncle, Sean McGowan, played college baseball at Boston College, was selected in the third round of the

1999 MLB Draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

by the

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 Y ...

and played six seasons of minor league baseball.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Kevin 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Nashua, New Hampshire Baseball players from New Hampshire Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Franklin Pierce Ravens baseball players Brooklyn Cyclones players Savannah Sand Gnats players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Binghamton Rumble Ponies players Las Vegas 51s players Lexington Legends players Sugar Land Skeeters players Gulf Coast Nationals players Fresno Grizzlies players Eastern Reyes del Tigre players