Brian John Holton (born November 29, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, primarily in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

, from 1985 to 1990.

Biography

Holton was a member of 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

team that won the

1988 World Series The 1988 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1988 season. The 85th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the ...

. He earned a save in game 5 of the 1988 National League Championship Series against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. He had a 7–3 record with a 1.70

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 45 games during the 1988 regular season. Holton, Ken Howell and

Juan Bell Juan Bell Mathey (March 29, 1968 – August 24, 2016) was a Dominican professional baseball player, who played Major League Baseball from 1989 to 1995, primarily as an infielder. MLB career Early career Bell originally signed with the Los An ...

were traded to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

in exchange for

Eddie Murray Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...

on December 4, 1988. Holton's performance declined in his two years in Baltimore, after which he returned to the Dodgers

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

for two years. After baseball, he descended into substance abuse and poverty. He became addicted to alcohol and painkillers, got divorced, worked a series of odd jobs, pawned his

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

, defaulted on

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

payments, was jailed as a result and spent some time in

homeless shelters Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneou ...

References

External links

, o
Baseball Almanac
o

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holton, Brian 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from McKeesport, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen Baltimore Orioles players Clinton Dodgers players Lodi Dodgers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Louisburg Hurricanes baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Dodgers players Jewish American baseball players