Brandon J. Duckworth (born January 23, 1976) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, who is currently a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. He played 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 ...

(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, and

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

. Since 2014, Duckworth has worked for 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) Am ...

professional scouting department.

Career

Duckworth graduated from

Kearns High School Kearns High School is a public high school located at 5525 S. Cougar Lane (4800 W.) Kearns, Utah, United States. It was opened in 1966 with its first graduating class graduating in 1967. It serves 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. The of ...

in Kearns, Utah, in 1994. He attended the

College of Southern Idaho College of Southern Idaho (CSI) is a public community college in Twin Falls, Idaho. It also has off-campus programs in Jerome, Hailey, Burley and Gooding. Together with the College of Eastern Idaho, College of Western Idaho and North Ida ...

and

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

. In 1997, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Bro ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. On August 13, 1997, Duckworth signed with the

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

. He made his MLB debut with the Phillies on August 7, 2001, in a home game versus the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, at Philadelphia's

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating ca ...

. From 2001 through 2003, Duckworth compiled a 15–18

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

in 65 games (58 starts). On November 3, 2003, the Phillies traded Duckworth, along with minor leaguers Taylor Buchholz and Ezequiel Astacio, to the

for

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston ...

. Duckworth spent the next two years in Houston, splitting his playing time between the majors and Triple-A. Duckworth signed a minor league contract with 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

on January 5, 2006. He began the season with the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, going 8–3 with a 2.42 ERA in 12 starts. On June 11, 2006, Duckworth was traded by Pittsburgh to the

for cash considerations. He was immediately added to the Royals' starting rotation, and took the loss in his Royals debut on June 13 despite allowing just two

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

in innings. He finished the season with a 1–5 record and a 6.11 ERA in 10 games (eight starts). On April 28, 2007, Duckworth picked up the only save of his MLB career, going three innings of shutout baseball to close out a 8–3 victory over the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners 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 ...

. He held down the win for starter

Gil Meche Gilbert Allen Meche (; born September 8, 1978) is an American former right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Meche pitched for the Seattle Mariners for six seasons. With the Kansas City Royals, Meche made three straight Opening Day s ...

. Duckworth spent the majority of the season in the bullpen, going 3–5 with one save and a 4.63 ERA in 26 games (three starts). Duckworth signed a one-year deal with the Royals to avoid arbitration on December 12, 2007. However, in January 2008, 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 ...

by the Royals to make room on the organizational roster for free agent signee Brett Tomko. Duckworth passed through waivers, and on February 1, the Royals announced that he had accepted an assignment to the Triple-A

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 41st-most-populous city, Omaha had a popu ...

. On August 24, 2008, Duckworth was recalled by Kansas City to start; in his first game, he went five innings while giving up three earned runs, and was credited with the

win Win or WIN most likely refers to: * A victory Win, Winning, WIN or Winner may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * '' Win!'', a 2016 American film Literature * ''Win'' (Coben novel), 2021 * WIN (pacifist magazine) * WIN (wrestling ma ...

. Duckworth was 3–3 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts to finish the 2008 season. Duckworth spent the 2009 season with Triple-A Omaha, going 3–6 with a 5.31 ERA in 20 games (19 starts). In October 2009, Duckworth was granted free agency. In January 2010, Duckworth signed a minor league contract to return to the Philadelphia Phillies organization. On December 3, 2010, Duckworth signed a minor league contract with 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. On July 25, 2012, the Red Sox granted him his release so he could play in Japan. Duckworth pitched for the

in 2012 and 2013. After the 2013 season, Duckworth joined the

as a scout. As of 2019, he remained in the employ of the Yankees professional scouting department.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Brandon 1976 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Salt Lake City Brewster Whitecaps players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Clearwater Phillies players Houston Astros players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Royals players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Yankees scouts Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Philadelphia Phillies players Piedmont Boll Weevils players Reading Phillies players Round Rock Express players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Southern Idaho Golden Eagles baseball players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players 21st-century American sportsmen Wilmington Blue Rocks players People from Kearns, Utah Sportspeople from Salt Lake County, Utah Mat-Su Miners players