Brian Edward Bohanon (born August 1, 1968) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for five teams in a span of seven seasons from 1990 through 2001.

Career

Bohanon played baseball at North Shore High School in Texas. As a senior, he pitched 135.2 innings, won 17 games and had an earned run average of 1.72 en route to the state finals. He pitched three

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s in high school and was twice named the Houston Player of the Year. He was selected by the Texas Rangers with the 19th pick of the 1987 MLB Draft and received a $137,000 signing bonus. He was assigned to the Gulf Coast League to begin his career. Prior to the 1990 season, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' ranked him the 45th-best

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in baseball and the fifth-best in the Rangers' system. Bohanon made his Major League debut with the Rangers on April 10, 1990, pitching a scoreless inning in relief of Charlie Hough at the

SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, i ...

. He recorded his first Major League strikeout on April 25 of that season against Robin Ventura and made his first start five days later in Chicago against the White Sox. Bohanon spent parts of his first five seasons with the Rangers, often being called up as an injury replacement. His fastball rarely exceeded . Bohanon spent 1995 with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and 1996 with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 20 appearances for the Blue Jays, he worked exclusively out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. Bohanon's best seasons came in 1997 and 1998 with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers. Bohanon enjoyed what he called a breakthrough season in 1997 with the Mets before being traded to Los Angeles for Greg McMichael during the 1998 campaign, where he also pitched well. Before the 1998 season, Bohanon signed with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

for three years and $9 million despite having what Tom Verducci described in a '' Sports Illustrated'' article as "ordinary credentials." Bohanon was a regular with the Rockies for over two seasons and accumulated far more starts and innings pitched with the Rockies than with any other club. Following the 2000 season, he underwent surgery on his elbow. In August 2001, he underwent surgery on bone spurs in his pitching elbow. He would go on to appear with the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

in 2002 but would not appear in another Major League game. Bohanon posted a 54–60 record with 671 strikeouts and a 5.19 ERA. In 231 career

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s, he hit .229 with three home runs.

Personal life

Bohanon and his wife, Tina, had multiple children. Their son Brandon played college baseball at the

University of Houston-Victoria A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', whic ...

for coach

Terry Puhl Terry Stephen Puhl (born July 8, 1956) is a Canadian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a outfielder from 1977 to 1991, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros where he helped the franc ...

Sources

External links

o
Retrosheet
o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohanon, Brian 1968 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Texas Charlotte Rangers players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players Gulf Coast Rangers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma City 89ers players Sportspeople from Denton, Texas Syracuse Chiefs players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Tulsa Drillers players North Shore Senior High School (Texas) alumni