Brian Alexander Stokes (born September 7, 1979) 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 ...

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. He played for the

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, and

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Early life

Stokes was born in Montclair, California, and graduated from Jurupa Valley High School. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Riverside Community College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

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Career

On October 2, 1998, Stokes was signed 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 ...

by the

. He spent his first professional season with the

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in . While with Princeton, he led the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

in games finished with 35. He pitched for Charleston (Single-A) in , allowing one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

in 70.1 innings pitched. Stokes pitched his first

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

at Mudville on June 23, 2001, but lost the game. He played for

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

during the season, leading the team in wins (10) and

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s (154). He threw his first professional

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on July 14 against San Jose. Stokes started ten games for

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(Double-A) before undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in , resulting in his missing the entire season. In , Stokes pitched for both Visalia (Single-A) and Montgomery (Double-A). A

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury sidelined him for the month of July. He was recalled from Durham ( Triple-A) on September 2, 2005. Stokes made his major league debut on September 3, 2006. In 2007, Brian's 59 appearances were fourth among American League

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

New York Mets

On November 28, 2007, Stokes was sent from Tampa Bay to the

for cash considerations and was added to the Mets' 40-man roster. During

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

on the last day, 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 ...

. He started the season with the Mets Triple-A affiliate, the

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. He was called up to the Mets on August 9, 2008, to start in place of injured starting pitcher, John Maine.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 22, 2010, Stokes was traded to the

for Gary Matthews, Jr. He was released by the Angels on September 7, 2010, after making 16 appearances with an 8.10 ERA.

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 21, 2010, Stokes signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with 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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. On February 14, 2011, Stokes' contract was voided by the Blue Jays "due to the results of his physical".http://gregorchisholm.mlblogs.com/archives/2011/02/updated-list-of-players-attending-camp.html

Camden Riversharks

On April 9, 2011, Stokes signed with the Camden Riversharks of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 31 games (1 start) he threw 36.1 innings going 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 11 saves.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On August 1, 2011, Stokes signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

, he was assigned to the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

. He became a free agent following the season on November 2.

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Brian Jurupa Valley, California 1979 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Devil Rays players New York Mets players Los Angeles Angels players Princeton Devil Rays players Charleston RiverDogs players Bakersfield Blaze players Orlando Rays players Visalia Oaks players Montgomery Biscuits players Riverside City Tigers baseball players Durham Bulls players New Orleans Zephyrs players Salt Lake Bees players Baseball players from San Bernardino County, California Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Camden Riversharks players Reno Aces players People from Montclair, California