Dewon Cortez Brazelton (born June 16, 1980) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...

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) ...

. He played professionally for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

and 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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2006.

Early life

Brazelton was born in

Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma microp ...

and graduated from Tullahoma High School in Tullahoma. While pitching in high school, Brazelton had knee surgery in 1995, then

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), 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 ...

in 1996. He 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 pl ...

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...

. In 1999, 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 operate ...

with the

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

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 one thous ...

Professional career

The

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

selected him with the third overall

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...

pick in the first round of the 2001 MLB amateur draft, and Brazelton made his MLB debut September 13, 2002. In 2004, Brazelton, after being called the second coming of Roger Clemens by Peter Gammons, received the Tony Conigliaro Award. After Stuart Sternberg took over as principal owner of the Devil Rays, Brazelton was traded during the 2005 annual baseball winter meetings to the Padres for

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

Sean Burroughs. In

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

of 2006, Brazelton appeared impressive, going 1–0 with a 1.77 ERA in 5 starts and earned the position of fourth starter in the Padres's four-man rotation, behind Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and

Shawn Estes Aaron Shawn Estes (born February 18, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. High school Estes attended Douglas High School in Minden, Nevada. As a senior in 1991, he was named Gatorade's Nevada State Baseball Player of the Year and fin ...

. However, Brazelton's first two starts were disastrous, taking the loss for both while pitching a combined 6 innings and giving up 17

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

and 17 earned runs. Brazelton was then moved to 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 ...

and used as a spot reliever where between March 8 and April 19, he pitched 11.1 innings with a 2.31 ERA. However, on May 11 against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

, Brazelton came in relief of Jake Peavy in the 8th inning with an 8–0 lead and gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

without recording an out. Brazelton was promptly demoted to the Padres' AAA affiliate the following day and has not pitched in the major leagues since. On December 4, 2006, the

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) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

signed Brazelton to a minor league contract, only to be released from their Triple-A Omaha affiliate on April 27, 2007. On June 2, 2007, 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 (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

signed Brazelton to a minor league contract and assigned him to their Double-A affiliate, the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

. After becoming a free agent, following the conclusion of the 2007 season, the St. Louis Cardinals signed Brazelton to a minor league contract, but he was released during spring training. Brazelton signed with the

Camden Riversharks The Camden Riversharks were an American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not at that time affiliated ...

on April 4, 2009. On April 13, the Kansas City T-Bones of the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

signed Brazelton to a contract for the 2010 season. He pitched in just two games for them before being granted free agency.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazelton, Dewon 1980 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Devil Rays players San Diego Padres players Baseball players from Tennessee African-American baseball players Durham Bulls players Orlando Rays players Bakersfield Blaze players Montgomery Biscuits players Arizona League Padres players Portland Beavers players Omaha Royals players Altoona Curve players Camden Riversharks players Kansas City T-Bones players Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders baseball players All-American college baseball players Harwich Mariners players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people