He made a dramatic comeback from the brink of retirement and flamed out in the majors. Will former KBO player Aaron Brooks (34⋅Oakland Athletics) be able to rewrite the history books in the major leagues?
Brooks took the mound against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, on Saturday (Sept. 16), allowing three runs on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts in seven innings of work, earning a Quality Start Plus.
After debuting with the Kansas City Royals in 2014, Brooks spent 2019 splitting time between Oakland and Baltimore, going 6-8 with a 5.65 ERA in 29 games (18 starts) and 110 innings. Then, in 2020, he made a surprise signing with the Kia Tigers to take on a new challenge. Brooks' move to South Korea came as a surprise, as he thought his major league career was well on its way.
In 2020, Brooks went 11-4 with a 2.50 ERA in 23 games (151 1/3 innings) and ended his season early due to personal issues, but he was re-signed the following year. He wasn't as dominant as he had been in 2020, and he had some nagging injuries, but he still went 3-5 with a 3.35 ERA in 13 games. However, in August 2021, he was released after being caught trying to smuggle hemp-infused liquids and hemp jelly into the team. He was also accused of smoking cannabis. In a trial in 2022, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and three years of probation for violating the Narcotics Control Act, and left South Korea. Despite being the losing pitcher on the day, Brooks' Quality Start Plus pitching was enough to surprise everyone. Backed by a four-seam fastball that topped out at 94.8 mph (152.5 km/h), Brooks threw a slider (21), changeup (30), sinker (17), sinker (15), and knuckleball (1) to keep the Houston lineup in check.
In 2022, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, 토토사이트 where he pitched five games and posted a 7.71 ERA in 9 1/3 innings, and in 2023, he signed with the San Diego Padres, but never made it to the majors. This is his first major league start since 2022. In terms of starts, it was his first start in 1706 days since September 14, 2019, against the Detroit Tigers (5⅓ innings, seven hits, three walks, two runs) with the Baltimore Orioles.
Brooks was 1-6 with a 4.57 ERA in eight games (43⅓ innings) for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators this season. But Oakland's starting rotation has been decimated by injuries. Paul Blackburn is out with a right foot injury and Alex Wood is out with a shoulder injury. Ken Waldichuk is scheduled to undergo elbow surgery. They needed a starter, and Brooks got his chance.
It was the first time since 2015 that Brooks went more than seven innings. It had been 3,148 days since he pitched a Quality Start-plus game against the Seattle Mariners on Oct. 3, 2015, while with Oakland (seven innings, six hits, one walk, four strikeouts, one earned run). On Sept. 21, 2019, Brooks allowed one run on one hit, one walk and four strikeouts in seven innings against Seattle for Baltimore, but that was in relief.
Brooks gave up two runs in the first inning, but didn't get any help from his defense. He also gave up a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning that led to three runs, but he pitched well from the fifth through the seventh innings, which was his best outing of the year.
Brooks told MLB.com and other local media outlets after the game that he considered retiring last winter because he couldn't find a team to play for. “I usually sign a contract in December,” Brooks said, “and I talked to my family and said, 'If it's the will of the universe, it's going to be right. We're going to move forward,” Brooks said, adding that he and his family realized it was time to plan for the next phase of his life.
Still, Brooks kept his eye on the ball and continued to build his body. He didn't hear from her until February. But a text changed his fate. Brooks was still working out and getting in shape to pitch right away in case the call came, MLB.com reports. He picked up his phone and texted Oakland general manager David Post. The two had a long-standing relationship. They first met in 2015, along with Sean Manaea, in the Ben Zobrist trade, and then reunited in 2018 after being assigned to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 draft,” Brooks explained.
“I figured it couldn't hurt to text him and say, ‘Hey, see if there's a spot,’” Brooks said. The Post offered Brooks a minor league contract on Feb. 9, less than a week before spring training, and he began the season at Triple-A, where he was given another shot at a major league start.
“I'm not going to lie,” Brooks said. I was a little nervous in the first inning, and I was a little nervous to get out of a jam. I thought I did a good job of keeping the Houston lineup in check,” Brooks explained.
Manager Mark Katsay was impressed with Brooks' pitching, saying, “Aaron (Brooks) threw the ball really well. He made the defense pay for at least one run in the first inning. It was the Brooks I remembered from before. He's a pitcher who can run the game well and throw strikes.” ‘We'll see where we go with Brooks,’ he said. You can't overlook what Brooks did tonight against a good lineup. He took advantage of the opportunity that came his way,” he said, emphasizing that there will be more opportunities for Brooks.
While Merrill Kelly (ex-SK) of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Brooks Reilly (ex-Lotte) of the New York Mets are currently sidelined due to injury, Eric Peddie (ex-NC) and Chris Flexen (ex-Doosan) of the Chicago White Sox, Ben Lively (ex-Samsung) of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Albert Suarez (ex-Samsung) of the Baltimore Orioles are other KBO pitchers who are playing in the major leagues. It will be interesting to see if Brooks can keep his major league survival chances alive with his seven innings of relief.
Brooks took the mound against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, on Saturday (Sept. 16), allowing three runs on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts in seven innings of work, earning a Quality Start Plus.
After debuting with the Kansas City Royals in 2014, Brooks spent 2019 splitting time between Oakland and Baltimore, going 6-8 with a 5.65 ERA in 29 games (18 starts) and 110 innings. Then, in 2020, he made a surprise signing with the Kia Tigers to take on a new challenge. Brooks' move to South Korea came as a surprise, as he thought his major league career was well on its way.
In 2020, Brooks went 11-4 with a 2.50 ERA in 23 games (151 1/3 innings) and ended his season early due to personal issues, but he was re-signed the following year. He wasn't as dominant as he had been in 2020, and he had some nagging injuries, but he still went 3-5 with a 3.35 ERA in 13 games. However, in August 2021, he was released after being caught trying to smuggle hemp-infused liquids and hemp jelly into the team. He was also accused of smoking cannabis. In a trial in 2022, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and three years of probation for violating the Narcotics Control Act, and left South Korea. Despite being the losing pitcher on the day, Brooks' Quality Start Plus pitching was enough to surprise everyone. Backed by a four-seam fastball that topped out at 94.8 mph (152.5 km/h), Brooks threw a slider (21), changeup (30), sinker (17), sinker (15), and knuckleball (1) to keep the Houston lineup in check.
In 2022, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, 토토사이트 where he pitched five games and posted a 7.71 ERA in 9 1/3 innings, and in 2023, he signed with the San Diego Padres, but never made it to the majors. This is his first major league start since 2022. In terms of starts, it was his first start in 1706 days since September 14, 2019, against the Detroit Tigers (5⅓ innings, seven hits, three walks, two runs) with the Baltimore Orioles.
Brooks was 1-6 with a 4.57 ERA in eight games (43⅓ innings) for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators this season. But Oakland's starting rotation has been decimated by injuries. Paul Blackburn is out with a right foot injury and Alex Wood is out with a shoulder injury. Ken Waldichuk is scheduled to undergo elbow surgery. They needed a starter, and Brooks got his chance.
It was the first time since 2015 that Brooks went more than seven innings. It had been 3,148 days since he pitched a Quality Start-plus game against the Seattle Mariners on Oct. 3, 2015, while with Oakland (seven innings, six hits, one walk, four strikeouts, one earned run). On Sept. 21, 2019, Brooks allowed one run on one hit, one walk and four strikeouts in seven innings against Seattle for Baltimore, but that was in relief.
Brooks gave up two runs in the first inning, but didn't get any help from his defense. He also gave up a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning that led to three runs, but he pitched well from the fifth through the seventh innings, which was his best outing of the year.
Brooks told MLB.com and other local media outlets after the game that he considered retiring last winter because he couldn't find a team to play for. “I usually sign a contract in December,” Brooks said, “and I talked to my family and said, 'If it's the will of the universe, it's going to be right. We're going to move forward,” Brooks said, adding that he and his family realized it was time to plan for the next phase of his life.
Still, Brooks kept his eye on the ball and continued to build his body. He didn't hear from her until February. But a text changed his fate. Brooks was still working out and getting in shape to pitch right away in case the call came, MLB.com reports. He picked up his phone and texted Oakland general manager David Post. The two had a long-standing relationship. They first met in 2015, along with Sean Manaea, in the Ben Zobrist trade, and then reunited in 2018 after being assigned to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 draft,” Brooks explained.
“I figured it couldn't hurt to text him and say, ‘Hey, see if there's a spot,’” Brooks said. The Post offered Brooks a minor league contract on Feb. 9, less than a week before spring training, and he began the season at Triple-A, where he was given another shot at a major league start.
“I'm not going to lie,” Brooks said. I was a little nervous in the first inning, and I was a little nervous to get out of a jam. I thought I did a good job of keeping the Houston lineup in check,” Brooks explained.
Manager Mark Katsay was impressed with Brooks' pitching, saying, “Aaron (Brooks) threw the ball really well. He made the defense pay for at least one run in the first inning. It was the Brooks I remembered from before. He's a pitcher who can run the game well and throw strikes.” ‘We'll see where we go with Brooks,’ he said. You can't overlook what Brooks did tonight against a good lineup. He took advantage of the opportunity that came his way,” he said, emphasizing that there will be more opportunities for Brooks.
While Merrill Kelly (ex-SK) of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Brooks Reilly (ex-Lotte) of the New York Mets are currently sidelined due to injury, Eric Peddie (ex-NC) and Chris Flexen (ex-Doosan) of the Chicago White Sox, Ben Lively (ex-Samsung) of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Albert Suarez (ex-Samsung) of the Baltimore Orioles are other KBO pitchers who are playing in the major leagues. It will be interesting to see if Brooks can keep his major league survival chances alive with his seven innings of relief.