Brown Rage

Kevin Brown is as intense as they come. When the Yankees obtained his contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers, they knew what they were getting. They were getting a pitcher who wants to win as much as anyone who ever played the game in exchange for a pitcher who wasn't especially upset about giving up a game winning home run in the twelfth inning of Game 4 of last year's World Series.

Kevin Brown has pitched inconsistently this season for a number of reasons, ranging from an intestinal parasite to a bad back, but to Kevin Brown, those things do not matter. Oh, they matter, but to Brown, it is an absolute. You either pitch well and win or you don't. There are no excuses. The reasons you did what you did are irrelevant. That is Kevin Brown's strength.

Brown gets mad at himself. He is filled with rage and frustration when he doesn't do what he thinks he must do. Self criticism, anger and temper are an integral part of Kevin Brown. They are as much a part of his effectiveness as his sinking fastball. As Vince Lombardi, an American icon once stated, "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser."

On September 3, in a start against the Orioles, Brown hurt his knee while covering first base on an awkward play in the fifth inning, he was hit on the right forearm by a Miguel Tejada RBI single that was hit back to the mound in the sixth inning, and he left the game trailing 3-1. Brown went into the clubhouse and smashed a wall with his left or non pitching hand, breaking it.

"Stupidity," Brown said, choosing his words carefully. "I reacted to frustration I'd swallowed all year. ... There are no excuses. I let it boil over and I did something stupid. I owe my teammates an apology for letting my emotions take over like that."

Brown vowed that he would return before the season ended and he did. In his first start back, the Red Sox blasted him, driving him from the mound in the first inning, but he pitched well in his second start, going five innings against Toronto. Last night, he won the pivotal third game in the first playoff round against the Twins to give the Yankees a 2-1 edge in the series.

If Kevin Brown tried to or were forced to reign in his emotions, he would not be one of the best pitchers in the game. Brown has a maniacal drive to win and it is from that drive that he gets his strength. Remember when Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner got mad? He was transformed into The Incredible Hulk, who was a raging, incredible, angry force.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic