Brian Bohanon: Late Nineties Mets Pitcher (1997-1998)

Brian Edward Bohanon was born August 2, 1968, in Denton, Texas. The big six-foot two left hander was a first-round draft pick (19th pick overall) for the Texas Rangers in 1987.

He began his career in 1990, as a starter in Texas, going 4-7 over two seasons. He spent five seasons with the Rangers and then moved on to the Detroit Tigers. He made 52 appearances going was 1-1 in ten starts .

Next it was off to Toronto where he was primarily a middle reliever for the Blue Jays in 1996. For 1997 he signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.

Mets Career: Bohanon made his Mets debut on April 6th, 1997, starting the sixth game of the year. He earned a win, pitching seven innings allowing just two runs to the Giants in San Francisco. In his next game, he came in relief in the 14th inning of a game in Los Angeles. He earned the loss when he gave up a single to Bret Butler & Barry Manuel served up Mike Piazza a walk off HR.

As the month went on he got hit hard, allowing two earned runs in each of his next four outings. He was sent to AAA Norfolk & had his best minor league season there, going 9-3 earning him another Mets call up in late July.

He would get put into the starting rotation once again. On July 23rd, he won a 2-1 game against the Dodgers, pitching five innings of one run, four hit ball.  On August 8th, he pitched into the 8th inning, allowing one run to the Astros for another victory.

He would take two straight losses, before a win in Baltimore. In that game he allowed five runs but the Mets scored 13 in a 13-6 win.

He got run support in his next two win in September as well. Bohanon ending up with a 6-4 record, posting a 3.82 ERA, allowing 95 hits in 94 innings pitched, striking out 66 batters. He pitched beyond the 5th inning ten times in 14 games that he started.

1998: Bohanon was back in the Met bullpen in 1998, making a few spot starts. He won two games in relief in May, but then lost two with a blown save in June. On July 3rd, he gave up three runs to the Braves in a start & took another losing decision to get to 2-4 on the year. On July 10th, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Greg McMichael. 

Post Mets Career: The first time he went up against the Mets again he took a loss, even though he only allowed one earned run through six innings of work.

Bohanon went on to the Colorado Rockies, enjoying success in 1999 & 2000. He was a 12 game winner both seasons pitching over 177 innings both years, including a career high 197 in 1999. 

In his last outing against the Mets in 2001 he gave up eight runs at Coors Field, taking the loss. He needed elbow surgery due to bone spurs & his MLB career ended in 2001.
In a 12 year career he pitched in 304 games, with a 54-60 lifetime record,
posting two saves and a 5.19 ERA. He struck out 671 batters while walking 489 in 1116 innings of work.

Family: Brian & his wife Tina have a son who played baseball at the University of Houston.