Brett Myers

Brett Allen Myers (born August 17, 1980) is an American singer and former professional baseball pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians.

Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Myers began his baseball career in high school.

From there, he progressed to the professional ranks and made his MLB debut in 2002 for the Phillies, pitching for the team until 2009, mostly as a starter, but also closing for a time.

Myers made his major league debut in the summer of 2002, starting on July 24 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

He finished his rookie season 4–5 with an earned run average of 4.25, pitching 72 innings.

Myers also pitched the 2003 season with the Phillies, posting 14 wins in 32 starts.

He threw his first career shutout in June 2003 against the Boston Red Sox.

Expectations for Myers were high entering the 2004 season; however, these were tempered somewhat by his 11–11 record.

He pitched his second career shutout in May and recorded a five-game losing streak from June 22 to July 23, receiving minimal run support from the Phillies offense.

2004 was Myers' strongest year on offense, posting a .196 batting average and tying for the team lead in sacrifice hits with Randy Wolf.

The 2005 season was a strong one for Myers, as he posted 13 wins and a career-low ERA of 3.72.

He struck out 208 batters in 215 1⁄3 innings and threw two complete games over the course of the season.

Building on his performance from 2005, Myers was the Phillies' staff ace in 2006, leading the team in wins, ERA, starts, innings pitched, strikeouts and winning percentage.

He became the first visiting pitcher to win a 1–0 game at Coors Field in Colorado, beginning a streak of ten consecutive games where he pitched at least six innings.

On February 1, 2007, the Phillies announced they had agreed to a three-year, $25.75 million contract extension with Myers.

He was also slated to start Opening Day for the Phillies.

However, because of general ineffectiveness and injuries to other pitchers, Myers was moved to the bullpen on April 18, after only three starts.

When closer Tom Gordon was sent to the disabled list because of rotator cuff inflammation on May 2, Myers took over in the closer role for the team.

Following Gordon's return from the disabled list, Myers remained in the closer role due to his effectiveness in the position.

On May 25, 2007, Myers went on the disabled list for the first time in his career with a strained right shoulder.

However, he returned in July to finish the year with 21 saves, remaining as the Philadelphia closer for the rest of the season.

As the Opening Day starter and then the closer, Myers threw the first and last pitches of the 2007 season, and was on the mound as the Phillies clinched their first playoff spot in 14 years.

He proved to be a successful reliever, going 5–5 with a 2.87 ERA in 48 relief appearances.

On August 25, 2007, Myers was involved in an altercation with The Philadelphia Inquirer beat writer Sam Carchidi after Myers gave up two home runs against the San Diego Padres.

Comments made by both the player and the reporter sent Myers into a profanity-laced verbal tirade with Carchidi in which Myers called him a "retard" and threatened to knock him out, while other members of the Phillies and Philadelphia media tried to separate the two.

He was a World Series champion in 2008 with the Phillies over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Myers was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.

As a senior at Englewood High School, he posted an 8–2 record and an 0.80 ERA in 78.0 innings pitched.

Myers was a high school baseball teammate of former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back, Rashean Mathis.

Myers was also an amateur boxer when he was a teenager.

In the off-season, the Phillies had announced that Myers would return to the rotation in 2008, since they had traded for all-star closer Brad Lidge.

Though Myers expressed a desire to remain in the bullpen, he was willing to fulfill whatever role the team required.

"I liked having the chance to pitch every day or every other day as opposed to every fifth day", said Myers.

"I'll do whatever the team needs. I've started my whole career so I'm ready to get back to it."

During spring training 2008, Myers spearheaded an elaborate prank on Kyle Kendrick involving a fake trade to Japan.

The prank was notably successful, with manager Charlie Manuel, then-assistant general manager Rubén Amaro, Jr., the Phillies clubhouse, Kendrick's agent, and the press corps all in on the joke.

Kendrick was completely fooled until Myers jumped in from behind, shouting "You know what I say? You just got punk'd!"

Myers was the Opening Day starter for the Phillies in 2008.

Myers opened the 2008 season weakly; though he pitched deep into games, he did not receive enough run support to cover the number of runs he surrendered.