Brandon McCarthy

Brandon Patrick McCarthy (born July 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and front office executive.

He is the special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves.

He is a minority owner of Phoenix Rising FC, of the USL Championship.

McCarthy was born and raised in Glendale, California.

McCarthy graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2001.

He attended Lamar Community College for the 2002 season, where he was 12–0 as a starter and helped them to a third-place finish in the 2002 Junior College World Series.

McCarthy was drafted in the 17th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago White Sox.

McCarthy made his professional baseball debut with the White Sox affiliate in the rookie Arizona League.

He made 14 starts and was 4–4 with a 2.76 ERA and he led the league in strikeouts with 79.

He was promoted to the Great Falls White Sox of the Pioneer League for the 2003 season.

McCarthy posted impressive stats and showed excellent control, pitching 101 innings, striking out 125 batters, and walking only 15 batters.

He finished 9–4 with a 3.65 ERA while making 15 starts.

He led the league in innings pitched and strikeouts and recorded 12 strikeouts in a complete game against the Provo Angels on June 29.

In 2004, he began the season with the Class-A Kannapolis Intimidators, starting 15 games and accumulating an 8–5 record and 3.64 ERA.

His 113 strikeouts led the team and he was selected to the mid-season South Atlantic League All-Star game.

On July 1, he was promoted to the Winston-Salem Warthogs of the Carolina League.

In a game against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on July 31, he struck out 16 batters.

In eight starts he was 6–0 with a 2.08 ERA and walked just three batters in 52 innings.

McCarthy was promoted to the Double-A Birmingham Barons of the Southern League on August 12.

In four starts he was 3–1 with a 3.46 ERA however he allowed four runs in six innings to take the loss in game one of the Southern League playoffs.

Overall, he led all minor league pitchers in strikeouts, with 202.

He was named a starting pitcher on Baseball America's 2004 minor league all-star team and was selected by the White Sox as their minor league player of the year.

He received a non roster invitation to major league spring training in 2005 and Baseball America ranked him as the Sox #3 prospect and with the best control in the system entering the season.

He began the season in Triple-A with the Charlotte Knights of the International League where he made 19 starts and was 7–7 with a 4.00 ERA.

McCarthy made his major league debut on May 22, 2005, as a spot starter for the White Sox, allowing two runs in 5 1⁄3 innings, in a game against the Chicago Cubs.

He picked up his first win when he pitched 7 2⁄3 scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers in the second game of a double-header on August 30.

He pitched in 12 games (10 starts) with the club, going 3–2, but did not pitch in the postseason as the White Sox went on to win the World Series.

He earned a permanent spot on the team as a reliever in 2006, appearing in 53 games while making a few spot starts.

He finished the season 4–7 with a 4.68 ERA in innings.

On December 23, 2006, McCarthy and minor leaguer David Paisano were traded to the Texas Rangers for John Danks, Nick Masset and Jake Rasner.

He endured an injury-plagued season in his first year for the Rangers (and his first full year as a starter) in 2007, most notably dealing with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade that kept him sidelined for nearly 2 months.

He finished the season with a 5–10 record with a 4.87 ERA in 22 starts.

In 2008, as he developed inflammation in his right elbow during spring training.

He began rehabbing between July and August and finished the season making 5 starts for the Rangers.

After opening the 2009 season in the rotation, McCarthy went on to pitch 17 starts in a row before undergoing surgery in July.

He missed the remainder of the season.

He missed the whole 2010 season recovering from the surgery on his right shoulder, though he did make 11 rehab starts in the minor leagues, going 4–2.

After being outrighted by the Rangers, McCarthy signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics on December 14, 2010, for one year and $1 million.

As part of the starting pitcher rotation for the Athletics in 2011, McCarthy strengthened his mechanics and had his most productive major league season, starting 25 games and pitching five complete games.