Brent Strom

Brent Terry Strom (born October 14, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and active pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He was originally drafted in the sixth round by the California Angels in the June secondary phase of the 1967 amateur draft.

In the January regular phase of the 1967 draft, he was drafted in the second round by the San Francisco Giants, but did not sign either time.

He finally did sign when the Mets drafted him third overall in the 1970 draft.

Strom began his professional career as a starting pitcher in 1970 with the Visalia Mets.

That season, his record was four wins and five losses with a 3.75 earned run average and 79 strikeouts in 72 innings of work.

The following year, he split time between the Memphis Blues and the Tidewater Tides, going a combined 13–5 with a 2.85 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 180 innings of work.

His MLB playing career spanned from 1972 to 1973 and 1975 to 1977 for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres.

He earned a call-up to the majors in 1972 after doing well with the Tidewater Tides.

With Tidewater, he had gone 6–7 with a 3.30 ERA in 142 innings of work.

He made his big league debut on July 31, pitching well against the Montreal Expos.

In his first game, he pitched 6 2⁄3 innings of work, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks, striking out seven in the process.

Although he pitched well, he did not get the decision.

The rest of his season did not turn out well; overall, he appeared in 11 games, starting five of them.

He went 0–3 with a 6.82 ERA.

Strom was traded with Bob Rauch from the Mets to the Indians for Phil Hennigan at the Winter Meetings on November 27, 1972.

He played only one season with the Indians, 1973, going 2–10 with a 4.61 ERA in 27 games (18 starts).

He did not play in the major leagues in 1974, but on June 21 of that year he was sent (with fellow pitcher Terry Ley) to the Padres to complete an earlier trade that occurred on June 15.

The Indians received pitcher Steve Arlin in return.

Strom played on the AAA level in 1974 for both the Cleveland and San Diego organizations.

He went 8–8 in 18 games for the San Diego Padres in 1975.

His 2.54 ERA was second on the team among all pitchers with at least 15 starts; he trailed only Randy Jones' 2.24 ERA.

He had another respectable year in 1976, although his record was 12–16.

In 210 2⁄3 innings, he posted a 3.29 ERA, and his 103 strikeouts led the team.

1977 was his final season in the majors.

He appeared in eight games, making three starts.

He went 0–2 with a 12.42 ERA.

He played his final game on May 17, a game in which the Padres were routed by the Chicago Cubs 23–6.

Although he did not play in the majors after the 1977 season, he remained active in the minors for a few more years.

He did not play ball at all in 1978 after being released by the Padres in March of that year.

After he was released, Strom became the second person to have Tommy John surgery, performed by Drs.

Frank Jobe and Robert Kerlan.

He was signed by the Houston Astros in March 1979.

In his first year in the Astros' farm system, he pitched for the Daytona Beach Astros, the Columbus Astros and the Charleston Charlies.

He went a combined 10–7 with a 3.63 ERA in 139 innings of work.

In 1980, he pitched for the Tucson Toros, Houston’s top farm team, and went 11–6 with a 4.37 ERA in 136 innings.

He served as pitching coach for the Houston Astros in 1996 and from 2014 to 2021, helping guide the club to the 2017 World Series championship.

He also coached the Kansas City Royals from 2000 to 2001.

According to an interview with Tommy John, Strom was the second pitcher to receive Tommy John surgery.

Prior to playing professionally, Strom attended San Diego High School then the University of Southern California, leading them to two NCAA championships.