By By Austin Bishop / EMG regional sports director
July 5, 2002
Jamie Brown and Baseball Hall of Fame member Tommy John may not be blood brothers, but they are at least elbow brothers.
Just three starts into the 2001 baseball season Brown, a former West Lauderdale and Meridian Community College pitching standout, had to go on the disabled list because of the pain in his elbow.
But then the big right-hander opted to undergo Tommy John Surgery,' to replace the ligament in his elbow that was 50 percent torn. The surgery is named after John, because he was the first player to come back and have a successful career after having the procedure.
But then he decided to go through the rehabilitation and see how it turned out. While Brown's return to the mound may not be a miracle, it is certainly ahead of schedule.
After getting some work in extended spring training, Brown was called back to Akron to see if he could regain his form.
In one of his first games back, he recognized the name of the other team's pitching coach. It was Tommy John.
The way the 25-year-old Brown has been pitching, it may not be long before more folks are seeking his autograph.
In his last four starts for the Akron Aeroes of the Class AA Eastern League, he has been beyond nasty. Brown has won three of those starts, and should have won the fourth, but the bullpen blew a two-run lead in the eighth inning.
Over that span he has pitched 28 innings, allowing just 16 hits and two earned runs, while striking out 25 and walking just three.
Brown has long been known as a power pitcher, making the radar gun buzz at around 94 miles per hour.
He said he has had good command of all three of his primary pitches fastball, slider and changeup since coming back.
Brown will be a free agent at the end of this season, and doesn't really know what his future holds.
One June 18 Brown struck out six and walked none in eight innings as his Aeroes beat New Haven 4-0. His next outing on June 23, saw Brown go six innings, strike out four and allowed just one earned run as Akron took a 6-3 win over New Britain.
That game was a special thrill for Brown, because he got a chance to follow big league reliever Paul Shuey who was in Akron for a one-inning rehab assignment to the mound.
Brown's next start was perhaps his best of the season.
He went seven innings in a 7-2 win over Harrisburg, striking out 10 and walking just one, while allowing just three hits and no earned runs.
It looked like Brown was headed to his sixth straight win on Wednesday night when he left the mound after seven innings with the Aeroes leading 3-1. But the Bowie Bay Sox hit for a three-run homer off the bullpen in the eighth inning to take a 4-3 win.
Brown allowed just four hits and one earned run, while striking out five and walking two.
Brown currently leads all Akron starters with an ERA of 2.34, giving up just 39 hits and striking out 28 in 42.1 innings of work.