Brian Lawrence
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College: Northwestern State University of Louisana
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Brian studied business at Northwestern (LA) State University, and helped the Demons to the Southland Conference championships as a sophomore and junior in 1997 and 1998. In 1998 he was selected as the conference pitcher of the year and lead the league in strikeouts and innings pitched. He was named to the All-Louisiana and All-South Central Region teams in 1998. He compiled a 17-10 2.97 ERA in his two years there. When Lawrence made it to the majors in 2001 he became the first player from NSU to make it to the majors since Jim Willis in 1953. Prior to college he graduated from Carthage High School in Texas and was named All-State, All-East Texas, and Player of the Year and District MVP as a senior. Between 1998 and 2000 Lawrence began a steady climb through the Padres minor league system. In 2000 he climbed out of Single-A and shared Padres Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors with Jake Peavy. He was promoted to Triple-A on July 30th and went 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 8 starts to close out the season.Making waves in San Diego (2001-2005) Brian made his first call up to the Padres on April 11 of 2001 but was sent back down to the minors after performing poorly in 6 relief appearances. His first win came April 15 against the Dodgers after working 1.2 innings of no hit relief. On June 23rd he picked up his first win in a start, this time beating the Dodgers in Los Angeles allowing 2 runs on 4 hits in 7.1 innings. He also got his first hit in the game getting a 2 out RBI double off Luke Prokopec in the 4th. He was recalled for the third time on July 15th. He started that night and threw his first complete game to beat the Angels, but was sent back to the minors the following day. He returned to the Padres on July 31 and posted a 3-5 record despite a 3.39 ERA in his final 12 starts. In 2002 B-Law put together his best season to date. Being on the roster for full season for the first time he posted a career best 210 innings notched 12 wins and a 3.69 ERA for the poorly finishing Padres. Brian also recorded two complete games. The first was April 8th against the Diamondbacks, the second was July 17 at Los Angeles. On June 12th Lawrence retired the side against the Orioles with three strike outs on nine pitches. Brian pitched better then his 10-15 record suggested for 2003 as his whip was the best of his career. He also topped his career high in innings with 210.2 and his 4.19 ERA was still almost half a run below the league average. 2004 marked the third year in a row Lawrence pitched 200 innings and set a career high with his 34 starts. His 15-14 record and 4.12 was solid, but disappointing given the success of his teammates in the Padres new pitcher friendly stadium. (Petco Park) Lawrence continued to show his endurance and durability, but he did not have the kind of consistency and command that marked his first four seasons with the Padres. Struggling with his location, he was 2-6 with a 4.19 ERA at PETCO Park, where he figured to flourish. More than any other Padres starter, he was the victim of poor run support. He finished 7-15 with a 4.83 ERA in 33 starts. Wasting away in Washington, Colorado and New York (2006-2007) Lawrence was acquired by the Nationals on November 3 for slugger Vinny Castilla. On February 21 Lawrence cut short his bullpen session, he would throw a bullpen session three days latter but it was found that he had a torn labrum the following day causing him to miss the season. Lawrence signed a one year deal with the Colorado Rockies on January 21 but was released early in the year. On May 6 he signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. He was called up on August 2 and won his first game in almost two years. He finished 1-2 with a 6.83 ERA in six starts for the Mets before being designated for assignment in September. Trying to start over in Kansas City (2008) Lawrence had to accept a minor league contract with a spring training invite for the 2008 season. |
