Brett Lewis' in Professional Baseball (Part 1)

(Pictured: Brett Lewis' teammate on the 1987 Pocatello Giants, Jimmy Myers)

In anticipation of the upcoming baseball season, I'll provide a brief report this week on each Brett Lewis who ever played professional baseball (at least those listed at baseball-reference.com). You may ask, "Why, sir, would you waste your time on such a passion?" And I tell you, "to celebrate baseball, dear citizen, and to aspire to the greatness of the men who share my name who have achieved enough success to receive compensation for playing a child's game." Enjoy! 

Brett H. Lewis was a 6 foot 3, 185 pound, right-hand pitcher who was 23 years old when he played his one season of professional baseball for the Pocatello Giants of the Pioneer League in 1987. Pocatello is the fifth-largest city in Idaho. The Giants, it's hardly worth saying, were an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, playing at the Rookie-class level, the lowest on organized professional baseball's hierarchy.

The Giants were not good. The boys from Pocatello went 26-44, allowing 115 more runs than they scored. Lewis was a bullpen hand, never recording a start. He threw 47.1 innings and gave up 40 runs. However, only 28 of those runs were earned as the Pocatello Giants were awful on defense. He completed his only season in professional baseball with a 5.32 ERA.

Some guys on the team did worse, like Jimmy Myers, who, at the tender age of 18, threw only 19.2 innings, giving up 19 earned runs.

Perhaps because of his age, the young Myers continued to play many more years of professional baseball, 13 in toto. He was even called up for a cup of coffee with the Baltimore Orioles in 1996. In his MLB stint, the right hander from Oklahoma City threw in 11 games for 14 innings, allowing 18 hits, 4 home runs and 3 walks for 11 earned runs. His WAR came in at -0.3, and indeed he was replaced as the Orioles went into their post-season campaign without the not-so-young Myers (who was by then 26 years old, likely not showing the same sterling youthful promise that he did in that 1987 season when he played on the same team as Brett H. Lewis). Without Myers, the Orioles won their divisional series (3-1) over the Cleveland Indians, but fell to the eventual World Series-champion New York Yankees (4-1) in the American League Championship Series.

Brett H. Lewis must have had major league dreams when he embarked on his professional baseball career; even if only for a cup of coffee with Cal Ripkin, as Myers got to enjoy:

"Can I get you a cup of coffee, Mr. Ripkin?" said imaginary Myers.

"No, son, we're about to play an important game against our divisional rival the Toronto Blue Jays," replied an imaginary Ripkin.

"Oh, yeah! Gosh it's great to be here."

"Have you thought about maybe developing skills outside of baseball, son? . . . I'm sorry, I forget what your name was."

"Jimmy Myers, sir! I'm sorry, did you say you wanted coffee, Mr. Ripkin?"

"No."

Silence filled the space between Myers, who appeared awestruck, and Ripkin, who was stoic, granite faced.

"Now, hustle out to the bullpen, boy!" said Ripkin in an enthusiastic tone he conjured up roughly 10 times a year to show his appreciation for the minor-league call ups while also getting them out of his hair. To become the Iron Man, you'd better develop some tricks.

"Yes, sir!" said Myers, exhibiting an excited hop in his step as he sprinted out of the dugout and toward the Cameron Yards bullpen.1

Myers' career lasted three more minor-league-filled seasons, finally ending with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Red Barons in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1999. He began work for Dunder Mifflin following the Red Barrons' 73-71 campaign.2

Now, this scrivener pokes fun at Myers, but a 13-year minor league career is nothing of which to be ashamed. He even had his big-league moment, while poor Brett H.'s career ended with just a few dozen innings in the lowest tier of professional baseball.

But if you read between the lines you can imagine a happy story for Brett H. He entered Rookie ball as a 23-year-old which likely means he obtained some sort of college education, or otherwise marketable skill before entering the hallowed grounds of Halliwell Park. Although there is no information listed for Brett H.'s hometown or college-level experience, we can only guess that the now 50-year-old veteran of the Pioneer League is a physical education teacher at a high school somewhere in middle America where he also is the school's pitching coach.


1. Not a real conversation. 

2. Not a real fact.

* Post inspired by a Notgraphs posting.