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**Brian Bruney**
Brian Bruney
;
	New York Yankees — No. 99
	Relief pitcher
	Born: February 17, 1982 (age 27); Astoria, Oregon
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
	May 8, 2004 for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Career statistics; (through 2009 season)
Win-Loss	16-10
Earned run average	4.27
Strikeouts	218
Walks	153
Teams
	Arizona Diamondbacks (2004-2005); New York Yankees (2006-present);

|awards=

World Series champion (2009)

}} Brian Anthony Bruney (born on February 17, 1982, in Astoria, Oregon) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the New York Yankees.

[edit] Arizona Diamondbacks

Bruney was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks after graduating from Warrenton High School in 2000. Bruney pitched in the minors from 2000 to 2003, making his major league debut on May 8, 2004 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bruney had a good rookie year with the Diamondbacks, posting a 4.31 ERA and striking out 34 batters in 31.1 innings. In 2005, the Diamondbacks tried Bruney as their closer, and he saved 12 games in 16 opportunities. Overall, the 2005 season turned out to be a poor showing for Bruney. He posted a 7.43 ERA in 46 innings. In May 2006, Bruney was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks. He was later signed as a minor league free agent by the New York Yankees.

[edit] New York Yankees

Before making his way to The Bronx, Bruney pitched for a while with Triple-A Columbus. Finally, Bruney impressed the Yankees enough to get a call-up to the big club. Armed with an upper-90's fastball, mid-80's curveball and an aggressive approach, Bruney took advantage of this second wind and quickly established himself as one of the better relief pitchers in the Yankees bullpen. Bruney finished 2006 with a 1-1 record and a 0.87 ERA in 19 games (20.2 innings).

In 2007, he spent time on both the Yankees' major league roster, and their Triple-A team. He ended the season with a 4.68 ERA in 58 major league games.

Bruney reported to Spring Training 2008 having lost 20 pounds in the offseason, in addition to gaining speed on his fastball. On April 25, 2008, it was learned that Bruney would likely miss the remainder of the season due to a fracture in his foot (Lisfranc) but he chose to forgo foot surgery in order to rehab the injury. After spending time rehabbing in the minors, he returned to the Yankees on August 1 following the trade of Kyle Farnsworth. He is slated to be Mariano Rivera's primary setup man going into the 2009 season.^[1]

In 2009, Bruney spent part of the season on the disabled list, but managed to collect a 3.92 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 39 innings pitched. He did not appear in the ALDS against the Twins or the ALCS against the Angels, but was speculated as a possibility to be added to the World Series roster.^[2] On October 28, it was announced that Bruney would be replacing backup catcher Francisco Cervelli on the 40-man roster for the World Series.^[3]

[edit] Controversy

On June 13, 2009, Bruney criticized New York Mets closer Francisco Rodríguez, calling his antics on the mound "unbelievable" and saying that Rodriguez has "got a tired act." Rodríguez responded after the Mets won that day's game by saying "somebody like that, it doesn't bother me,", and suggesting that Bruney "better keep his mouth shut and do his job, not worry about somebody else. I don't even know who the guy is. I'm not going to waste my time with that guy. Instead of sending messages through the paper, next time when you see me at Citi Field, come up to me and say it to my face."^[4] During batting practice the following day, Rodríguez confronted Bruney on the field, pointing and shouting at him before teammates from both sides could separate the two.^[5]

[edit] Personal

Brian Bruney currently lives with his wife Stacey and daughter Shelby (born during the 2006-07 off-season) in Warrenton, Oregon and, during baseball season, in New Jersey. As a child he was an extra in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Kindergarten Cop. Bruney graduated Warrenton High School in 2000 and after graduating briefly worked on a crab boat in the Pacific Ocean. He has two dogs, Sprig and Goose.

[edit] References

^ AP (2009-01-30). "Yankees, reliever Bruney settle at $1.25 million". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/01/30/yankees.bruney.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
^ King III, George A. and Brian Costello.Yankees mull adding Hinske or Bruney to roster, New York Post. Published October 27, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
^ Yankees add Bruney, Hinske World Series roster, Sports Illustrated. Published October 28, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
^ "Brian Bruney rips Francisco Rodríguez's celebrations, but K-Rod gets final shot"
^ "Mets' Rodríguez confronts Bruney after comments"

[edit] External links

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
Article in The Oregonian about Bruney

‹ The template below (2009 New York Yankees) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›

[0] AP (2009-01-30). "Yankees, reliever Bruney settle at $1.25 million". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/01/30/yankees.bruney.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30.

[1] King III, George A. and Brian Costello.Yankees mull adding Hinske or Bruney to roster, New York Post. Published October 27, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2009.

[2] Yankees add Bruney, Hinske World Series roster, Sports Illustrated. Published October 28, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.

[3] "Brian Bruney rips Francisco Rodríguez's celebrations, but K-Rod gets final shot"

[4] "Mets' Rodríguez confronts Bruney after comments"

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