Brian McCann (baseball)

For the actor, see Brian McCann (actor).

Brian McCann
McCann batting for the Braves in June 2007.
Atlanta Braves – No. 16
Catcher
Born: February 20, 1984 (1984-02-20) Athens, Georgia
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 10, 2005 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics (through 2011 season)
Batting average	.286
Home runs	136
Hits	878
Runs batted in	537
Teams
Atlanta Braves (2005–present)
Career highlights and awards
6× All-Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) 5× Silver Slugger Award winner (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) 2010 All Star Game MVP (2010)

Brian Michael McCann, (born February 20, 1984 in Athens, Georgia) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Atlanta Braves.

Major League career

McCann made his Major League Baseball debut with the Atlanta Braves on June 10, 2005. A personal catcher for John Smoltz for most of the 2005 season, McCann hit his first home run in just his second regular-season game and became the first Braves player in franchise history to hit a home run in his first playoff at-bat on October 6, 2005. He accomplished the feat in the second inning of a 7–1 victory over Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the 2005 National League Division Series. McCann was named the everyday starter when the Braves traded Johnny Estrada to the Diamondbacks.

During the 2006 season, McCann hit .333 with 24 homers and 94 RBI. He led all Major League catchers in homers, and his RBI total was matched only by Jorge Posada and Victor Martinez. The Braves rewarded McCann by buying out his arbitration years with a 6-year, $27.8 million contract during spring training in 2007.

McCann was selected to play in the 2006 MLB All-Star Game, in his first full major league season, and then again in both 2007 and 2008, making him the first Braves player ever to be selected to the National League All-Star team in each of his first three seasons. In 2008, he allowed more stolen bases than any other NL catcher, with 93.

Beginning in April 2009, McCann was bothered by blurry vision in his left eye, due to a slight vision change following 2007 LASIK surgery. He decided to opt for glasses when contact lenses proved uncomfortable. In May 2009, Oakley, Inc. made special glasses for McCann to correct the vision problem and allow for comfort under the catcher's mask. McCann remarked, "I need my Oakleys. I have to have the wraparounds for my peripheral vision."

In 2009, he had more errors at catcher than any other major leaguer, with 12, and had the lowest fielding percentage among them (.988).

He was again selected for the All-Star Game in 2009 and 2010. In the latter, he was named the MVP after driving in all three of the National League's runs with a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning (driving in Scott Rolen, Matt Holliday, and Marlon Byrd), off of Chicago White Sox reliever Matt Thornton, giving the NL a 3–1 victory, its first in the midsummer classic since 1996. On August 23, McCann hit the first walk-off home run reviewed by instant replay. McCann hit a line drive to right field. The ball struck the top of the right field wall. The umpires called it a double, but McCann and Braves bench coach Chino Cadahia argued the call. The umpires went to go review instant replay. Replays showed that the ball struck the top of the right field wall, bounced into the stands, and then got onto the field. Thus, the umpires overturned the call and called it a walk-off home run. In 2010, he allowed more stolen bases than any other NL catcher, with 84.

During spring training, on March 9, 2011, McCann hit a line drive foul ball which struck minor league manager Luis Salazar, blinding him in the left eye.

On May 17, 2011, McCann hit a ninth-inning, game-tying, pinch-hit home run and an 11th-inning game-winning two-run home run to defeat the Houston Astros 3–1.

In 2011 he allowed more stolen bases than any other major league catcher, with 104.

Personal life

McCann married the former Ashley Jarusinski in December 2007. His older brother, Brad McCann, played pro baseball in the Florida Marlins and Kansas City Royals organizations before retiring after the 2007 season.

Philanthropy

In 2008, McCann released a charity wine (The McCann Merlot) with 100% of his proceeds supporting the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, an organization dedicated to raising funds to support pediatric cancer research and treatments. McCann also has baseball clinics for kids 5–18.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)