Brian McCann (baseball)

For the actor, see Brian McCann (actor).

Brian McCann
McCann playing for the Braves in June 2007
Atlanta Braves – No. 16
Catcher
Bats: Left Throws: Right
debut
June 10, 2005, for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics (through October 1, 2009)
Batting average	.294
Home runs	91
Runs batted in	387
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Atlanta Braves (2005-present)
Career highlights and awards
2x Silver Slugger Award winner (2006, 2008) 4x All-Star selection (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) First player in Braves history to be selected to All-Star game first four Major League seasons.

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

Early career

As a youth, Brian McCann played Little League at league 6 in Huntington, West Virginia. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 2nd round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. McCann advanced steadily through the Braves' minor league system, playing for the Rome Braves (Low A) in 2003, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (High A) in 2004, and the Mississippi Braves (Double-A) in 2005.

McCann was a member of the Rome Braves which won the 2003 South Atlantic League Championship. McCann led that team in RBIs (71), and doubles (31).

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 has been selected 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.

Beginning in April of 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." He was also selected to the 2009 MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis, Missouri.

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

Personal

McCann married the former Ashley Jarusinski in December 2007. His older brother, Brad, 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. Brian also has baseball clinics for kids 5-18.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference