Brian Bruney

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**Brian Bruney**
Born: February 17, 1982 (1982-02-17) (age 26)
New York Yankees — No. 33
Relief Pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
May 8, 2004 for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Selected MLB statistics (through April 21, 2008)
Win-Loss	9-10
Earned Run Average	4.70
Strikeouts	160
Teams
Arizona Diamondbacks (2004-2005) New York Yankees (2006-present)

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

1 Arizona Diamondbacks
2 New York Yankees
3 Personal
4 See also
5 External links

[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, where 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 picked up 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 has 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). On August 7th, the Yankees demoted him to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for one of baseball's top pitching prospects, Joba Chamberlain. He was soon recalled when Ron Villone was placed on the disabled list. He has so far allowed less than a hit per inning, but his lack of control has been a problem.

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 but he chose to forego foot surgery and can return to the Yankees as early as the 2008 All-Star break. He injured the foot after slipping while covering first base.^{[citation needed]}

[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. 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.