Brian Patrick Bannister (born February 28, 1981) is an American director of pitching for the San Francisco Giants. He is a former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2006 through 2010. He played college baseball as a walk-on for the University of Southern California. Bannister was selected by the Mets in the seventh round of the 2003 MLB draft. He previously served as assistant pitching coach and vice president of pitching development for the Boston Red Sox.
Amateur career
Bannister was born in Scottsdale, Arizona. He had a remarkable high school career at Chaparral High School, former home of Chicago White Sox star Paul Konerko, as he was named All-Region and All-City in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Chaparral was the runner-up to the state title in 1997 and 1998, but in Bannister's senior year, he helped take home the state championship by striking out seven of the nine batters he faced in the championship game.
He began his college career as a walk-on at the University of Southern California. Entering as a second baseman, he became a full-time pitcher before the start of his freshman season. He posted an ERA of 4.35 in ten games out of the bullpen in his freshman year. Acting as the team closer during his 2001 sophomore campaign, he compiled a 2.80 ERA in thirty-five relief appearances. Bannister helped the Trojans to the College World Series in both 2000 and 2001 while pitching alongside former Major Leaguers Mark Prior and Anthony Reyes. After the 2001 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He redshirted in 2002, due to arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove impinged scar tissue in his elbow. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2002, but did not sign. He returned to the Trojans in 2003 to play his junior year, which was also his first year as a starter. In eighteen games (fourteen starts), Bannister compiled a 6–5 record with an ERA of 4.53.
Professional career
Bannister was drafted by the Mets in the seventh round of the 2003 amateur draft and, after signing for a signing bonus of $95,000, was assigned to the Class-A Brooklyn Cyclones. There he put together a strong season, posting a 4–1 record with an ERA of 2.15 in twelve games (nine starts) and was named a New York–Penn League Postseason All-Star. In 2004, Bannister was assigned to play for High-A St. Lucie in the Florida State League, where he put together a 5–7 record with a 4.24 ERA in twenty starts and was a Florida State League All-Star. His experimentation with throwing a two-seam fastball and circle changeup led to this decline in numbers, but prepared him for the competition at higher levels of professional baseball. Bannister was then promoted to AA Binghamton following the trade of Scott Kazmir to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, where he had a 3–3 record and an ERA of 4.08 in a mere eight starts. After the 2004 season, Bannister played for the Peoria Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League. He posted strong numbers, going 2–0 with a 3.77 ERA against the top prospects in the minor leagues. More importantly, he developed his cut fastball while in the AFL, which would develop into one of his strongest pitches. The next year, Bannister began the 2005 season in Double-A Binghamton, where he posted numbers that reflected the quality of his newly developed pitches: a 9–4 record with a 2.56 ERA in eighteen starts. This earned him an All-Star selection for the third consecutive season, and the honor of starting pitcher for the Double-A All-Star Game. This display caused Bannister to earn a promotion to AAA Norfolk, where he showed further promise against better competition. He finished his AAA campaign with a 4–1 record and an ERA of 3.18 in eight starts.
2006
At 25 years old, Bannister made his Major League debut against the Washington Nationals. His first major league win came in his second start, also against Washington, on April 11, 2006. A former second baseman, Bannister also excelled at the plate, acquiring four hits in his first ten at-bats, including three doubles.
After making five starts, Bannister was put on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring which he injured while running the bases in the fifth inning of an April 26 game against San Francisco. Bannister was later moved to the 60-day DL. Bannister made 5 starts for the Mets and had a record of 2–0 with a 2.89 ERA.