Brian McNichol

Brian David McNichol

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 5", Weight 225 lb.
• School James Madison University
• High School Gar-Field Senior High School
• Debut September 7, 1999
• Final Game September 30, 1999
• Born May 20, 1974 in Fairfax, VA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Brian McNichol pitched 4 games in the major leagues for the Chicago Cubs in 1999. His minor league career stretched from 1995 to 2005.

Born in Virginia, he went to Gar-Field Senior High School and then James Madison University there. He was at James Madison at the same time as Mike Venafro.

Brian was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1995 amateur draft by the Cubs, and was in the Cubs organization through 2000, almost always as a starter through 1999. When he went 12-9 in the Southern League in 1998 with 168 strikeouts in 179 innings, he was chosen Cubs Minor League Player of the Year.

His 4 games in the majors were in September 1999. It was a year when the Cubs lost 95 games, but Sammy Sosa hit 63 home runs behind Mark McGwire's 65 home runs. The Cubs pitching staff averaged 28.8 years old, and McNichol was 25. The team ERA was 5.27, while McNichol's was 6.75. In 10 2/3 innings, he had 12 strikeouts.

Brian spent 2000 back in Triple A at Iowa, going 3-8, and was released by the Cubs in March 2001. He then spent four years with five different organizations - 2001 with the Cincinnati Reds, posting ERA's under 2.00 in both Double A and Triple A ball; after the Reds released him the California Angels signed and released him; 2002 with the New York Yankees organization, where he appeared in 13 games before being released in June 2002; 2004 with the Chicago White Sox, where he pitched well in Birmingham in Double A ball with a 1.48 ERA in relief in 42 appearances but struggled in 6 appearances in Triple A ball at Charlotte; and then 2005 with the Baltimore Orioles where he appeared in 36 games at Ottawa in Triple A ball with a 4.32 ERA.