Micah Bowie

Micah Andrew Bowie

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 4", Weight 210 lb.
• High School Kingwood High School
• Debut July 24, 1999
• Final Game April 21, 2008
• Born November 10, 1974 in Humble, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Micah Bowie pitched professionally from 1994 to 2008, missing the 2004 season after Tommy John surgery. He first made the majors in 1999 with the Atlanta Braves, the team that drafted him in the 9th round of the 1993 amateur draft. On July 31st of his rookie year, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, along with Joey Nation and Ruben Quevedo, in return for Jose Hernandez and Terry Mulholland. He made 11 starts for the Cubs in the last two months, going 2-6, 9.96. He was out of the majors until 2002, when he went 2-0, 1.50 in 13 relief appearances for the Oakland Athletics. He made his only postseason appearance that year, pitching 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in the Division Series against the Minnesota Twins. But he was 0-1, 7.56 in 6 games in 2003 and was once again out of the majors for an extended period. He made it back with the Washington Nationals in 2006 and pitched in the big leagues during the next two seasons. His busiest year came in 2007 when he went 4-3, 4.55 in 30 games for the Nats, including 8 starts. He logged a career-high 57 1/3 innings that year.

In 2016, he underwent back surgery but suffered complications that left him fighting for his life, as his lungs were severely damaged. He needed daily oxygen therapy to stay alive. He said that his body broke down from the wear and tear of pitching for so long and that he had suffered just about every imaginable injury that a pitcher can go through during his playing career. The operation he underwent was to insert a spinal cord stimulator to alleviate back pain. The surgery led to bigger problems instead. He exhausted his meager savings and turned to the Players Association for assistance but was denied because he had not completed the four full seasons that would have made him eligible for lifetime health benefits, missing the cut off by just 20 days. He turned to the Baseball Assistance Team, who provided financial and emotional assistance to him and his family.

Further Reading

• Jesse Sanchez: "Micah Bowie: B.A.T. 'gave me a chance to live'", mlb.com, August 8, 2019. [1]
• Mark Townsend: "Former MLB pitcher seeks financial help from players union as he fights for life", Yahoo Sports, January 19, 2019. [2]