:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65648598/1151718307.jpg.0.jpg)
From the minute Brooks Pounders threw his last pitch of the season on June 29 until you opened this article, there’s a solid chance that the hulking hurler hadn’t crossed your mind for a single second. To be fair, you wouldn’t really have a reason to think of him because after being purchased from the Cleveland Indians on June 15, Pounders’ stint as a Met lasted slightly less than two weeks, spanning only seven and a third innings over seven games played.
With an 8.92 career ERA over parts of three seasons coming into 2019, it’s not surprising that Pounders pitched to the tune of a 6.14 ERA in the orange and blue, but it may surprise you to know that in six of his seven trips to the mound, Pounders didn’t allow a single run. Of course, that means he was pounded and allowed all five of his runs on the season in a single appearance on June 24 against the Phillies, but that’s a much less flattering way to phrase that fact and I refuse to do it.
The majority of Pounders’ time in the Mets organization was spent up in Syracuse, but things somehow got worse than they were in the big leagues as he finished his time upstate with a 7.59 ERA over 21 innings and 19 appearances. The less we talk about his body of work down on the farm, the better.
To his credit, Brooks Pounders was far from the worst pitcher that the Mets gave the ball to during the course of the season as seven different relievers ended their season with an ERA+ lower than Pounders’ perfectly nice 69. In addition to his actual baseball statistics, it is worth noting that Pounders was the heaviest and the second tallest man to don the Mets uniform this season, solidifying his status as one of baseball’s largest adult sons.
As of now, it looks like the story of Brooks Pounders’ in Flushing is over and done with as he was granted free agency on September 30th and Brooks Pounders 2: Electric Brookaloo doesn’t seem to be high on the Mets’ list of offseason priorities. So, with a perfect 1-0 record and the nicest ERA+ in Mets history, Brooks Pounders can ride off into the sunset knowing that he made his mark.