Darrell G "Bucky" Brandon (born July 8, 1940), is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Pilots, Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies. During a seven-year MLB career, Brandon compiled 28 wins, 354 strikeouts, and a 4.04 earned run average (ERA).
Brandon attended Nacogdoches High School in Texas and was signed as a free agent in 1959 by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Once a heralded pitching prospect, Brandon was an undistinguished reliever throughout most of his career. In , his rookie season, he made 40 appearances (17 starts) for Boston and finished 8–8 with a 3.31 ERA, a career-high 101 strikeouts, five complete games and two shutouts. On July 20, 1966, Brandon tossed a complete game, allowing one earned run on just two hits in a win over the California Angels. However, Brandon developed arm problems at this early stage of his career and slumped to a 5–11 record in , then pitched only innings in . A year later, he divided his playing time between the expansion Seattle Pilots and Minnesota, and then spent the entire season with the Triple-A Tucson Toros, in the Chicago White Sox farm system. From to , Brandon collected 15 wins and eight saves for the Phillies, as a reliever and spot starter.
References
External links
Bucky Brandon at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Bucky Brandon at Baseball Almanac Bucky Brandon at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)