This week Ward Melville's own Ben Brown took the mound in New York for the first time in his pro career and he impressed everyone in the crowd. Brown faced off in Queen against the hometown Mets in just his 4th ever major league start. Brown told the media it was a lifelong dream to pitch back in New York and how he remembered going to plenty of games at the stadium as a kid. He was backed up with about 50 family and friends in the crowd, including his parents, who still live on the Island.
Brown was a little wild, but also wildly effective. He had a no hitter going through four solid innings and ended up going 4 2/3 innings allowing just 3 hits and two runs. Brown had his usual knuckle curveball working all day and the Mets felt it striking out 5 times.
Brown's curve ball has been featured on the Pitching Ninja X page quite a few times and he is quickly establishing that pitch as one of the most lethal in the entire big leagues. He also used a 98 mile per hour fastball to keep hitters off their game making them look silly flailing at pitches all day.
Despite the extra innings loss Brown's manager heaped a ton of praise on his young starter. “I thought Ben’s stuff was excellent,” Counsell said. “Even in the last inning, he was throwing very hard."