SPOKANE, Wash. - Ken Brett, brother of Hall of Famer George Brett and the youngest World Series pitcher in history, died Tuesday night after a long battle with brain cancer. He was 55.
Brett was part owner of the Spokane Indians minor-league baseball team and Spokane Chiefs hockey team. The teams confirmed his death Wednesday.
Brett pitched 14 years, going 83-85 with a 3.93 ERA. He also hit .262 with 10 homers.
He set a record for pitchers by homering in four straight starts for the Phillies in 1973, and he was the winning pitcher in the 1974 All-Star Game while playing for Pittsburgh.
Brett was 19 years, 1 month when he pitched 11/3 scoreless innings for the Red Sox in the 1967 World Series, won by the Cardinals in seven games.
He had pitched in one big-league game before the Series, going two innings against Cleveland during the final week of the season.
"Well, he was left-handed, he could throw strikes and he had a bat. Plus, nothing ever fazed him. We had no hesitation about putting him on the World Series roster, none at all," Dick Williams, Boston's manager that season, recalled Wednesday.
"He had the guts of a burglar. He was a cocky kid, but he could back it up," Williams said. "And he was quite a hitter. I'm convinced that if he'd come to the major leagues as something besides a pitcher, he could've made it as a hitter."
ASTROS AFTER PETTITTE: Houston is showing it is serious about pursuing free-agent left-hander Andy Pettitte.
The Deer Park, Texas, resident and agents Alan and Randy Hendricks have met with Astros owner Drayton McLane and general manager Gerry Hunsicker. The Astros have not made an offer, but they believe they can persuade him to leave the Yankees.
FRANCONA, BOSOX MEET: Former Phillies manager Terry Francona was back in Boston for another round of interviews, a day after he met with Red Sox owner John Henry about the vacant managerial job.
"I was impressed with his knowledge of the game and his forthrightness," Henry said. "He is a serious candidate, but no decisions have been made."
SOSA ENDORSES PUJOLS: If Sammy Sosa had a vote for the NL MVP, he would have picked Albert Pujols over Barry Bonds.
"Bonds had good numbers and has a name in the game, but Pujols deserved the award more than anybody," the Cubs star said after returning home to the Dominican Republic.
TRADE PENDING: The Padres hope their three-player trade with Oakland will be finalized today after the A's review medical information about outfielder Mark Kotsay. The deal would send Kotsay to the A's for All-Star catcher Ramon Hernandez and disgruntled outfielder Terrence Long.
SHINJO TO JAPAN: Former Mets and Giants outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo will return to Japan and play for the Pacific League's Nippon Ham Fighters next season.
ASTROS: Free-agent catcher and two-time Gold Glove winner Brad Ausmus agreed to a $4-million, two-year deal.
INDIANS: Milton Bradley agreed to a $1.73-million, one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.
MARINERS: Free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez signed a three-year contract.
TIGERS: Former second baseman Lou Whitaker will join his old team at spring training as an instructor, reuniting him with manager Alan Trammell, his longtime double-play partner.
YANKEES: Minor-league pitching coach Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield's uncle, suggested the signing of the free-agent outfielder is only a matter of time. "If Gary wants it to happen and George (Steinbrenner) wants it to happen," Gooden said, "I don't see why it wouldn't happen."
OBITUARY: Howie Gershberg, a minor-league pitching coach with the Angels since 1985, died of cancer. He was 67.
