Brandon Dickson

Career

Brandon Dickson began his professional baseball journey after attending Tusculum College, signing with the St. Louis Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. That same year, while playing for the New Market Rebels in the Valley Baseball League, he set a league and franchise record with 13 saves and also led the circuit in wins, finishing 5–0 over 26 relief appearances. He made his pro debut with the Johnson City Cardinals. In 2007, at Single-A Quad Cities, Dickson compiled an 11–7 record with one save and a 3.50 ERA across 31 games (23 starts) covering 144 innings.

He split the 2008 season between High-A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield, posting a 10–10 mark and a 4.17 ERA in 29 outings. The following year, with Springfield, he went 8–10 with a 3.78 ERA in 28 games (20 starts). In 2010, pitching for Triple-A Memphis, Dickson notched an 11–8 record and a 3.23 ERA over 28 games (27 starts) and 167 innings. After receiving an invitation to major league spring training in 2011, he started the season back at Memphis.

The Cardinals purchased his contract on June 30, 2011, and he made his MLB debut on July 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays, tossing a perfect inning of relief. In his rookie season, he finished with a 3.24 ERA and seven strikeouts across four games (one start). He spent most of 2012 in Memphis but appeared in four big-league games for St. Louis, recording a 7.11 ERA with six strikeouts. The Cardinals released him on November 19, 2012.

Orix Buffaloes

On December 27, 2012, Dickson signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball. In 2013, he posted an 8–8 record and a 2.77 ERA in 23 appearances. The next season, he went 9–10 with a 3.33 ERA in 26 games. In 2015, he made 20 appearances for the Buffaloes, finishing 9–9 with a 2.48 ERA and 88 strikeouts.

International career

Dickson was chosen for the U.S. national baseball team for the 2019 WBSC Premier12 on October 10, 2019. He matched Japan’s Yasuaki Yamasaki for the tournament lead with three saves and earned the best reliever award.

In May 2021, he made the national team roster for Olympic qualifying. After qualification, he was added to the Olympic roster on July 2. The U.S. team took silver, falling to Japan in the gold-medal game.