Brandon Patrick McCarthy (born July 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and front office executive.

He played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves.

[10] He received a non roster invitation to major league spring training in 2005[9] and Baseball America ranked him as the Sox #3 prospect and with the best control in the system entering the season.

[4] McCarthy made his major league debut on May 22, 2005, as a spot starter for the White Sox, allowing two runs in 5+1⁄3 innings, in a game against the Chicago Cubs.

[13] On December 23, 2006, McCarthy and minor leaguer David Paisano were traded to the Texas Rangers for John Danks, Nick Masset and Jake Rasner.

[13] After being outrighted by the Rangers,[16] McCarthy signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics on December 14, 2010, for one year and $1 million.

[18] He adapted his pitch repertoire to emphasize two-seam fastballs and cutters, which helped increase his ground-ball percentage and lower his home-run rate while developing control and limiting walks allowed.

McCarthy subsequently underwent surgery for 2 hours to relieve cranial pressure after CT scans revealed he had suffered an epidural hemorrhage, a brain contusion, and a skull fracture.

[23] In June, while on the disabled list for continued shoulder problems, McCarthy experienced a seizure related to his head injury the previous year.

[28][29] However, on April 27, 2015, McCarthy was placed on the disabled list after he felt tightness in his right elbow in a start against the San Diego Padres and was diagnosed with a torn UCL.

[32] After a lengthy recovery and a few rehab starts in the minors, McCarthy rejoined the Dodgers on July 3, 2016, making his season debut in a 4–1 win against the Colorado Rockies.

[35] He thought his career might be in jeopardy but he rejoined the team on September 25 and allowed only two runs in 5+1⁄3 innings against the Colorado Rockies.

[43] On December 16, 2017, the Dodgers traded McCarthy, Charlie Culberson, Scott Kazmir, Adrián González, and cash considerations to the Atlanta Braves for Matt Kemp.

McCarthy finished his major-league career with 69 wins and an ERA of 4.20, drawing attention due to the prominence of the numbers 69 and 420 in meme culture.

[46] On December 11, 2018, McCarthy was named a special assistant to the general manager in the Texas Rangers front office.

[49] Despite prior praise over his support of the LGBT+ community,[50] McCarthy was criticized in 2020 by Outsports writer, Alex Reimer, over his reaction to a homophobia controversy involving the Phoenix Rising FC, where the San Diego Loyal walked off the field in protest and forfeited a match after midfielder Junior Flemmings was accused of using a Jamaican homophobic slur against openly gay Loyal midfielder Collin Martin, which was not heard by the referee or any other player.

[51][52][53] McCarthy was accused of questioning the veracity of accusations made against Flemmings, suggesting in a direct message with another Twitter user that the Loyal, who forfeited a match against the Los Angeles Galaxy II in the days prior over the alleged use of a racial slur against a Black Loyal player,[54][53] wanted to forfeit the match to begin with to continue making a statement on social justice.