Brian Patrick Wilson (born March 16, 1982), nicknamed "the Beard"[1] and "B-Weezy",[2] is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher.

He completed his recovery midway through the 2013 season and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching effectively with them as a late-inning reliever through the playoffs.

[4] Today, he talks little of his childhood except to discuss his father, Mike Wilson, who was an Air Force veteran and a demanding perfectionist.

In a 2011 story, ESPN.com writer Elizabeth Merrill said about Wilson's high school years, "He was an honor roll student at Londonderry, but clashed with various authority figures who didn't appreciate his occasional lack of a filter."

In the same story, a number of Londonderry faculty speculated that some teachers didn't understand Wilson's life situation at the time.

Napolitano specifically remembered the first home game of Wilson's senior year, which happened shortly after his father's death.

According to Napolitano, Wilson was completely oblivious to their appearance; he ate and drank in the dugout, warmed up, and pitched a two-hitter while apparently not noticing that scouts were there.

[5] The Cleveland Indians offered him a contract straight out of high school, but he did not sign, opting to attend college instead.

In 26 games, he had a 5–1 record, a 0.82 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and seven walks in 33 innings pitched while notching 13 saves, good for second in the league behind Brett Campbell's 19.

[12] Wilson began 2006 with the Grizzlies before getting called up to the majors on April 23 to replace Tyler Walker, who was designated for assignment after struggling to begin the season.

[15] He made his major league debut that day in relief, pitching two innings, surrendering two hits and no runs while striking out three.

[19] He was optioned to Fresno on June 7 when Tim Worrell was activated from the DL; Giants' manager Felipe Alou said Wilson was not getting enough playing time.

[24] After building a 1–2 record, 2.10 ERA, 37 strikeouts, 24 walks, 11 saves, and 34+1⁄3 innings pitched in 31 games with Fresno, Wilson was called up on August 11 when Jonathan Sánchez was demoted.

[36] On September 24, with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning and the Giants leading the Chicago Cubs by a 2–1 score, Wilson gave up a two-run home run to Jeff Baker.

[43] The next day, against Houston with runners on first and second, two outs, and the Giants leading 4–3 in the ninth, Wilson retired Matsui to end the game.

[44] On June 12, Wilson entered in the eighth inning with one out, the bases loaded, and the Giants leading the Oakland Athletics 5–4.

Wilson struck out Adam Rosales and retired Rajai Davis to end the inning; he then pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.

[50] Wilson made his playoff debut in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves; he blew a save, but that was partly because of an error by Pablo Sandoval.

He then pitched the ninth inning, striking out Ryan Howard with two runners on base, clinching the series for the Giants.

[54] He joined Dennis Eckersley, Mitch Williams, and John Wetteland as the only pitchers since 1969 to win or save four games in a postseason series.

[68] He injured his elbow during the game and underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career on April 19, causing him to miss the remainder of the season.

[72] Wilson chose not to sign with any team before the 2013 season because he wanted to be fully recovered from surgery when he attempted his comeback.

[23] Regardless of signing for the team late in the season, Wilson made three relief appearances in the postseason without giving up an earned run until the Dodgers lost in the 2013 NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals.

[89] In the 2010 MLB All-Star Game, Wilson debuted a pair of bright orange cleats and continued to wear them throughout the season.

Wilson received a $1,000 fine from MLB the next day, and he responded by coloring half of the shoes black with a marker.

"[92] In addition to his mohawk hairstyle, Wilson has a large black beard, which he began growing and presumably dyeing during the Giants' playoff run in 2010.

On his left shoulder, he has a dragon to honor his father, which represents the "protection from fear" that Wilson's dad gave him.

Across his chest, he has the words "In nomine patris" ("In the name of the father"), and on his right wrist he has a Celtic cross with lettering that says "All Honor To Him" in Gaelic; both of these tattoos symbolize his Christian faith.

[106] Following the World Series in 2010, a photo of Wilson celebrating with teammate Buster Posey appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

[114] In an episode of The Cheap Seats, he had someone dressed as "The Machine" walk past in the background in full BDSM leather fetish apparel, supposedly unknown to him (but almost certainly teammate Pat Burrell).