Brian Michael McCann (born February 20, 1984) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, the New York Yankees, and the Houston Astros. A seven-time All-Star and a six-time Silver Slugger Award winner, he won the 2017 World Series with the Astros. Early life McCann was born to Howard and Sherry McCann in Athens, Georgia. At the time, his father worked as an assistant baseball coach for the Georgia Bulldogs Baseball under Steve Webber and his mother worked at Athens Regional Hospital. Both of his parents attended Oswego High School in Oswego, New York, where they would later be inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame. McCann's father played college baseball at Mississippi State. Howard McCann would eventually become the head coach at Marshall. McCann's older brother, Brad, played at Clemson and was selected in the sixth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft by the Florida Marlins but was out of professional baseball by 2007. McCann attended Duluth High School in Duluth, Georgia. He was ranked the 26th best high school prospect by Baseball America and initially committed to play college baseball for Alabama. Professional career Draft and minor leagues The Atlanta Braves selected him in the second round of the 2002 MLB draft. Atlanta Braves (2005–2013) McCann made his MLB debut with the Braves on June 10, 2005 after playing in the minor leagues for the Rome Braves. A personal catcher for John Smoltz for most of the 2005 season, McCann hit his first home run in just his second regular-season game and became the first Braves player in franchise history to hit a home run in his first playoff at-bat on October 6, 2005. He accomplished the feat in the second inning of a 7–1 victory over Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the 2005 National League Division Series. McCann was named the everyday starter when the Braves traded Johnny Estrada to the Diamondbacks. During the 2006 season, McCann hit .333 with 24 homers and 94 RBI. He led all Major League catchers in homers, and his RBI total was matched only by Jorge Posada and Victor Martinez. The Braves rewarded McCann by buying out his arbitration years with a six-year, $27.8 million contract during spring training in 2007. McCann was selected to play in the 2006 MLB All-Star