The narrative of Kevin Brown in Los Angeles is not a good one, as he was signed to the then-richest deal in MLB, and due to injuries, it was not justified, but the right-hander still provided some solid work as a Dodger.
Brown signed that contract after the 1998 Season, and he finished sixth in Cy Young voting in his first two seasons, winning the ERA Title (2.58) in 2000. He won 31 Games against 15 Losses in the timeframe above and fanned at least 200 batters both years, so he was productive, but the expectation was that Brown would win a Cy Young and take them to the World Series. Dodger fans could live with what he did in 1999 and 2000, but he missed time in 2001 (though he was still 10-4, 2.65 ERA), but was abysmal in 2002, playing in only 17 Games, with a 3-4 Record and a 4.81 ERA.
Brown bounced back in 2003, adding a second All-Star in Dodger Blue in a 14-9 year with a 2.39 ERA. This was decent, but again, not what he was paid to do. The Dodgers traded Brown to the Yankees, where his career fizzled out.
The Brown era in L.A. was disappointing, but primarily because of that contract. A 58-32 five-year run with a 2.83 ERA and 784 Strikeouts is more than decent.
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