Brian Kirby

Brian C. Kirby

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• School University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• High School North Little Rock High School

• Born August 3, 1979 in Little Rock, AR USA
• Died April 15, 2026 in North Little Rock, AR USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Brian Kirby played in the minor leagues from 2001 to 2005, reaching AAA for two games the final season.

He was drafted twice, first by the Cincinnati Reds in the 23rd round of the 1997 amateur draft coming out of high school, and again by the Cleveland Indians in the 31st round of the 2001 amateur draft after studying at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was a multi-positional player who appeared at first base, third base, catcher and the outfield during his pro career.

He spent three seasons in the Indians system, including playing 99 games for the Columbus RedStixx of the South Atlantic League in 2002 where he hit .246/.337/.427 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs. In 2003 however, he fell to .195 in 57 games between Low-A and High-A and was released. He played for the Springfield/Ozark Ducks in the independent Frontier League in 2004, where he batted .256 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs in 88 games - basically the numbers the numbers he had put up two years earlier. This prompted the Colorado Rockies to give him a second chance, and he spent the 2005 season with them, mainly with the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League, where he hit .234 with 7 homers and 35 RBIs in 53 games. But he was also called up to the AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox to fill in for an injured player and appeared in 2 games there, going 0 for 2. He retired after being released again at the end of the season.

After baseball, he worked as an HVAC technician, as the owner and operator of Kirby Heating and Air based in his hometown of Little Rock, AR. He died tragically on a job-site accident in 2026 when he was found unresponsive on the roof of a church on which he was working. He was 46 at the time and married with two daughters.

Further Reading

• Dan Bilicki (Toronto Sun): "Former MLB prospect Brian Kirby dies in ‘tragic accident’ on church roof at 46", Yahoo! News, April 23, 2026. [1]