MLB Debut - Chris Britton

At 6'3" 278lbs, Baltimore reliever Chris Britton is rather hard to overlook. Here at Donutball we missed posting on Britton back in April when he made his debut. Chris, no slight dude. We can see you. Bear in mind, this was around the time that 6'6" Chris Hammel made his debut for Tampa Bay, replacing 6'9" Mark Hendrickson on the roster, and giant Aussie Peter Moylan came, saw and walked a few batters for Atlanta.

Righty Chris Britton was called up from Double-A Bowie on 13 April when the Orioles optioned RHP Cory Morris to Triple-A Ottawa. Morris himself had only been recalled on 9 April, but did not appear for Baltimore.

Britton debuted on 12 April away to Tampa Bay, a game the O's lost 7-4. He pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief of Sendy Rleal in the 8th after the fellow rookie had given up a grand slam which broke a 3-3 tie. Britton walked one and struck out one.

Since that game Britton made three more unforgettable appearances before the Orioles optioned him back to Bowie when Todd Williams was reactivated from the 15-day disabled list. At Bowie, Chris worked 11 innings allowing 8 hits and 3 walks whilst striking out 18 batters.

He got the callup again on 15 May when Daniel Cabrera went on the DL. Britton has subsequently made himself a valuable contributor to the O's 'pen.

The big righthander has been one of the more dominant relievers during his four years in the Orioles system. In 2005, he struck out 110 in 78.2 innings. His WHiP was an impressive 0.89 as he blew through the Single A Carolina League with the Frederick Keys. Despite his size, it's Britton's curve which is his out pitch. His fastball and slider are serviceable and he's working on a changeup too. But, it's the yakker that has been his meal ticket to the Bigs.

That journey has included a couple of lengthy outages injured, including the whole of 2003. He plays with a metal plate in his head, courtesy of a line drive in 2002. His size makes health and conditioning an issue. That aside, the O's like the look of the big man.

Chris lists huntin'n'fishin' as his hobbies. We're not going to argue with him.

ESPN
MLB
Baseball Cube