WP article on Zach Britton

[Going Underground]

Rock bottom came on a minor league pitchers mound in the summer of 2013. Zach Britton, 25 years old, his status as the one-time future ace of the Baltimore Orioles all but squandered, was pitching with such indifference and such ineffectiveness that the veteran third baseman waved off the pitching coach, who was about to climb the dugout steps, and sauntered over to air out the lefty, right there in front of everybody.

He was like, I've never seen you be okay with not being good. It's like you're going through the motions, Britton recalled. And I think he [cursed at] me a few times in there.

The third baseman's words carried some weight, because he was Zach Britton's older brother, Buck. Zach had always been the big-time prospect, the third-round draft pick who signed for $435,000 and had already spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues as a starter. Buck, a year and a half older, was the classic grinder, a 35th-rounder who knew he would probably never see the majors. His signing bonus: $1,000.

Bu loyalty has a way of being tested in baseball, a lesson that Britton has come to understand. A client of Scott Boras, the agent notorious for steering his players to free agency, Britton, a free agent after the 2018 season, speaks of his sense of loyalty to the people with whom he shares a clubhouse, while pointedly leaving out any mention of the organization.

You're loyal to your teammates and coaches here, he said. I think that's where you're loyalty is.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/with-a-remarkable-season-orioles-closer-zach-britton-is-in-cy-young-contention/2016/09/20/93d1d22c-7f5c-11e6-8d0c-fb6c00c90481_story.html

[Frobby]

The Washington Post apparently has decided to cover the Orioles this week. Dave Sheinin, who spent a couple of years on the Orioles beat for the Post back when they did daily coverage and did an excellent job of it, wrote two articles in this morning's paper. The first was just a story covering the game, the second was a long feature piece on Zach Britton: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/with-a-remarkable-season-orioles-closer-zach-britton-is-in-cy-young-contention/2016/09/20/93d1d22c-7f5c-11e6-8d0c-fb6c00c90481_story.html

Rock bottom came on a minor league pitcher's mound in the summer of 2013. Zach Britton, 25 years old, his status as the one-time future ace of the Baltimore Orioles all but squandered, was pitching with such indifference and such ineffectiveness that the veteran third baseman waved off the pitching coach, who was about to climb the dugout steps, and sauntered over to air out the lefty, right there in front of everybody.

"He was like, 'I've never seen you be okay with not being good. It's like you're going through the motions,'" Britton recalled. "And I think he [cursed at] me a few times in there."

The third baseman's words carried some weight, because he was Zach Britton's older brother, Buck. Zach had always been the big-time prospect, the third-round draft pick who signed for $435,000 and had already spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues as a starter. Buck, a year and a half older, was the classic grinder, a 35th-rounder who knew he would probably never see the majors. His signing bonus: $1,000.

It's a thorough article and a good read. Here are a couple of snippets I found interesting:

He hasn't started a game since, converting 118 of 126 save opportunities and pitching to a 1.48 ERA. And while the accolades, awards and milestones have piled up -- he went nearly four months this season without allowing an earned run, and his 0.59 ERA would be the lowest in history for a pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched -- he still wonders what he could have done as a starting pitcher if the Orioles had stuck with him.

"It wasn't how I drew it up, that's for sure. I always dreamed of being Tom Glavine," Britton said. "There's always something in the back of my head that's saying, 'Man, if I never had some of those injuries, things like that, I wonder how it would have turned out.'"

Sounds like the starter bug isn't completely extinguished, contrary to other quotes from him that I've seen.

And then there's this:

People close to Britton characterize him as intensely loyal.

But loyalty has a way of being tested in baseball, a lesson that Britton has come to understand. A client of Scott Boras, the agent notorious for steering his players to free agency, Britton, a free agent after the 2018 season, speaks of his sense of loyalty to the people with whom he shares a clubhouse, while pointedly leaving out any mention of the organization.

"You're loyal to your teammates and coaches here," he said. "I think that's where your loyalty is."

Doesn't sound like a guy who will be here after free agency.

[Frobby]

Wow, you beat me to it while I was composing a nearly identical thread. We even picked the same quotes. Mods, please merge them.

[Going Underground]

Wow, you beat me to it while I was composing a nearly identical thread. We even picked the same quotes. Mods, please merge them.

I would say great minds think alike but I am not that great.More the other way.

[Frobby]

I would say great minds think alike but I am not that great.More the other way.

Ditto. It's more like "great minds think alike -- and so do ours!"

[Ohfan67]

Very fun article and very well written. Thanks for sharing.