Christopher Daniel Britton (born December 16, 1982) is a right-handed former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

High school

Britton attended

Plantation High School Plantation High School (commonly referred to as PHS) is a high school located in Plantation, Florida, part of the Broward County Public Schools district. As of 2022, the school serves 1,931 students in grades 9 through 12. It was originally loca ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He was first-team All-

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

and second team All-State.

Baseball career

Draft

Britton was drafted by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in the eighth round (233rd overall) of the 2001 MLB draft.

Minor leagues

As of August 14, 2007, he has averaged 7.6 hits, 2.9 walks, and 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings in the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

. In 2005, Britton was a High-A All-Star. He was 6-0 that year with a 1.60 ERA, and in 78.2 innings, he gave up only 47 hits and 23 walks while striking out 110 batters.

Baltimore Orioles

As a rookie with the Orioles in 2006, Britton made 52 relief appearances, and was 0–2 with a 3.35 ERA while allowing 46 hits and recording 41 strikeouts and 17 walks in 53.2 innings pitched.

New York Yankees

On November 12, 2006, the Orioles traded Britton to the New York Yankees for right-handed pitcher

Jaret Wright Jaret Samuel Wright (born December 29, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and Balt ...

and $4 million. He started the season at AAA

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

but was called up on April 15, 2007, after a string of injuries to starting pitching and a pair of extra inning games. He made his first appearance with the Yankees two days later, on April 17, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. He was recalled on August 29, 2007, with

Sean Henn Sean Michael Henn (born April 23, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Henn attended McLennan Community College in Texas, and was drafted in the 26th round in 2000 by the New York Yankees. He played in Major League Baseball ...

getting sent down to AAA. On June 6, 2008, Britton was placed on the disabled list. Following the 2008 season, Britton was non-tendered by the Yankees, making him a free agent.

San Diego Padres

On December 19, 2008, the Padres announced the signing of Britton to a minor league deal. On May 25, 2009, the Padres released Britton due to a poor start at Triple-A. In 15 appearances for the Padres Double-A and Triple-A teams, Britton threw 20 innings, allowed 24 earned runs, 39 hits and 8 walks and struck out 10, with an ERA of 10.45.

Independent baseball

Britton signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2009 season. He signed with the

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

for the 2010 season. He was released from the Saltdogs on June 28, 2010.

Weight

At 275 pounds, Britton was one of the heaviest players in baseball. The only other major leaguers who were listed as heavy or heavier at the time were

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwauk ...

Jonathan Broxton Jonathan Roy Broxton (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardin ...

Bobby Jenks Robert Scott Jenks (born March 14, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox from 2005 through 2011. According to the ''Baseball Almanac'', his ...

, Adam Dunn, and

Dmitri Young Dmitri Dell Young (born October 11, 1973) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder, first baseman, and designated hitter, for the St. Louis Cardinals ...

"Brittongate"

While Britton has generally put up good minor league numbers and had success with the Orioles during the 2006 season, he has been generally overlooked by the Yankees. Yankees fan blogs, which generally bemoan the team's

relief pitchers In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

, quickly grew frustrated with the team's reluctance to place Britton on the major league roster, or use him when available. This unwillingness to use the pitcher has been dubbed "Brittongate." General manager

Brian Cashman Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He has served as the General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Yankees since 1998. During Cashman's tenure as ge ...

expressed confidence in Britton: "He has not failed in any capacity at any level. Every chance he’s gotten, he’s had success, period. That’s what defines Chris Britton. I can’t tell you any more than that."

References

External links

, o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
Baseball America, January 19, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Chris 1982 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Florida Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Orioles players Gulf Coast Yankees players Lincoln Saltdogs players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Portland Beavers players San Antonio Missions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Sportspeople from Hollywood, Florida Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela York Revolution players Yuma Scorpions players Plantation High School alumni