Charles Hugh O'Brien (born May 1, 1960) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

(1985),

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

(1987–90),

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

(1990–93),

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

(1994–95),

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

(1996–97),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1998),

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

(1998–99) and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

(2000). O'Brien was a solid defensive catcher and a modest right-handed batter. He is best remembered for pioneering the hockey-style

catcher's mask Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, which he created while with the Blue Jays. During his tenure with the Braves, O'Brien was notable for being the personal catcher for

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

pitcher

Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966), also known as "Mad Dog" and "the Professor," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. ...

Amateur career

O'Brien grew up in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, beginning to play baseball as a

at the age of 5. While growing up in Tulsa, O'Brien attended and graduated from

Bishop Kelley High School Bishop Kelley High School is an American Lasallian Catholic high school with 905 students, grades 9 to 12, located at 41st and Hudson Avenue, in the center of the Tulsa metropolitan area (in the Midtown area), on a campus spanning just over 47 ...

. The Texas Rangers drafted O'Brien in the 14th round of the

1978 MLB draft The 1978 Major League Baseball draft was held June 6–8, 1978, consisting of 48 rounds, during which a total of 779 players were selected by 26 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations. The first overall selection was Bob Horner, drafted by t ...

, but did not sign him. O'Brien attended

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Wichita State Shockers baseball The Wichita State Shockers baseball team represents Wichita State University in the sport of baseball. The Wichita State Shockers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and in the American Athletic Confere ...

team. The

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

drafted O'Brien in the 21st round of the

1981 MLB draft The 1981 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1981. The draft saw the Seattle Mariners select Mike Moore (baseball), Mike Moore first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Ba ...

, but O'Brien did not sign, returning to college for his senior year. In his senior year, O'Brien set school records, hitting 25

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and driving in 116 runs as the Shockers reached the finals of the

1982 College World Series The 1982 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1982 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series ...

. The

drafted O'Brien in the fifth round of the 1982 MLB draft, and signed him. O'Brien made his MLB debut with the Athletics on June 2, 1985.

Professional career

The Athletics traded O'Brien with

Steve Kiefer Steven George Kiefer (born October 18, 1960) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 to 1989 for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees. Most of his ca ...

and minor leaguers Mike Fulmer and Pete Kendrick to the

for

Moose Haas Bryan Edmund "Moose" Haas (born April 22, 1956) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 to 1987. He appeared in the 1982 World Series as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Early life Haas ...

. He batted .324 with 15 home runs and 74 RBI with the

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 1986. The Brewers traded O'Brien and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

(minor leaguer Kevin Carmody) to the

with players to be named later ( Julio Machado and Kevin Brown) in August 1990. He began the 1991 season as the starting catcher, ahead of

Mackey Sasser Mack Daniel Sasser (born August 3, 1962), nicknamed "The Hacker", is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 through 1995 for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets and S ...

and served as a backup to

Todd Hundley Todd Randolph Hundley (born May 27, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and outfielder. He was a two-time All-Star who played for 14 seasons with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs. Early life Hundley ...

when the latter was promoted. O'Brien agreed to a $370,000 contract for the 1992 season. He was granted free agency for the 1993 season, and he signed with the

on a two-year contract worth $1.1 million. He was a member of the

1995 World Series The 1995 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995 season. The 91st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Lea ...

champions, and hit a key home run for the Braves during the 1995 National League Championship Series. After the 1995 season, O'Brien became a free agent and signed with the

on a two-year contract. He signed with the

for the 1998 season in order to share the catching position with

Chad Kreuter Chadden Michael Kreuter (; born August 26, 1964) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and former college baseball head coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1988 to 2003 for seven different franchises. H ...

, but was traded to the

for minor leaguers Brian Tokarse and Jason Stockstill in July 1998. The Angels released O'Brien on August 6, 1999, replacing him with Benjie Molina. Now 40, O'Brien signed with the

for the 2000 season, but his success at preventing stolen bases had diminished. The Expos released O'Brien on June 22, 2000. Over the course of his career, O'Brien caught eleven different Cy Young Award winners:

Frank Viola Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and T ...

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the ...

Bret Saberhagen Bret William Saberhagen (; born April 11, 1964) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox fr ...

David Cone David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and Amazon Prime as well as for ESPN on Sunday Night Baseball.

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time Ma ...

Pat Hentgen Patrick George Hentgen (born November 13, 1968) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, and currently a special assistant with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Blue Jays, St. Louis ...

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and also played ...

Chris Carpenter Christopher John Carpenter (born April 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2012. A Cy Young Award wi ...

and

Jack McDowell Jack Burns McDowell (born January 16, 1966) is an American former baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, McDowell played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Anaheim Angels of the Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

. However, he only caught three of these pitchers during Cy Young seasons—Clemens, Hentgen & Maddux. During Maddux's 1994 and 1995 seasons when he posted ERA's of 1.56 and 1.63 respectively, O'Brien generally served as Maddux's personal catcher. O'Brien later testified at Clemens' perjury trial. He is one of the few players to play both major league Canadian teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montreal Expos. After getting hit in his mask by two consecutive foul-tip balls in a game, O'Brien had the idea for a new

while watching a hockey game. He then worked with Van Velden Mask Inc., of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, Canada, to develop his idea. The new design, called the "All-Star MVP", was approved in 1996 by Major League Baseball. In his 15-year career, O'Brien batted .221 with 56

s and 261

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

Personal life

O'Brien is an avid deer hunter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Charlie 1960 births Living people Albany A's players All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Chicago White Sox players Denver Zephyrs players El Paso Diablos players Harrisburg Senators players Huntsville Stars players Major League Baseball catchers Medford A's players Midland Angels players Milwaukee Brewers players Modesto A's players Montreal Expos players New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players Baseball players from Tulsa, Oklahoma Tacoma Tigers players Toronto Blue Jays players Vancouver Canadians players Wichita State Shockers baseball players 20th-century American sportsmen