Baltimore Orioles: Dave Wallace Raises Eyebrows on Zach Britton Comments

The Baltimore Orioles have arguably the best closer in baseball, but his former pitching coach said that Zach Britton did not have the ability to succeed as a starter.

Former Baltimore Orioles‘ pitching coach Dave Wallace is featured in an interesting article that ran on Fangraphs on Sunday, while much of the baseball world was mourning the loss of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte.

In it, author David Laurila interviewed the former Baltimore Orioles pitching coach, and one of the main topics was Zach Britton.

Back in September, Britton remarked that he thought he would have been able to be a successful starter if he had the same control of his sinker as he does since he moved to the bullpen.

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Orioles fans may remember, Britton was another in a group of guys who received numerous chances as a starter in Baltimore, but it never panned out. See Matusz, Brian, and Arrieta, Jake for more information.

In the article, Wallace told Laurila:

"“Zach had been tried as a starter, and he couldn’t do this, and he had flashes of brilliance. When you talk to Zach… he was one of those guys where it was almost paralysis by analysis. He wanted it to be, ‘My right foot there, my left foot there.’“He doesn’t have the… I wouldn’t say mentality, but the wherewithal to navigate. When you’re a starting pitcher, and you give up a run — give up something — you have to maintain your composure and still make pitches, knowing you have quite a bit of the game to go. A lot of guys can’t do that, and he was one of those guys.”"

Well then.

Certainly, you could tell that was the case with Matusz, and may also be the case with Mike Wright. Once things start to turn south, putting on the brakes is like trying to stop a freight train.

However, I wouldn’t expect your pitching coach to come out and say it publicly.

Wallace was also asked about two situations where managers are believed not to use their bullpen effectively. One, in 2016 when Buck Showalter did not use Britton, and the other in 2003 when Grady Little stuck with Pedro Martinez too long in the ALCS.

Wallace did not answer either of those questions directly but instead provided another situation.

"“The manager has the last call, and you respect that,” said Wallace. “Bobby V. (Valentine) in the 2000 World Series. We were down three games to one with Al Leiter pitching. Luis Sojo was up in the top of the ninth. Al had something like 130 pitches. He was struggling like hell. Bobby said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘He’s done; we have to get him out.’“We had Turk Wendell, John Franco, Armando Benitez, and Dennis Cook— four really good guys in the bullpen. Bobby left him in. Sojo gets a hit, and we lose. They win and the World Series is over.“The first thing Bobby says to me is, ‘Hey, don’t forget now; you’ve got to cover my ass.’ That’s OK. He’s the manager. You can agree and disagree on everything. Hindsight is always 20-20.”"

Sounds a little bit like he didn’t agree with Buck, but isn’t willing to admit it this close to the game.

All the right things were said about Wallace leaving the Orioles and something going on at home that he needed to be home for more than he could during the regular season. And we certainly hope that all is well on that front.

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But, regarding his comments, they do seem a bit vindictive.

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Baltimore Orioles: Dave Wallace raises eyebrows on Zach Britton comments

By Nate Wardle | Jan 25, 2017

The Baltimore Orioles have arguably the best closer in baseball, but his former pitching coach said that Zach Britton did not have the ability to succeed as a starter.