Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles: Dave Wallace makes questionable comments about Zach Britton

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:01 p.m. ET

Fansided, Delia Enriquez/FanSided via Birds Watcher

Zach Britton is arguably one of the best closers in Major League Baseball. But former pitching coach Dave Wallace didn’t believe Britton had the ability to succeed as a starter in the Baltimore Orioles rotation.

Zach Britton is known as being one of the best closers in the Major Leagues. Not to mention Britton is a bright spot on the Baltimore Orioles roster.

However, former pitching coach Dave Wallace had some questionable comments about Britton regarding his success as a starter.

Before we talk about Wallace’s comments, let’s take you back to an interview Britton had in September which may or may not have started it all:

In September, Britton made comments saying he could have been a successful starter had he commanded his sinker as well as he had in the Orioles bullpen. If you remember before Britton found success as a closer, he was part of a starting rotation that included Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz. Unfortunately that starting rotation didn’t do the Orioles any favors, and they were basically the punching bag for the rest of the American League East.

Fast forward four months later, Wallace went on the record about what he thought regarding Britton. But Wallace didn’t agree with Britton’s assessment, and thought he wasn’t fit to be a starter at all.

Wallace said the following to FanGraphs on Sunday regarding Britton:

“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.”

Yikes.

Well, it was truly the case with Matusz and has occurred on occasion with Mike Wright. Trying to watch Matuz put hitters away was like watching a runaway train going down the train tracks, and there was no way of reaching the brakes.

However, no one expects the former pitching coach to make critical comments on the record.

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Maybe it was for the best Britton didn’t end up being a starter, because the Orioles found something much better. They found a top-notch closer that they could rely on.