When Pastor Rich Zawadzki sent me this Zach Britton card for last season and said “Monster card”, I first thought he was referring to Zach’s hitting skills. I’m a little behind the times though. It was in 2011 when Britton was a C starter but had double 1s and a 25-7.
Of course, once I saw Rich’s card, I was instantly reminded of Britton’s excellent season out of the pen last year. His 0.54 ERA and 47 saves for the Orioles qualified him for the rare A&B* grade.
| I | Split | W | L | G | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Totals | 2 | 1 | .667 | 0.54 | 69 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 67.0 | 38 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 74 |
By the way, Britton’s grade translates to 28* if you’re playing the Master Game. That’s two points less than the highest MG grade of 30 given out by APBA. In addition, Britton struck out 74 batters and only walked 18 in 67 innings. For that, he will receive the additional threat of the XYZ ratings. Batters beware!
Did Zach get a monster hitting card? Nope, he received a standard 7-8-9 American League pitchers’ card. That’s ok. Hitting isn’t in his job description anymore.
thanks, Rich!
I’m still waiting for my 2016 set to come. Can’t wait to play with these great cards!
He’s a lefty, though, so for those who play the master game, he can fall victim to lefty-killers whose shifts can be 10 or more. If he was a righty, he wouldn’t face those extreme shifts. Though the batting shifts reflect reality as far as the batter is concern, I’m not sure this matches real life very well for a pitcher. (In real life, Britton actually pitched BETTER to RH batters, though he was also awesome vs lefty batters.)
All that said, I would LOVE to have 67 innings of a 28*, even if he throws with his toes.
Where are the cards?
Playing Britton using computer game in League with 16 teams. He’s NOT acting like a 28XYZ and is blowing saves constantly. Giving up loads of HRs too. I’m actually wondering if his “profile” is messed-up and he’s performing like an “8”, with an ERA in the 3.50 range. This is NOT how my other lower-graded relievers are performing. Anybody else with this experience?
Funny you should say that, Tim. I have Britton on my computer league team.
I really shouldn’t complain. He’s got a 1.94 ERA in a 16-team league. It just seems when I bring him in for the save, he can’t get the 1-2-3 inning. He usually gives up a hit.
Tom
I am having an even worse (than Tim– -> Britton) experience with Aroldis Chapman (4.13 ERA with 4 HR’s giben up through 32.2 innings through 1st half of season. Steve (or anyone out there) is there any way to identify who these “lefty-killers” are?
Curt Cammarata
I challenge anybody to find a better reliever card in the history of APBA. Maybe Fernando Rodney in 2012 comes close and benefits from being a righty, but I can’t imagine any other cards being close to a 28*!