Player Spotlight - Chris Brinker - BUST!
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:42 pm
"With the 15th pick in the 1st round of the 2001 draft, the Blazers are proud to select SP Chris Brinker..." was the call. Seemed like a solid pick at the time. A LH SP with a heavy sinker, very high baseball IQ, and a high work ethic. Flash forward to 2007 and Brinker is in the Hall of...actually he is in the hall at Burger King mopping up puke from a 6 year old who eat too many Jr. Whopper's. Where did it all go wrong for this once talented lefty.
He got off to a promising start in 2001 for Brockton. Going 4-5 with a solid 2.43 ERA in 15 starts. Things looked good for him that winter as he was told he would be promoted to Dearborn Heights. In 2002 he managed to put together a solid season going 6-10 with a respectable 3.39ERA. However things seem to be slipping for him as he walked 56 batters in just over 124 innings. In 2003 he appeared to be effectively wild as he posted a 2.51ERA through 11 starts earning a promotion to AA Mobile. Four and a half years later and Brinker is still in Mobile. In those four and a half years Brinker has compiled a record of 29-44 with a horrific 4.98ERA. It get's worse. His 294 BB's in that time have contributed to a WHIP of 1.70. The low point being in 2006 when he knocked out cold a batter in the on deck circle 25ft from home plate. When asked at the time what led to the wild pitch, Brinker indicated that he thought he saw Canadian babe Evangeline Lilly of the mega popular (at that time) show Lost. Clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, incidents like that have led to a once promising career be flushed down the toilet. The scout who rated his Intelligence as high may want to look for a new line of work. Perhaps at Burger King working the drive through window.
While certainly not the biggest bust in MBWBA history, Brinker is another example of how being a top draft choice doesn't mean you will make the big leagues. At 29yrs old and still struggling in AA, Brinker spends his summers working at Burger King. After Brinker finished cleaning up the puke in the halls, his Boss informed him he needed to head to the kids bathroom as a toy Lightning McQueen had clogged the toilet and caused it to overflow. It is not clear at this time if Brinker will return for another season at AA. His control has gotten so bad that it has become dangerous for batters in the WCL. Perhaps if he was able to apply the same control he demonstrates at Burger King on the mound, he would be working his way towards an all together different kind of hall....
He got off to a promising start in 2001 for Brockton. Going 4-5 with a solid 2.43 ERA in 15 starts. Things looked good for him that winter as he was told he would be promoted to Dearborn Heights. In 2002 he managed to put together a solid season going 6-10 with a respectable 3.39ERA. However things seem to be slipping for him as he walked 56 batters in just over 124 innings. In 2003 he appeared to be effectively wild as he posted a 2.51ERA through 11 starts earning a promotion to AA Mobile. Four and a half years later and Brinker is still in Mobile. In those four and a half years Brinker has compiled a record of 29-44 with a horrific 4.98ERA. It get's worse. His 294 BB's in that time have contributed to a WHIP of 1.70. The low point being in 2006 when he knocked out cold a batter in the on deck circle 25ft from home plate. When asked at the time what led to the wild pitch, Brinker indicated that he thought he saw Canadian babe Evangeline Lilly of the mega popular (at that time) show Lost. Clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, incidents like that have led to a once promising career be flushed down the toilet. The scout who rated his Intelligence as high may want to look for a new line of work. Perhaps at Burger King working the drive through window.
While certainly not the biggest bust in MBWBA history, Brinker is another example of how being a top draft choice doesn't mean you will make the big leagues. At 29yrs old and still struggling in AA, Brinker spends his summers working at Burger King. After Brinker finished cleaning up the puke in the halls, his Boss informed him he needed to head to the kids bathroom as a toy Lightning McQueen had clogged the toilet and caused it to overflow. It is not clear at this time if Brinker will return for another season at AA. His control has gotten so bad that it has become dangerous for batters in the WCL. Perhaps if he was able to apply the same control he demonstrates at Burger King on the mound, he would be working his way towards an all together different kind of hall....
