Charlie O'Brien

This article is about the major league baseball player. For other people, see Charles O'Brien (disambiguation).

Charlie O'Brien
Catcher
Born: May 1, 1960 (1960-05-01) (age 51) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 2, 1985 for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
June 21, 2000 for the Montreal Expos
Career statistics
Batting average	.221
Home runs	56
Runs batted in	261
Teams
Oakland Athletics (1985) Milwaukee Brewers (1987-1990) New York Mets (1990-1993) Atlanta Braves (1994-1995) Toronto Blue Jays (1996-1997) Chicago White Sox (1998) Anaheim Angels (1998-1999) Montreal Expos (2000)
Career highlights and awards
1995 World Series Champion with the Atlanta Braves

Charles Hugh O'Brien (born May 1, 1960 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Oakland Athletics (1985), Milwaukee Brewers (1987–90), New York Mets (1990–93), Atlanta Braves (1994–95), Toronto Blue Jays (1996–97), Chicago White Sox (1998), Anaheim Angels (1998–99) and Montreal Expos (2000).

While growing up in Tulsa, O'Brien attended and graduated from Bishop Kelley High School. He played baseball collegiately at Wichita State University.

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. He was playing with the Toronto Blue Jays when he invented this different style of mask.

Over the course of his career, O'Brien had the distinction of catching eleven different Cy Young winners: Frank Viola, Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen, David Cone, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Pat Hentgen, Roger Clemens, Chris Carpenter and Jack McDowell. However, he only caught three of these pitchers during Cy Young seasons—Clemens, Hentgen & Maddux. During Maddux's '94 and '95 seasons when he posted ERA's of 1.56 and 1.63 respectively, O'Brien generally served as Maddux's personal catcher.

After getting hit in his mask by two consecutive foul-tip balls in a game, O'Brien had the idea for a new catcher's mask while he was watching a hockey game. He worked with Van Velden Mask Inc., of Hamilton, Ontario, 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 home runs and 261 runs batted in. He was part of the 1995 World Series Champion Atlanta Braves.

His son currently plays baseball for the Wichita State Shockers.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Profile and statistics at CNN/SI

Persondata
Name	Obrien, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 1, 1960
Place of birth	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Date of death
Place of death