George Sherrill

George Sherrill
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 52
Relief pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Left
debut
July 16, 2004, for the Seattle Mariners
Career statistics (through July 28,2009)
Win-Loss	13-14
Earned run average	3.65
Strikeouts	238
Saves	55
Teams
Seattle Mariners (2004-2007) Baltimore Orioles (2008-2009) Los Angeles Dodgers (2009-present)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (2008)

George Friederich Sherrill (born April 19, 1977, in Template:City-state), also known as "The Brim Reaper", "Flat Breezy", and "Duckbill" (all due to the fact that he keeps the brim of his hat very flat while he plays), is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Career

Sherrill was not drafted after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Sherrill was a career player in the independent leagues before finally getting an opportunity with the Seattle Mariners.

Minor leagues/Seattle Mariners

Sherrill began his professional career in the independent Frontier League pitching for the Evansville Otters. In 22 games he was 2-4 with a 3.15 ERA. He played for Evansville in 1999 and 2000. He also pitched for the Quebec Capitales in the Northeast League in 2000. He moved to the Northern League om 2001 and pitched for the Sioux Falls Canaries and Lincoln Saltdogs. In 2002 and 2003, he was played for the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Northern League.

In July 2003, Sherrill’s was signed to a minor league contract by the Seattle Mariners. He played the balance of the season for the Double-A San Antonio Missions, and was selected as a Seattle representative for the Arizona Fall League.

In 2004, he started the season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers making the Triple-A All-Star team. However, he was not allowed to play in the All-Star game since he was being promoted to the Mariners.

Sherrill made his MLB debut on July 16, 2004, against the Cleveland Indians, he took the loss after working one inning of relief and allowing two runs to score. He split 2005 between Tacoma and Seattle and joined the Mariners full-time in 2006.

2007 was a breakout season for Sherrill; he posted career numbers, with a sub-2 ERA for most of the season. With the 2006 injury of Mark Lowe, and the trading away of Rafael Soriano during the offseason, Sherrill became the primary 8th inning bridge to Mariners closer J. J. Putz.

Baltimore Orioles

On February 8, 2008, Sherrill was traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with rising star Adam Jones and minor league pitchers Kam Mickolio, Chris Tillman, and Tony Butler, for Orioles lefty Érik Bédard. On March 18, 2008, Sherrill was named the closer for Baltimore Orioles.

On July 6, 2008, Sherrill was named as one of the closing pitchers to represent the American League in the 2008 All-Star Game. In his first All-Star game appearance, Sherrill struck out 2 batters and gave up one hit over 2 1/3 innings. He pitched part of the 12th, and all of the 13th and 14th innings in the record-setting 15 inning game.

He signed a one-year $2.5 million dollar contract with the Orioles for the 2009 season. He had a 2.40 era in 42 appearances for the Orioles, including 20 saves over the first half of 2009.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 30, 2009, Sherrill was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two prospects: third baseman Josh Bell and pitcher Steve Johnson. The next night, he struck out the side against the Atlanta Braves in his Dodgers debut.

Signature style

Sherrill is noted for wearing his hat flat-billed as a statement of independence (his teammates in the minor leagues used to joke that he didn't even know how to bend the brim of his hat like a proper professional).

During the 2008 season, some of Sherrill's Baltimore teammates would flip up the brims of their hats every time he successfully closed out a game. Orioles fans nicknamed this move the Flat Breezy, and the Orioles television announcers would sometimes announce an Orioles win after a Sherrill save as "flat breezy time." In a MASN post-game interview, Sherrill credited former Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar, a noted prankster, as the originator of this gesture.

His entrance song is White Zombie's Blood, Milk and Sky.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
• Sherrill’s professional career