Lookouts catcher Chris O'Brien
photo by Mark Meeks
The Comeback Kids. Worst to First. Rally Caps. Team of Destiny.
Good descriptions of the Chattanooga Lookouts’ second half of the 2014 season as the AA Dodger farm team (2-2) is one win away from claiming the Southern League Northern Division and host the Huntsville Stars at AT&T Field tonight at 7:15 EDT in the deciding game of the best-of-five series.
While those long time sports phrases and others are great descriptive terms of a successful team, yet none have ever pitched a no-hitter, produced the game-winning hit or made the final out in the field.
But plenty of Lookouts players have contributed to the late summer surge to the playoffs.
Andres Santiago tossed a no-hitter last week, catcher Chris O’Brien has had a couple of recent game-winning hits, while third baseman Daniel Mayora leads the Southern League in hits (149) and third in RBIs (75), while Scott Schebler leads in home runs (28) and triples (11).
“While maybe some or many folks didn’t see us making the playoffs (after finishing last in the division in the first half) we as players knew we had the talent to win,” said O’Brien, the switch hitting catcher and one of the top hitters on the team at the end of the regular season ad was the Southern League Player of the Week (Aug,25-Sept.1).
“Sometimes it only takes one at bat to rally and win a key game or a pitcher having a great outing late in the season to turn things around.”
Lookouts Drive to the Playoffs: Turning things around might be an understatement as the Looks were 7 ½ out of first place at the end of July and by the close of business on Sun.
Aug 31 the new millennial Boys of Summer had proved the naysayers wrong, gave their fans plenty to cheer about and with a win tonight are three wins from the first pennant since 1988.
O’Brien has been a key player in the late season upswing and has five home runs in the last 12 games and has pro baseball career highs this summer in hits (94) and RBIs (53)
One of the highlights of the season for the longtime Tulsa, Okla. Resident was catching Andres Santiago’s no-hitter and hitting a home run in the 1-0 victory against Tennessee on Aug. 28 which gave the Looks their first lead of the season.
Three days later (Sun. Aug. 31) he topped that effort with a two-run pinch hit triple in the sixth inning to give the Lookouts a 3-2 lead as the Chattanooga nine clinched the division.
But producing timely hits for his team is nothing new for the 25-year-old O’Brien, whose father Charlie O’Brien was a 15-year veteran catcher in the major leagues and a member of the 1995 World Series champion Atlanta Braves, as he led his high school to a state title and a No.3 national ranking as a sophomore and was an All-American and conference player of the year in 2011 at Wichita State.
The Lookouts will rely on O’Brien, Schebler, Mayora and others for plenty of timely hits tonight as the Chattanooga ball club looks to extend the season with a win and claim the division title.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net