Hoppers reliever Brandon Todd might have a future in blue

from Bill Hass at Bill on Baseball over on www.gsohoppers.com

Let’s be clear – Brandon Todd isn’t ready for a career change just yet.

Not with two saves, a 1.08 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 16.2 innings as a relief pitcher with the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

But down the road, it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see Todd wearing a dark blue uniform calling balls and strikes or working the base paths. After all, he already has a few innings of experience this season.

You may remember the game in April in NewBridge Bank Park when the Hoppers were playing the Asheville Tourists. Koyu Inoue, the home plate umpire, was struck by a foul ball and suffered a concussion. He was taken to the hospital and later released.

When the game resumed, base umpire Jason Hutchings moved behind the plate and, by rule, one player from each team was selected to be a base umpire. For the Hoppers, the choice was easy.

“I’m always joking around in the clubhouse, calling balls and strikes, teeing people up (with technical fouls) like referees,” Todd said. “All the guys on the team knew that. So when (manager Darin Everson) came over and said ‘we might need an umpire,’ everybody was like, ‘oh, BT, go get him.’”

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