Mario Brito

Mario Dionisio Brito

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 185-220 lb.

• Born April 9, 1966 in Bonao, Dominican Republic

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Mario Brito spent 14 years in professional baseball, including six in AAA. He was 68-55 in Organized Baseball and 7-12 in Asia.

Brito began his professional career with the 1986 GCL Expos, going 5-3 with a 4.10 ERA. The next year, the 21-year-old did well in low class A, with a 6-5, 3.02 record and 89 strikeouts in 95 IP for the Jamestown Expos. In 1988, Mario was 13-8 for the Rockford Expos with a 3.00 ERA. He struck out 144 batters in 186 innings. The next year, he went 11-8 with a 2.89 ERA for the West Palm Beach Expos, his ERA continuing to fall with each level. With the 1990 Jacksonville Expos, the Dominican right-hander was 9-7 with a 3.19 ERA. He was 8th in the Southern League in ERA.

He was the player to be named later when Tim Raines and Jeff Carter were traded to the Chicago White Sox for Ivan Calderon and Barry Jones on December 23, 1990. The Expos sent Brito to the White Sox to complete the trade on February 15, 1991.

Brito had a horrible year in the White Sox system, leading their farmhands with 14 losses. He was 0-10 with a 7.12 ERA for the Vancouver Canadians in his AAA debut and was 2-4 with a 3.30 ERA after a demotion to the Birmingham Barons.

Mario spent 1992 back with the Expos system, going 6-4 with a 2.21 ERA and 3 saves in 46 games for the Harrisburg Senators and 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two relief stints for the Indianapolis Indians, successfully making the conversion to relief work. Brito then split 1993 between Harrisburg (4-3, 10 Sv, 2.68, 51 K and 11 BB in 50 1/3 IP) and the Ottawa Lynx (2-0, 1.32, 2 Sv in 23 games). He led Expos minor leaguers with 59 games pitched. However, he did not get a chance to pitch in the big leagues.

In the 1993-1994 Dominican League, Mario was 2-2 with 11 saves and a 1.67 ERA, only walking 3 in 38 innings for the regular-season champion Escogido Lions.

Joining the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Brito spent his first full year in AAA. He went 6-2 with 11 saves and a 2.50 ERA in 40 outings for the New Orleans Zephyrs, splitting closing duties with Ron Rightnowar. Brito fanned 74 and allowed 39 hits and 20 walks in 57 2/3 IP.

Brito then went overseas to pitch for the Brother Elephants in 1995. He had a 3-4 record, 3.16 ERA and 7 saves.

Brito again dazzled in winter ball, allowing only one earned run in 28 innings for Escogido and setting the Dominican League record with 19 saves. He was 1-0, fanned 34 and allowed 24 baserunners. Baseball America named him a "Winter League All-Star". He saved two more in the playoffs but allowed another earned run in 7 innings.

The Florida Marlins signed the forkballer. He started 1996 strong with the Charlotte Knights, winning one and saving four in six games, whiffing one and allowing 3 hits, two walks and one run in five innings. He did not stay in the Florida system long, going to Japan to join the Yomiuri Giants. In 39 games, he was 3-2 with 19 saves and a 3.33 ERA despite allowing just over a hit per inning. He pitched a scoreless 8th inning in game three of the 1996 Japan Series, which Yomiuri lost; they lost the Series, 4 games to 1.

Returning to Taiwan, Brito was just 1-6 with 8 saves and a 4.21 ERA for the 1997 Elephants.

Brito pitched for the Torreon Cotton Dealers in 2000, going 1-1 with 7 saves and a 5.14 ERA in 21 games.

Brito was named pitching coach for the 2009 DSL Indians and returned in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Sources: 1987-1998 Baseball Almanacs, K.T. Choi's Taiwanese baseball database, Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland, The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, 2010 Indians Media Guide

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