Chris Bassitt: Former Mets 15 Game Winner (2022)
He was a star pitcher in high school & was recruited to play collegiately. He attended the University of Akron playing for the Akron Zips where he was a closer in his freshman year.
In his junior year he was named All-Mac second team. The six foot-five right hander was drafted by the Chicago White Son in the 16th round of the 2011 draft.
MLB Debut: On August 30th, 2014, he made his MLB debut, he took a loss giving up five runs to the Tigers.
On September 22nd he earned his first career win, as shut out the Tigers in Detroit into the 8th inning. He was 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six games.
Bassitt spent six seasons with Oakland, started going 1-8 in 2015. In 2016 he pitched in only six games then needed Tommy John surgery; he would miss the rest of the season & half the 2017 season.
On June 9th, 2018, he made his first start in two years, he gave up just one run in seven innings to the Royals but took a 2-1 loss to Danny Duffy. He went 2-3 on the year with a 3.02 ERA.
In 2019 Bassitt was 10-5 for the wild card A's, with a 3.81 ERA, striking out 141 batters in 144 innings of work. Oakland would lose the wild card game to the Tampa Rays. In the 2020 Covid19 shortened season he went 3-0 in September winning the Pitcher of the Month Award.
In the ALWC aeries he was the winning pitcher in Game #2 holding the White Son to a run in seven innings of work. In 2021 he led the AL in winning % (.750) going 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA. He struck out 159 batters & walked 39 in 157 innings in 27 starts. That season he made his first All Star appearance.
All Star Game: Bassitt pitched the 6th inning of the All-Star Game in Colorado. He gave up a
single to Manny Machado then walked two batters, a passed ball with catcher Mike Zunino led to a run. The AL won the game 5-2.
Struck in Face with Line Drive: On August 17th he was struck in the face with a line drive off the bat of Chicago's Brian Goodwin & had to leave the game on a stretcher. His wife & his parents were in attendance at the game. They met him in the ambulance & went to the hospital with him.
He missed a month of action then returned on September 23rd pitching three scoreless innings vs. Seattle.
On March 12th, 2022, the A's traded Bassitt to the New York Mets for J.T. Ginn & Adam Older.
On April 20th the Giants got him for five runs, including a HR by Brandon Belt, as he took his first loss. In his next start he was back in top form, shutting out the Cardinals in St. Louis for six innings allowing just two hits, he did walk three & struck out six in the Mets 3-0 shut out.
he took a loss to Max Fried.
Mets Injuries: When Mets catcher James McCann went down with injury, Bassitt felt there was an adjustment period with backup catcher Tomas Nido.
On May 19th Max Scherzer went on the IL, now with both he & Jacob deGrom out the Mets looked at Bassitt as being the ace of the staff. He went 2-3 in that time with four no decisions.
During those no decisions he had a horrific game in San Francisco where he gave up eight runs, including three HRs, two to Tommy LaStella & one to Joc Pederson in a wild 13-12 Mets loss in San Francisco. He had given up five HRs in his last two starts, 12 runs in 10.2 innings pitched.
On June 8th he gave up seven runs in San Diego taking his fourth loss to get to 4-4 with a 4.48 ERA.
On June 14th he finally got a win, as he shut out the Brewers at Citi Field for eight innings, while walking one & striking out seven.
In his next start at Citi Field, he gave up three runs to the Marlins in 6.1 innings of work, taking a loss to Sandy Alcantara who held the Mets to two runs while striking out eight in eight innings of work.
From June 25th to July 8th, he did not walk a batter in 13.1 innings, the longest streak of his career. On June 25th, he beat the Marlins in South Florida, although he gave up a pair of HRs, the Mets Pete Alonso hit two HRs to lead the Mets to a 5-3 win.
He missed a week of action, testing positive for Covid although he felt fine with no symptoms.When he returned, he faced the Marlins for the third straight time, although he gave up just two runs, he was the losing pitcher in the 5-3 loss.
On July 13th in Atlanta, he kept the Braves to just one run in six innings, striking out six walking two as the Mets went on to a 7-6 win getting Bassitt to 7-6 with a 3.76 ERA in the first half of the season, as the Mets were 58-35 & 2.5 games up in first place.
In his first start after the All-Star break on July 23rd, he struck out a season-high 11 batters which also matched his career best. Bassit gave up just two runs to the Padres, but Blake Snell & the San Diego bullpen held the Mets to just a run in the 2-1 Mets loss as Bassitt fell back to .500 at 7-7.
From July 29th to September 7th, Bassitt did not allow a HR over eight starts, becoming the first Met since Tom Glavine (2007) to do so.
From August 3rd to September 7th, Bassitt went 6-0 allowing one run or less four times in that stretch. First, he shut out the Nat's in seven innings, then on August 8th allowed just one run to the Reds in a 114-pitch game, as he struck out eight.
Quotes- Chris Bassitt: "My job is always that, to eat innings. It's not punch guys out or anything like that. It's just eat innings."
Bassitt then went on to beat the Phillies twice, once at Citi & the other in Philly, holding them down to two runs over 11 innings to get his record to 11-7 while lowering his ERA to 3.26.
In any event the Dodgers too the first game, the Jacob deGrom & Bassitt took the next two. Bassitt held L.A. to two runs on six hits in six innings of work for his 12th win, as the Mets held a three-game lead over Atlanta.On September 7th the Mets were now tied for first place, with Bassitt facing the Pirates in Pittsburgh in a big game. He held the Bucs down to a run in seven innings & struck out ten, reaching double figures for the second time on the year in K's. The Mets went on to a 5-1 win going a half game up in first place.
Bassitt would take a loss to the Cubs on September 12th, then return to beat the Pirates again, shutting them out for six innings while striking out eight.
On September 23rd in Oakland, he earned his 15th win of the year, beating his old A's teammates 9-2, holding them to two runs in eight innings of work, allowing six hits a walk & a HR to Dermis Garcia.
The Mets were powered by Eduardo Escobar's grand slam HR. The win kept them 2.5 games up in front of Atlanta.Atlanta had beaten both deGrom & Scherzer in the first two games. In the Sunday final game, Bassitt gave up four runs led by Dansby Swanson's 25th HR of the season, in 2.2 innings of work as he took the loss.
Post Season- NLWC: In the final game of the NLWC series Bassitt went up against the Padres Joe Musgraves. Musgraves shut out the slumping Mets for seven innings.
On June 2nd, he faced his old Mets teammates at Citi Field shutting them out into the 8th inning, in another combined shut out for his sixth win.
Career Stats: In a ten-year career he is 72-56 with a 3.59 ERA, striking out 1025 batters & walking 357 in 1108.1 innings in 200 appearances making 187 starts.
Family: Chris proposed to his wife Jessica in a castle in Napa Valley. Jessica is a certified holistic coach. They have two daughters.
The Bassitts started the Bassitts Pitch In Program in support of Jays Care Program.
Chris is from Ohio, he is a Ohio State Buckeyes & NFL Cleveland Browns fan.