July 23, 2008

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Former major league pitcher and Upstate native Britt Reames has joined the Furman baseball program as pitching coach, Paladin head coach Ron Smith announced Wednesday.

Reames replaces Brent Shade, who recently accepted a similar position at Mercer University following four seasons at Furman.

"Needless to say we're thrilled to have Britt join our staff," said Smith in making the announcement. "He brings tremendous enthusiasm, credibility, and a very high level of experience and knowledge to our program, as well as a full appreciation of the competitiveness of the Southern Conference."

A Seneca, S.C., product, and 1996 graduate of The Citadel, Reames spent six seasons in the major leagues from 2000-06 with four different clubs, including St. Louis, Montreal, Oakland, and Pittsburgh. He also played three seasons of winter ball in the Dominican Republic during that span.

At The Citadel, where he posted an 18-7 record and 2.03 ERA over four seasons, he twice earned All-Southern Conference honors while helping the Bulldogs to a pair of league tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.

Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 17th round of the 1995 Major League Draft, he worked his way up through the minor leagues before making his major league debut with the Cardinals in 2000, going 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA over 40 2/3 innings of work. He was a credited with the win in the Cardinals' game three series clinching playoff victory over the Atlanta Braves in the 2000 NLDS.

In December of 2000 he was traded to the Montreal Expos, where he spent three seasons. He later made appearances with the Oakland Athletics in 2005 and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006 before returning to the Upstate to devote attention to his Anderson, S.C., business, Blue Chip Baseball, an instructional service that he began in 2003.

Reames will be inducted into The Citadel's Athletic Hall-of-Fame on Nov. 1 this year.