ChiSox Catcher Breaks Thumb

Chicago White Sox catcher Charlie O'Brien, best known for his defensive skills and having caught 10 Cy Young Award winners during his career, is expected to miss three weeks after suffering a broken right thumb today against Cleveland.

O'Brien was diagnosed with a chipped fracture and sublocation of his right thumb after being hit with a foul tip in the third inning of Chicago's 15-9 loss.

In his first season with Chicago after two years in Toronto, O'Brien has split time with Chad Kreuter behind the plate. He is hitting .261 with four homers and 18 RBI in 57 games.

O'Brien's best season came in 1996 for the Blue Jays, when he established career highs in games (109), hits (77), doubles (17), homers (13) and RBI (44) despite batting .238.

In 11 years of major-league service, O'Brien has also spent time with Milwaukee, the New York Mets and Atlanta. While in Toronto the previous two seasons, he caught Pat Hentgen and Roger Clemens, who won the American League Cy Young award in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

O'Brien has also caught Cy Young winners Steve Bedrosian, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz with Atlanta, and David Cone, Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen and Frank Viola while with the Mets. Not all of the pitchers won the award with O'Brien as their catcher.

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