Buck Britton Returns To Lead Baysox In 2021

The Baltimore Orioles announced today that Buck Britton will return to manage the Bowie Baysox for the 2021 season. Justin Ramsey and Ryan Fuller will join Britton as the team’s Pitching Coach and Hitting Coach respectively with Jeff Kunkel serving as the Fundamentals Coach and Grant Anders as Development Coach. Marty Brinker will join the Baysox as Athletic Trainer and Jon Medici as Strength and Conditioning Coach.

BUCK BRITTON returns to Bowie for his second season as the team’s manager (he was scheduled to be the team’s manager during the 2020 season prior to the season being canceled). He led the 2019 Baysox to the Eastern League Championship Series against the Trenton Thunder in his first year managing at the Double-A level. Britton also managed the Class-A Delmarva Shorebirds in the South Atlantic League during the 2018 season, leading the Shorebirds to a 68-66 record in his managerial debut after beginning his coaching career with the Shorebirds in 2017.

The brother of former Baysox and Orioles pitcher Zack Britton, Buck became the first former Bowie player to manage the Baysox in club history. He had a nine-year professional career in the minor leagues, predominantly in the Orioles’ system. A 35th-round pick in the 2008 draft by Baltimore, Britton started in Rookie level Bluefield before a 2009 season that saw him play for Class-A Short Season Aberdeen, Class-A Delmarva, Class-A Advanced Frederick, and Double-A Bowie.

Through the 2014 season, Britton bounced between Frederick, Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk before signing minor league contracts with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2015 season and the Minnesota Twins before the 2016 season.

A second baseman primarily, Britton enjoyed a solid statistical season with the Baysox in 2012. Playing in 99 games for Bowie, Britton hit .294 with 23 doubles, a triple and nine home runs, along with 54 RBI. He would follow up that production with 52 RBI in 61 games for the Baysox in 2013 and a .317 clip in 61 games for Bowie in 2014. Britton ranks 5th in club history in RBI (171), 7th in hits (337) and doubles (68), & 8th in runs (178).

JUSTIN RAMSEY begins his first season as Pitching Coach for the Baysox in 2021. He was scheduled to serve as Pitching Coach of the Baysox prior to the cancellation of the 2020 season. Ramsey is in his third season as a coach in the Orioles system. Prior to becoming a coach, Ramsey played three seasons of independent baseball for the Long Beach Armada (18-11; 3.75 ERA) before beginning his coaching career with Sacramento City College (2007-2011). He would follow that up with coaching stints at Long Beach State University (2012-2014) and Nova Southeastern University (2015-2018).

Ramsey served as Pitching Coach of the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds during the 2019 season and was named the South Atlantic League Coach of the Year. He oversaw one of the league’s premier pitching staffs in Minor League Baseball that season. The Shorebirds led the South Atlantic League in ERA (3.00), WHIP (1.18), and strikeouts (1,389). They also allowed the fewest home runs (67). Under Ramsey’s guidance, Delmarva set the South Atlantic League record for the most strikeouts in a single season. The 2019 Shorebirds pitching staff featured some of the Orioles’ top pitching prospects in Grayson Rodriguez, Drew Rom, Blaine Knight and Gray Fenter (now with Chicago Cubs).

RYAN FULLER joins the Baysox for his first season as Baysox Hitting Coach in 2021 and his second season with the Orioles organization. He was scheduled to be the Delmarva Shorebirds Hitting Coach in 2020 prior to the season being canceled. After playing one season in the Arizona Diamondbacks system in 2012, Fuller became a hitting instructor at Power in Training (The PIT) in Connecticut. A second-team All-Big East performer at the University of Connecticut, he led the team with five triples in 2012, finishing second on the Huskies’ single-season leaderboard.

JEFF KUNKEL enters his second season in the Orioles organization in 2021, first as Fundamentals Coach with the Baysox. Originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, Kunkel spent six seasons in the Tigers’ farm system as a catcher before becoming the Tigers’ bullpen catcher in 2012. The University of Michigan standout and All-Big 10 performer served as an area scout for the Tigers before joining the Orioles as a coach.

MARTY BRINKER joins the Baysox for his first season as Bowie’s Athletic Trainer and his seventh season in the Orioles organization. Prior to joining the Baysox, Brinker has served as Athletic Trainer for the former Orioles High-A affiliate Frederick Keys and the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds. The Capital University and University of Akron graduate has also served as the Assistant Athletic Trainer at the United States Military Academy at West Point prior to joining the Orioles system.

JON MEDICI begins his first season as the Baysox Strength and Conditioning Coach and his second year with the Orioles organization. Prior to joining the Orioles, Medici was a Strength and Conditioning Coach in the San Francisco Giants organization from 2017-2019 and served as the Physical Performance Coach in the Colorado Rockies organization during the 2016 season.

The Bowie Baysox 2021 season is presented by Money One Federal Credit Union. The 2021 season is the Baysox 29th season, all as the Double-A Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Baysox are scheduled to play a total of 120 games during the 2021 season with 60 at home and 60 on the road. Bowie will begin the 2021 season on the road Tuesday, May 4 with a six-game series at Altoona followed by the team’s home opener, on Tuesday, May 11 with a six-game series against the Reading Fightin Phils.

*Additional information regarding Game Times, Single Game Ticket Sales, Promotional Events and 2021 Team Roster will be announced soon. Fans are encouraged to stay up to date by following the Baysox official <a href="https://twitter.com/BowieBaysox" target="blank" >Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts for more information. *_