New man: Zach Britton to be known as Zack

NEW YORK (AP) — Zack Britton will be a different pitcher for the New York Yankees this year — at least in name.

Known throughout his baseball career as Zach, the 31-year-old reliever said Thursday going forward his name should be spelled Zack.

Britton tweeted "I will be going by my legal name 'Zack' instead of my stage name 'Zach.'

He added: "everyone continue to breath normally."

Britton said of his reason for not changing the spelling earlier: "It's a long story. It never bothered me though."

His name was spelled "Zachary G. Britton" by Major League Baseball when the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the third round of the 2006 amateur draft with the 85th overall pick and he was listed as "Zach" in each of Baltimore's media guides starting in 2007. He made his major league debut in 2011 and was an All-Star in 2015 and '16.

He is listed as "Zackary Grantantero Britton" in the California Birth Index, "Zackary Grant Antero Britton" in his 2017 Texas voter registration and "Zackary G. Britton" in his 2015 Nevada voter registration. His auto registrations have been as "Zackary" and "Zack."

Britton was traded to the Yankees last summer, became a free agent and agreed to a $39 million, three-year contract with New York last month.