The last time a closer won the Cy Young award, it took Eric Gagne breaking the National League saves record, amidst a stretch of 84 consecutive saves in the span of three seasons. In three years as the closer for the Baltimore Orioles, Zach Britton has developed into one of the most dependable relievers in the major leagues, and may have earned himself a Cy Young after arguably the best season in franchise history.
In 2016, Britton set a club record for 41 1/3 scoreless innings. Behind him, the Orioles had one of the best bullpens in baseball this season, pitching to a 3.40 earned run average, fourth-best in MLB. Britton dominated at the end of games, allowing just four earned runs all year. The only home run hit off him all season was on April 11. Since then, he has gone 63 innings without allowing a homer.
The left-hander made it look easy this season, even against right-handed batters. He allowed just a .155 average against righties, as lefties still struggled, hitting .185. In 26 of his 69 outings, Britton retired the side 1-2-3 and six times retired the side on less than nine pitches.
In the month of May, the lefty closer was practically unhittable. Through 11 innings he did not surrender a run, allowing just three hits and two walks, while picking up 13 strikeouts. Britton would also not allow a run in July and September. In fact, from the start of May to the end of the season, he allowed just one earned run.
During that span, he pitched 57 innings and had 61 strikeouts and a .160 BAA. In games that he pitched, the Orioles went 50-8, as the lefty pitched in just 10 losing efforts all season. Orioles fans to this day still wonder why manager Buck Showalter did not bring in his closer in the American League Wild Card game.
Since 2014, only Melancon (131), Kenley Jansen (127) and Francisco Rodriguez (126) have recorded more saves than Britton (120). Britton also is also third in franchise history for saves, sitting behind Jim Johnson and Gregg Olson, who saved 160 games for the Orioles from 1989-93.
The statistics alone can’t explain Britton’s extraordinary year. Maybe a Cy Young award will at least give his season some justice. Using him for only 67 innings and making the mistake to not bring him in during the final game of the season, Showalter might want to expand his usage of his closer in the future — as a former starter, Britton is capable of throwing more innings. He has thrown as many as 154 innings in a season as a starter and as many as 76 innings as a closer.
If we have learned anything from this season’s playoffs, it’s to bring the closer out whenever the team needs big outs. Relievers, like Britton and Andrew Miller, may just become the new breed of closer; a closer that can get more than just three outs every night.
Josh Belanger is the Nationals and Orioles writer for Outside Pitch Sports Network. You can connect with him on Facebook and also on Twitter.
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