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Baseball Stew: Baltimore Orioles’ Zach Britton is a key closer

By Wayne Stewart

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Some players, such as Ernie Banks, go a baseball lifetime and never get as much as a tiny sip of World Series “coffee.”

On the other hand, many a relatively inexperienced player has been fortunate enough to play in the Fall Classic. This year, if 26-year-old Zach Britton has anything to say about it, his Baltimore Orioles will soon advance to the World Series, take a deep gulp of that delectable, aromatic “coffee,” then saunter away with a championship ring. Without him, there is probably no way the Orioles even breeze to a division title this season – let alone win it all.

The regular season stats of this 6′ 3″ lefty who had just two relief appearances with no saves to his credit going into 2014 were spectacular. Over his 76 1/3 innings pitched, his earned run average stood proudly at 1.65 and his 37 saves ranked fourth in the American League. Not bad for a guy who had posted ERAs of 4.61, 5.07, and 4.95 in his first three years in the majors. His WPA (Win Probability Added) was 3.5, fifth-best in the AL, only six pitchers in his league finished more contests, and his WHIP was an impressive 0.904.

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Britton is quite analytical when it comes to his craft. When told that Kent Tekulve once said his ideal work schedule would be to work two days in a row, but not more, and to never sit for more than two days, Britton recently told me, “I think now a lot of days off is a little tougher.”

Back in August, he gave the impression that he favors the times when he knows he’ll be going into games.

"“Close games, a game we’re trying to win—we’re kind of going into that stretch right now [late in the regular season].  I think there was a time when I was, like, [working in] seven of nine games and that was the best I felt all season, throwing a lot.  Now I’ve kind of been, like, [pitching in] two of nine or one of nine, so you’ve just got to find a way to stay sharp.”"

He clearly preferred working in games rather than on the side in order to keep sharp.  When not facing big leaguers, he said he tried to “stay sharp with early work and stuff like that.”

Britton said once given the closer job he “kept the same routine that I [already] had,” the one he developed about halfway through spring training with the help of pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti. Part of his philosophy was to pitch his game regardless “of what inning I’m throwing.”

Britton also said as the season was nearing its end, when the long year really begins to take its toil on arms, it was important to “make sure you’re healthy all the way, strong for the season.”

He admitted it something easier said than done, but that’s when the winners tough it out, down the dog days and through the pennant races of a season. In mid-August he told me, “I think you find that this time of the season, especially when your appearances start getting up there and these games start to mean a lot more, there’s definitely a lot that you can learn from those guys who have been in this situation before about what need and what you don’t need.”

A closer, he said, has to find out what is working on a given day and go with it. Naturally, he added, his catcher helps him out in that aspect.

"“Definitely.  We’re watching the game, but a lot of those guys, whether it’s Caleb Joseph or Nick Hundley have been working the game. They know what’s been working with some of the hitters and I think you definitely lean on them, especially when you don’t have your stuff working that day, when it’s time to bear down and pitch a little bit more.  Those guys are instrumental in making that adjustment with you right away.”"

Britton even addressed the issue of the rules which sometimes allow relievers to earn what some critics perceive to be cheap saves. Entering a game with a comfortable lead in the top of the ninth and then being asked to retire three men– perhaps the bottom third of the batting order–to notch a save is quite different than what often occurred in the days when a closer was called a fireman because they entered the game in dire situations quite often and were expected to put out fires.  Coming into a contest, frequently well before the ninth inning, with, say, a bases-loaded and nobody or one out situation was relatively common some time ago.

"“There are times when guys in the seventh or eighth inning, or even earlier, are probably getting the hardest inning of the game when you look back on it and say, ‘That inning right there probably determined which way the game was going to go.’ So I think there’s definitely times when the ninth is not the hardest inning of the game, per se, but you definitely have those outings where they may be coming up with guys on base and the heart of their lineup in a close game. I guess that’s when you kind of [really] earn it, but there are other innings [which often are the key ones].”"

Likewise, some experts argue a closer should, in fact, be used in, say, the eighth inning if the opponent threatens and/or has the meat of their order due up in a tight game. Britton said, “Right.  I don’t think you necessarily say, ‘This guy’s a closer, that’s the reason why he has to throw the ninth.’ You can bring him in [earlier] depending on the situation, but I think that’s kind of where it is right now.  It’s like that label of ‘closer’ [mandates strategy].”

Britton, a third-round draft pick, said he was willing to work multiple innings and he didn’t mind if he was asked to work in an inning other than the ninth.  As a matter of fact, in the opening game of the ALDS against Detroit, Britton pitched to just one batter, retiring Victor Martinez on a ground out to end the eighth inning. That kept the score at 4-3. When the Orioles exploded for eight runs in the bottom half of the inning, Britton got the night off as Baltimore handed the ball off to Tommy Hunter then breezed to a 12-3 win. He would work a perfect three-up, three-down inning in the next game to secure his first postseason save.

Asked to name a few outstanding relievers, Britton had a list of personal favorites, but stuck namely with a New York Yankees legend.

"“You know, obviously you look at Mariano Rivera— obviously everybody does just because of what he’s done.  You look at him as the guy who has really dominated with one pitch and that’s [amazing]. Watching him with that cutter and talking to our hitters about how effective one pitch can be when you command it.  That’s something I’ve really leaned on in the ninth inning or whatever— commanding my best pitch, both sides of the plate, not just throwing it over the plate, but having command to both sides. I mean, I throw a sinker a lot, the majority of the time, so you kind of look at [it] like, ‘OK, he’s successful,’ but then you’re like, ‘OK, Rivera [with one key pitch] is the greatest of all-time.’ There’s no right or wrong formula, but it’s amazing how effective you can be when you command a pitch.”"

No question, his sinker is a fantastic pitch. While his one inning of work for a save in Game #3 of the ALDS wasn’t exactly perfect, his sinker allowed the O’s to nail things down against Detroit. After surrendering back-to-back doubles to the Martinez duo of Victor and J.D., Britton fanned Bryan Holaday. Clinging to a skimpy one-run lead, Buck Showalter conferred with Britton and decided to do the unorthodox– he ordered an intentional walk to Nick Castellanos which placed the potential winning run on base. Britton’s favorite out pitch to the next batter, seldom-used Hernan Perez, resulted in two outs (although some sources say he went with a low fastball here). A 5-to-4-to-3 double play gave Baltimore a sweep of the declawed Tigers.

Who knows, maybe 15 years down the road the name of Zach Britton will rank up there– perhaps not quite as high as Rivera, but up in baseball’s stratosphere, nevertheless.

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