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Baltimore Orioles: Major Takeaways from the 2016 Season

By Greg Goldstein

Aug 30, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Zach Britton (53) high fives catcher Matt Wieters (32) after beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Zach Britton (53) high fives catcher Matt Wieters (32) after beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /
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Zach Britton had one of the best seasons ever for a closer

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Wow….that’s all I can see with the season that Orioles closer Zach Britton had in 2016. It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise being that the 28 year-old closer was coming off a very successful campaign last year in which he collected 36 saves, while finishing with a 1.92 ERA and a career-high 10.8 strikeout rate per nine innings. This is even more impressive when considering that the lefty is a sinkerball pitcher whose strength is in his ability to get weak contact.

This year did not even compare to what Britton this past season, though. The two-time all-star was a perfect 47/47 in save opportunities, but that wasn’t even the most impressive statistic that Britton put up. He finished with a ridiculous 0.54 ERA, in which he allowed four earned runs in 67 innings of work. Britton averaged over a strikeout per appearance while also posting a groundball rate of 80 percent, which was a career-high. His fly ball rate was an anemic 8.8 percent and he allowed close to five percent less her contact than in 2015, according to FanGraphs, which was still tremendous for any relief pitcher

Looking past the numbers, just watching Britton work was truly amazing. His sinker is probably the most unhittable pitch in the game of baseball. Yes it’s better than Andrew Miller‘s slider or Aroldis Chapman‘s faster. It even compares to the legendary Mariano Rivera cutter. Britton’s sinker sits at 97-98 mph and shoots downward when it arrives at the plate, so there is not much chance that a hitter can make solid contact. Either a batter will chase the sinker low because it’s tough to pick up that it will dip in the zone or the batter will top a weak ground ball to someone on the infield. Really the only way to get on base is if the ball is spiraled into the ground for an infield hit.

Britton proved himself to be the best relief pitcher in baseball and he should receive strong consideration for the AL Cy Young award even though the odds are stacked against him because of  his lack of innings when comparing him to the best starting pitchers in the American League.

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