Among the chaos of the beginning of a typical baseball offseason, retirement announcements sometimes get lost in the fray.
The latest, and one that will not be looked past by Oriole fans, is the retirement announcement by Zack Britton, who made it official to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic on Monday.
Britton is remembered for many things during his time in Baltimore, both highs and lows. The left-hander went from a starter who couldn’t find his groove to the league’s best closer, just like that.
Britton was drafted by the Orioles way back in 2006 right out of high school. The young 19-year-old would have to venture a long road before making his debut, which took place on April 3, 2011.
The 2011 season saw 28 games from Britton, all of which were starts. He ended the year with a respectable 11-11 record and a 4.61 ERA. Following his first full season, Britton battled injuries over the next two years.
Now, in 2014, Britton really “sunk” into his role as closer. Equipped with a high 90s fastball paired with the most devastation sinker in the league, it was nearly impossible for batters to create real contact off the crafty lefty.
That season, he pitched to a 1.65 ERA in 71 appearances, including 37 saves, 62 strikeouts and a 0.90 WHIP. Britton was also big in the American League Division Series against Detroit, which included a series-sealing double play to end game three.
Believe it or not, Britton got better. The 2015 season saw his first All-Star Game appearance during a year, in which he finished with a 1.92 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 65.2 innings pitched.
However, 2016 is the year that will go down in history for Britton. This season saw his second straight All-Star nod, which realistically should have accompanied a CY Young victory.
Britton finished with an absolutely mind-blowing 0.54 ERA. He allowed only four earned runs all season, with just one home run given up, and his 47 saves were good for the league lead and netted him a perfect 100% save rate.
He held a FIP (fielder independent pitching) of just 1.96. Not to mention a 0.86 WHIP, which is even more unheard of, especially in the current stage the game is in.
As we all know, that season ended in controversy, as Britton was never used in that 2016 Wild Card Game in Toronto. That’s all that will be said.
Unfortunately for Britton, as many of his early 2010s Oriole teammates, he was shipped off in the midst of the 2018 fire sale. He was unlucky enough to find himself in the dysfunction of the New York Yankees, which acquired Britton for a group of arms that included current Oriole reliever Dillon Tate.
Following his amazing 2016 campaign, Britton struggled to ever see that kind of success again. His 2018 & 2019 were solid years. However, they preceded what would be the injury-plagued downfall of Britton’s career.
In the end, Britton netted 154 career saves, two All-Star appearances, a fourth place vote in MVP in 2016 and a winner of the Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year Award in that same year.
From all of Birdland, we wish Zack Britton the best in retirement. Thank you for the memories, Zack!
What do you think of Zack’s career? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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