Orioles closer Zach Britton had a season for the ages in 2016.
That's not new information to anyone who follows the Orioles, of course. Still, a trip through the stats is truly impressive. Britton was the only perfect closer in baseball in 2016, successfully converting all 47 of his save opportunities. He racked up nearly twice as many strikeouts (74) as hits allowed (38), and he allowed less than one base runner per inning (0.84 WHIP), holding opposing batters to a microscopic .161 average and .430 OPS.
Some of Britton's numbers were downright historic. His 0.54 ERA was the lowest in major league history for pitchers with at least 65 innings pitched. He became the third pitcher to post an ERA below 1.00 while notching 40 or more saves and the first to do so without blowing a save. And from May to August, Britton pitched 43 consecutive games without allowing an earned run, setting an MLB record.
