The profile of modern day relievers is pretty simple, which is high volatility and short primes. The elite-level relievers maintain the prime a little longer and experience less sudden shifts in performance, but in general, the days of long tenured dominance from relief pitchers has mostly gone by the wayside. This is why we feel that rumble in our belly when the greatest trot out during the game’s biggest moments.
As a closer myself, there is no feeling like that slow jog to the mound, all eyes on you with the weight of the world on your shoulders. Three outs, at least, to feel the thrill of victory, while the opposition stares with intent of destruction. As a fan, that intense emotion is equal. The seat is no longer necessary, unless you can no longer feel your legs, as the body stands involuntarily due to excess anticipation and nervousness. The closer enters.
Few have been able to do the job of a closer so consistently for such a long time that the feeling described above sometimes numbs. They jog in and the nerves, still undoubtedly present, slightly calm. The opposition still stares, yet destruction feels more like a hope than an intention. The emotion is still intense, yet excitement seems inevitable and not lodged in our guts. If you have been paying some close attention, we are losing some of the few that did that for us.
Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel, and Zack Britton have all been beaten up the last few years, whether that be through injury, by the media, sometimes even both. Their successes have been overshadowed by current doubt and recency bias along with the new, sexier closers we’ve been introduced to in the last few years. Each of the three are age 34 and are finishing at least a decade plus of Major League Baseball, and I believe the focus has been in the wrong place. We are entering the final stages of my generation’s greatest closers, and as someone who has a special spot in my heart for those who are called upon in the game’s hardest moments, I see it right to recognize their excellence in place of their drop-off. This postseason, where we will see relievers with incredible stuff that makes our jaws drop, I’ll be appreciative yet slightly sad, as the closers that I grew up on won’t be present, or at least in the same way as they used to be.
Aroldis Chapman – Established: 2012
Chapman broke onto the scene as the hardest thrower the sport had really ever scene. There had been rumors of players who threw baseballs 100 mph from 60 feet and 6 inches, but no one had ever seen it done like Chapman. His intent, his ferocity, his presence were impossible to ignore, and he was heralded as the beginning of a new style of pitcher. He was.
In 2008, the average reliever threw roughly 92.6 mph while the average starting pitcher threw around 91.3 mph. In 2022, the average reliever throws 93.9 mph while starters sit at 93.8 mph. The game has more velocity than ever before, and Aroldis Chapman is one of the first data points on the success of the modern day flamethrower. Consider him a trendsetter.
In 2002 the average fastball in MLB was 88.5mph.
The average fastball is trending to be over 95mph in 2022.
(It was 94.9 this season) pic.twitter.com/eXBoR5PFxP— Jeff Leach (@CoachJeffLeach) November 30, 2021
He has also experienced immense success, as well. Between the years of 2012-16, Chapman averaged 36.2 saves per year. What is remarkable about this stretch is that, during the 2015 offseason into the 2016 season, within the span of 10 months, Chapman was a member of three different clubs. He was traded from small market Cincinatti, coming off four consecutive All-Star appearances, to the difficult New York market with the Yankees, where he was then shipped off to the Cubs in the middle of the penant chase which resulted in a World Series title. His change of scenery had zero effect on his success, as he was integral in the Cubs ending the 108 year championship drought while posting a 1.01 ERA and 20 total saves (4 in the postseason) during his stint in the Windy City.
In the five subsequent years, following his return to New York after the title chase in Chicago, Chapman continued to be unhittable, amassing 124 more regular season saves along with 6 additional saves in the postseason. He also posted a 2.82 ERA regular season ERA during this span with a 14.53 K/9 and a 1.71 postseason ERA. His dominance was unquestioned.
Chapman will certainly be known for more than his performance, and that is his own doing. His recent struggles (4.46 ERA, 6.94 BB/9, -0.2 WAR in 2022) and embattled relationship with the Yankees will last for a little time, and his off field troubles may never be separate from his remembered legacy, but in terms of what he accomplished on the baseball field, Chapman is historic. No matter how or when his career is officially over, he will end with 315 career saves and finish no lower than 24th on the all time saves list. He was THE representative image we thought of when we pictured a dominant closer, and for a decade, he was the finisher who made you relax when he came in for your team or concede when it wasn’t.
Craig Kimbrel – Established: 2010
Aside from Mariano Rivera, Craig Kimbrel is one of the most accomplished closers MLB has ever seen. His list includes: World Series title, AL Reliever of the Year, 2x NL Reliever of the Year, NL Rookie of the Year, 8x All-Star, 5x Top-10 Cy Young vote-getter, 1x MLB saves leader and 4x NL saves leader to name a few…
Kimbrel is the definition of a game ender. His career ERA of 2.31 and K/9 of 14.36 speak to his pure dominance, but it doesn’t even begin to mention what his presence meant. There is no denying that, in the 2010’s, if you saw that right arm hanging down at an exact 90 degree angle from his shoulder, the game was all but over. Head for the exits, change the channel, or turn the radio off, because Kimbrel had arrived and the team at the plate was more likely to up and change to a professional soccer team than score a run in the ninth inning. His presence was always felt, and his walk-out song, “Welcome to the Jungle”, felt significantly more inviting than whatever he would actually do to hitters on a baseball field.
Kimbrel has battled some inconsistency over his tenure on the throne of baseball’s greatest active reliever, and “some” is used very apologetically. Kimbrel has had TWO full seasons in his career where his season ERA was north of 3.50, and that includes this year. Oh, and none of those seasons came until 2019, his first season with the Cubs. From 2010-2018, Kimbrel’s highest season ERA came in 2016, where he pitched to a 3.40 ERA with a 14.09 K/9, 31 saves (only 2 blown saves) and a 1.2 WAR. You could argue that this was the worst year during Kimbrel’s prime… Elite.
Kimbrel has even bounced back from some later career struggles, as in 2021, he made a resurgence. In the first half with the Cubs, he posted a 0.49 ERA with 23 saves and a 15.7 K/9 before being traded to the White Sox at the trade deadline. Kimbrel has not been the same since the trade, and the demise of his career seems to be happening fast. He still has been an above average reliever for the Dodgers in 2022 (0.9 WAR), but has been demoted from the closer role following a long string of struggles.
Losing a closer role in 2022 has no tarnish on a legacy like this. I can honestly point to Craig Kimbrel as the player who made me WANT to be a closer. His demeanor collaborating with filthy stuff was something to awe at, and his authority was respected when on the bump. He may not be the Craig Kimbrel of old, and it is not certain how much longer he will pitch for, but he has nothing left to prove. His 394 saves are first among all active players and 7th among all players in the history of the sport. Whether he closes another game or not, I can personally attest to the feeling of butterflies in my stomach watching his slow trot to the mound, knowing I would soon be able to go to bed after a night of watching baseball because this game was done.
Zack Britton – Established 2014
In comparison to the previous two, Britton has not accumulated nearly the same amount of success, but that also doesn’t take away just how dominant he was. Britton may be known more for the game he didn’t pitch in, as Buck Showalter opted to not use Britton in the 2016 AL Wild Card game where the Orioles ended up losing. Focusing on the games he did pitch in, however, Britton has a legitimate legacy.
Britton collected 120 saves from 2014-2016, averaging a clean 40 saves-per-year during that stretch. It is more than that though, because it wasn’t that he just was getting saves, but that he was doing it in the AL East. He was a core reason why the Orioles, who were operating at a much lower payroll than their inter-division competition, were able to hang around, compete, and make two playoff trips during the three year span. If the O’s had a lead late, Britton shut it down. His sinker deadened bats as if it were a bowling ball with the result being a ground ball over SEVENTY-FIVE percent of the time, and that is if they were lucky enough to hit it. Britton was throwing 96 mph sinkers mixed with a slider that, although it was only used about 10% of the time, was devastating. Even with Chapman in the league during the period, it is debatable that there was no better left-handed reliever than Britton.
Following these three commanding years, Britton began dealing with injuries, which is where the story gets much bumpier. His battle to stay healthy made it difficult to accrue the counting numbers or to find consistency, and it took some time before Britton returned to his former self. But, after being traded to the Yankees to form a tag team with Aroldis Chapman, the dominance of Zack Britton returned.
From 2019-20, Britton got the sinker working again and just force fed torpedos to opposing hitters, leading all relievers in ground ball rate while collecting 11 more saves and posting a 1.90 ERA. The sinker that left the infield grass preparing for mass destruction propelled Britton back on track and helped add on to his legacy while generating positive feedback from the wide-spread New York fanbase.
Although Britton may not be remembered as one of the greatest to do it by many, very few can replicate what he did during his prime against the competition he faced. His sinker during those three seasons at the top of the sport was one of the most valuable pitches the sport has ever seen, and there was nothing as frustrating as seeing Britton warming up in the ‘pen. His entrance didn’t strike fear, but it was impossible to not want to yell and scream at the TV after the third consecutive three-hopper to short. His beautiful, old-fashioned style of ground-ball, weak contact inducing pitching was something dad’s across the country could watch and tell their sons “thats what ya gotta do, just let ’em hit the ball on the ground and let your defense make plays”, and, really, isn’t that what baseball is about?
Britton won’t be a Hall of Famer, and he probably isn’t on anyone’s Mount Rushmore of greatest closers in MLB History. When I think about this generation, though, he is one of the first names that comes to mind. His prime is one of the greatest closer primes of all time, and although it was a little shorter, his legacy still lives. Late at night, I think I still see those three straight ground balls in a row, wondering just how no one, and I mean no one, could do anything with it. His 154 career saves has him tied with John Smoltz at 85th all time, and even though that may not seem like a significant spot in history, his relevance during the 2010’s, and his pure dominance, has left at least a lasting mark on me.
Soon enough, we may add Kenley Jansen to this list, but he has found a way to fight off father time long enough to avoid his inclusion. Even without Jansen, three of the decades greatest game enders are entering the twilight of their careers, and I think we sometimes quickly forget just how dominant some players were. They delivered when it mattered most, defining our generation of baseball one postgame handshake at a time.
During this postseason, when a young, unproven reliever comes into the game and you feel that rattlesnake in your stomach, I challenge you to think if you’d feel the same way if you opened your eyes and 2014 Craig Kimbrel appeared. What if 2019 Aroldis Chapman was the one running in from the bullpen? Would you still be biting your nails if 2016 Zack Britton was in the game? I can’t answer those for you, but for me? I would get goosebumps.
