Orioles reliever Zach Britton had one of the best seasons by a reliever in MLB history. That he wasn't an MVP candidate, or even a Cy Young Award finalist, has left his manager, Buck Showalter, in disbelief.
"First of all, he should be in the top three in the [AL] MVP voting," Showalter said (via MLB.com). "I would make the case he's more valuable to his team than anybody in baseball. Where would we be without Britton?"
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The left-hander was a perfect 47 for 47 in save opportunities this season, owning a ridiculous 0.54 ERA in 69 appearances. Britton was only the third pitcher in MLB history to post an ERA below 1.00 with at least 40 saves.
Instead, starters Corey Kluber (Indians), Rick Porcello (Red Sox) and Justin Verlander (Tigers) are the three finalists for the AL Cy Young Award to be announced Nov. 16.
"I would like to have a conversation with the people who didn't put him on their [ballot]. Nobody dominated like he dominated, in his role," Showalter said.
"I'm shocked [Britton wasn't a finalist]. I thought they were kidding when they told me this afternoon. It was a head-scratcher. I knew when I watched it from the dugout — I was like, 'Wow, this is special.' He had maybe the best year a reliever has ever had in the history of the game."
That Showalter thinks Britton should be in the MVP conversation makes his decision not to use him in the AL wild-card game all that more unforgivable.