THIS DAY IN BASEBALL October 29: Dominican closer Zach Britton of the Orioles wins reliever of the year award

Zach Britton only had three seasons as an elite closer over his 12-year career, but the Baltimore Oriole pitcher made them count. On this day in béisbol, October 29, 2016, the lefty was named the winner of the Mariano Rivera Award for being the year’s top American League reliever.

Britton, 28, put together a record-breaking season as second-place Baltimore made the postseason for the third time in five years. His 47 saves not only led the AL, he was 47-for-47 in save opportunities, good for a 0.54 ERA — he only gave up four earned runs. He also whiffed 74 batters in 67 innings thanks mainly to his main pitch, a sinker in the high-90s.

The southpaw, who is of Dominican heritage on his mother’s side, set a new record for lefties with 33 straight saves to start the 2016 season. He spent eight years with the Orioles and five with the division rival Yankees after a 2018 midseason trade, but never regained his earlier form due to arm injuries.

He missed the 2023 season and retired late that year.

Also on the day: Joaquin Andujar’s angry outburst in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series led to his being suspended for the first 10 games of the following season. The Cardinals pitcher, who lost Game 3 to the Royals, was still incensed over a blown call by umpire Don Denkinger at first base the night before that cost St. Louis the championship after Kansas City won Game 6 in the bottom of the ninth. Andujar charged at Denkinger, bumped the ump and had to be restrained.

In 2017, former Expos outfielder Dave Martinez is named manager of the Washington Nationals, the franchise that moved from Montreal years earlier. Martinez, a Brooklyn native from a Puerto Rican family, would go on to win the 2019 World Series against the Astros, the Nats’ first and only title.

Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball. com illustration