Zack Britton debuted for the Baltimore Orioles in 2011 and began his career as a middle reliever. Although he pitched well, he wasn't particularly outstanding. However, in 2014, he unexpectedly worked his way into the closing role and converted 37 of 41 save opportunities. This helped the O's make the playoffs, and Britton finished the year with a 1.65 ERA and a 0.904 WHIP.
In 2015, Britton continued to improve and made his first All-Star Game appearance. He recorded 36 saves with a 1.92 ERA and a 0.990 WHIP. However, 2016 was the best year of his career. Britton led the AL in saves (47) and games finished (63) and was nearly untouchable with a 0.54 ERA and a WHIP of 0.836. He was an All-Star again and won The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year award, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting.
Although he started strong in 2017, Britton began to deal with injuries, including an Achilles tear that put him on the disabled list to start the 2018 season. By this time, the Orioles were no longer competitive, and Britton was eventually traded to AL East rival, the New York Yankees. While he was no longer the closer, he still performed well in 2019 and 2020 with ERAs under two.
Unfortunately, bone chips and Tommy John surgery in 2021 led to his downfall, and he retired after the 2022 season with 154 career saves. Nonetheless, for a brief time, Zack Britton was the top relief pitcher in the American League, and his outstanding bullpen campaign during his time with the Orioles will be remembered as one of the best in franchise history.
Yadier Molina is considered one of the best defensive catchers in baseball history. He played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals, from 2004 to 2022, and was one of the most successful catchers in the National League.
Molina became the Cardinals' starting catcher in 2005, after debuting the year before. However, he really broke out in 2008, with his first season batting over .300. At this point, he was already a World Series Champion (2006). Molina went on a streak of seven consecutive All-Star appearances from 2009, all of which were Gold Glove-winning. Although he was never a great power hitter (he hit 176 home runs, with only two years of at least 20), he had five seasons batting over .300 and a lifetime batting average of .277. His overall play was respected enough that he finished fourth in MVP voting in 2012 (the year after he anchored the Cardinals to another World Series win), with an .874 OPS and 7.2 bWAR. He finished third in the same voting the year after, with an .836 OPS and 6.2 bWAR. Molina won the Silver Slugger that year, his only one.
Molina retired as the all-time leader among catchers in putouts (15,122) and second in Total Zone Runs (163), and is 14th among all players in Defensive bWAR (28.0), second only to Ivan Rodriguez among catchers. He won nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves, and two Wilson Defensive Player Awards in his career.
While Molina's overall offensive statistics (2,168 hits, 176 home runs, 1,022 RBIs) might fall short for the Baseball Hall of Fame, his leadership, All-Star appearances, defense, and association with one team could put him over the top.
Tyler Clippard was a decent Relief Pitcher over 16 years, though like many bullpen specialists, he played for multiple organizations.
Clippard began (and ended) his career with the Washington Nationals, and in his first run in D.C., he was twice an All-Star (2011 & 2014) and had a 32-Save campaign in 2012. That first run with the Nationals was his peak, but he would later play for Oakland, New York (NL), Arizona, New York (AL), Chicago (AL), Houston, Toronto, Cleveland, Minnesota, and a second stint with Arizona and Washington.
Overall, Clippard appeared in 807 Games, had a record of 56 and 48 with 74 Saves.
Steve Cishek is best known for his five seasons in Baseball, which was spent with the Florida/Miami Marlins where he served as their closer in 2013 and 2014. Cishek led the National League in Games Finished (62) but was inconsistent and traded to St. Louis in 2015.
Cishek signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2016 and saved 25 Games for the team, but that was the last season he was used in that role. He was still solid later on in stints with Tampa (2017) and the Chicago Cubs (2018-19), but he petered out over the next three seasons, one each with Chicago (AL), Los Angeles (AL), and Washington, respectively.
Cishek is unlikely to make the Hall of Fame ballot, but he did leave baseball with 737 Makor League Games on the mound.