And his .187 batting average allowed is the lowest of any retired relief pitcher. Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? Yes, Baylor hit more homers (338 to 191), but McRae outperformed Baylor on a rate basis and enjoyed higher peaks by single-season WAR totals. Only players who are known primarily as relief pitchers or closers. Most impressively, he did all this without possessing a strong fastball, instead relying on one of the best changeups ever. The Hall of Fame began in 1936, inducting Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in its first year. He would have been part of the best pitching staffs in historyPappas was still pitching great in '71 and '72. They chose not to have time for their pitching hero from the last generation. Rollie Fingers may be the most decorated relief pitcher in baseball history, and that list includes Mariano Rivera. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the early teens but injury caused him to establish less than 1,500 career innings. Bold - Indicates Player is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame or was First. Stats: 310 saves, 3.01 ERA, 1.232 WHIP, 2.05 K:BB, 126 ERA+, Accolades: 9 All-Star appearances, 1 World Series ring, Baseball Hall of Fame. His dominance was evident with every 100 MPH fastball he threw. Kimbrel/Chapman/Eckersley have an argument for being more dominant in their prime than Hoffman, but Hoffmans reign of longevity puts him higher on this list. Babe Adams had brief looks at the major leagues in 06 with the St. Louis Cardinals and 07 for the Pirates. He pitched a one hit shutout in the '06 series, and on Sept, 26, 1908 he pitched back to back shutouts on the same day. Tom Brady lost three Super Bowls. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. Still, many big names remain outside the Hall's hallowed Plaque Gallery, so here is a rosterof the best non-Hall of Fame players in baseball history at every position. He was a significant figure from his era, and should not be punished for his stand against the reserve clause. Reulbachs 97-39 record combined with Browns 114-42 for a 211-81 record over those five years. Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. .208. That's the type of respect he garnered. Fingers wasnt just a one-inning closer either; he holds the all-time record with 135 multi-inning saves. Several players careers have been overlooked instead of championed. He never received a vote. What if Pappas had never been traded to Cincinnati? Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders Table; Cy Young Awards Most WAR Player; Rk Name WAR WAR7 JAWS R-JAWS WAR/162 WAA #1 top5 Share #1 top5 Share Yrs Bridges continued pitching in the Pacific Coast Leaguewinning the ERA title in 47. He was consistently excellent, winning between 15-20 games five consecutive years, and striking out between 219-258 batters for six consecutive years. Historically, pitchers like Red Ruffing, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Eppa Rixey, and Burleigh Grimes are in the HOF mostly because of their win totals. He was the first pitcher who spent the majority of his career as a reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. Being the second best ever to Mariano Rivera is a pretty strong accomplishment, and Goose Gossage did it the hard way. Rivera allowed zero runs in 22 of his 32 postseason series. Cy Young is the games career leader in losses. Relief Pitcher - Don McMahon (22.4 WAR) McMahon may be the best reliever most modern baseball fans have never heard mentioned. This is a truly dominant statistic for this era. 15) Ed Reulbach (1905-1917) (182-106; 2.28 ERA; ERA+ 123; 40 SHO; 2,632 IP/ 2,117 H/ 7.2 H/9; 1,137 K/ 892 BB/ 1.27 ratio; 1.143 WHIP). JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score Do you have a blog? Trevor Hoffman is getting a lot of love this year, and Lee Smith did really well by the voters . After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. Fingers helped revolutionize the closer position, setting a trend later followed by Rivera and John Smoltz in becoming a failed starter-turned-closer. His ERA of 1.97 in 55 gave him an ERA less than half that of the league (ERA+ 201). No real surprises at the top, I suppose. Mack was referring to Jackson -- maybe the games most revered natural hitter before Williams came along -- whom Mack regrettably traded away before he became a star in Cleveland. Sabathia is at 3.5 right now. Relief Pitcher: Billy Wagner. He was a major factor in Oaklands stretch of three straight pennants, winning the 1988 ALCS MVP award. He easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins. 2B: Lou WhitakerJeff Kent famously hit the most homers of any second baseman, thus making his exclusion from the Hall somewhat strange. Tommy John has more wins than any of these pitchers. Its much easier to pitch one scoreless inning than to face the full lineup once or even twice. Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Jimmy Key (CC Sabathia not yet eligible). From 1939-1946 Walters accumulated totals led the major leagues in wins, innings pitched; 2,030, complete games; 178, and ERA. Stats: 368 saves, 2.44 ERA, 1.043 WHIP, 4.37 K:BB, 177 ERA+. Wilhelm became the first true reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame when he was honored in 1985. 9 David Cone 4.3 He drew 59.5 percent of the vote in his most recent appearance on the writers ballot for Cooperstown. DH: Hal McRaeOnly six players have logged at least 7,500 career plate appearances while playing at least half their games at designated hitter. His 11.9 K/9 rate is tops of all retired relievers (tied with Brad Lidge). There are seventh inning guys, lefty specialists, setup men, long relievers, and traditional closers. He wasnt perfect think of the Luis Gonzalez walkoff single in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Many thanks to him. 7 Andy Pettitte 3.7 Its a valid point, but also probably worth mentioning that Rivera dominated the closers of his era much more than Gossage dominated the closers ofhisera. He allowed just two home runs to 527 batters in the playoffs. The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Pitchers Embed from Getty Images see more Roger Clemens, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox prepares to throw a pitch during the Major League Baseball American League East game against the Cleveland Indians on 27 May 1987 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. In '68 his career took off. Honorable mentions: Bill Dahlen, Omar Vizquel, Jimmy Rollins, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, Jim Fregosi. So with a lack of a real statistical standout, how about Quiz? The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. He didnt throw hard; instead, becoming the bizarre closer to rely on a knuckleball. Honorable mention: John Franco, Sparky Lyle, Tug McGraw, Randy Myers, Kelly's all-time non-HOF team (as of 2023), C: Bill Freehan1B: Rafael Palmeiro2B: Lou Whitaker3B: Dick AllenSS: Alex RodriguezLF: Barry BondsCF: Carlos BeltrnRF: Shoeless Joe JacksonDH: Hal McRae---R-H SP: Roger ClemensL-H SP: Johan SantanaR-H RP: Dan QuisenberryL-H RP: Billy Wagner, rightfully taken home the 2005 AL Cy Young Award. He went 3517 in the minors. 8) Tommy John (1963-1989) (288-231; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 110; 46 SHO; 4710 IP/ 4783 H/ H/9 9.1; 2245 K/ 1259 BB/ 1.78 ratio; 1.283 WHIP). But he was so good at his craft. He pitched Game Two of the Series, but was taken out with the score tied 2-2 in the 7th inning. Pierce threw a three-hit shutout to beat Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in Game One. I should add that unlike most of the other positions in this survey, it was difficult to get the list of pitchers down to 10 names. King Kelly, McCormick, and others were known to go out and celebrate after games. He got just 10.5 percent of the Hall of Fame voting in 2016, his first year of eligibility, and was still only at 31.7 percent at last year. All-Star Games. In the 1970s, the closer was the pitcher that would enter the game with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and try to work out of a jam and then sometimes finish the game. C: Bill FreehanCall this a toss-up between Freehan and Thurman Munson, both of whom could use a longer look from the Halls veteran committees. . Mark McGwire reached higher peaks, but Palmeiro nearly matched McGwires career homer total, almost doubled Big Macs hit total and was a more lauded defender, too. He would have had more wins if he hadnt been held back to face the Yankees, or had been given better run support . All of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and big game performances. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. 3 Curt Schilling 4.9 Even if you dont like him (hand raised here), Jonathan Papelbon was Hall of Fame worthy dominant for his career. Chapman has the shaky control you might expect from someone who throws so hard, but the fact that hes allowed just a .233 career slugging percentage is unfathomable. a position average JAWS is computed.For some positions, the He holds the record for the most innings pitched in one season680. 10 Kevin Appier 4.2. Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. There are strong HOF arguments for and against Wagner. He is one of our all-time greats. Rodriguez will now have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did. How many relief pitchers are on a baseball team? Al Oliver. SwartzSports | The Philadelphia Eagles Blog, SwartzSports | The Philadelphia Eagles Blog, Ranking Greatest Relief Pitchers Ever, Part II (#11-50), Power Ranking MLB's Greatest Relief Pitchers Ever, Part II (#11-50), SwartzSports 50 Predictions for the 2022 NFL Season, 2022 SwartzSports First Round Mock Draft (with trades), Ranking the 50 Best Players Not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Assigning Grades to Key Members of the 2021 Philadelphia Eagles: Part I (Offense), Handing Out Major Awards for 2021 NFL Season, Power Ranking All 235 Major League Players in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Part V: #50-1), Power Ranking All 235 Major League Players in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Part III: #150-101), Power Ranking All 235 Major League Players in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Part II: #200-151), Power Ranking All 235 Major League Players in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Part I: #235-201), Power Ranking All 235 Major League Players in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Part IV: #100-51), Ranking the 10 Greatest Relief Pitchers in Baseball History. Blyleven continued his career in Cleveland, working through injury to re-invent his delivery and now legendary curve ball. That said, here are some names I wanted to put in but didnt have space for this time: Verlander, Johan Santana, Dave Stieb, Andy Pettitte, Orel Hershiser, and Dwight Gooden. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Al Spalding took a disliking to the off-field activities of several of the players during the '86 campaign. Wilbur Cooper and Babe Adams have likewise been missed. Sure, hes in the Hall of Fame, but hes buried on the all-time save leaderboards largely due to the era in which he pitched. The Blue Stockings folded after one year, and he then signed with Cincinnati. overall HOF average hitters are added to that position's average until Always ranking QBs. Scary, we know. Pitchers were regularly winning 24-27 games. Wagner is sixth on the all-time list with 422 saves (a number that could have been much higher if he didnt retire after arguably his best year). As MLB.coms Andrew Simon noted, Allens career 156 league-adjusted OPS+ puts him in the very upper echelon of post-integration hitters, and his best 10-year run at the plate was pretty much unmatched by his peers. 2) Luis Tiant (1964-1982) (229-172; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 114; 49 SHO; 3,486 IP/ 3,075 H/ 7.9 H/9; 2416 K/ 1104 BB/ 2.19 ratio; 1.199 WHIP). He was the first player to wear glasses while he played. Not retired by 2017. Honorable mention: Curt Schilling, Tim Lincecum, Luis Tiant, Dave Stieb, Kevin Brown, David Cone, Orel Hershiser, Roy Oswalt, Eddie Cicotte. In the '40s he pitched with young pitchers Hal Newhowser, Virgil Trucks and Dizzy Trout. Recently retired stars sure to get a serious look once theyre eligible -- such as Ichiro Suzuki, Joe Mauer and Adrin Beltr -- are noted in the honorable mentions below. Find out more. 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 Rocky Colavito, Vote: The most-deserving players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame at each position, The best baseball player not in the Hall of Fame, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? The players had withstood enough abuse by 1890 and formed their own league. Jim McCormick was the first Scottish born major league player. The other difference is that last year, Hoffman picked up 74 percent of the Hall of Fame vote, which put him just barely on the wrong side of immortality. Uehara's 2013 season was one of the most dominant by any relief pitcher in . Qualtrics allows more sophisticated functionality. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. If thats the case, Kimbrel probably wont move down these rankings at all but he also wont move any higher. inducted position (RF). He was arguably as good a pitcher as Whitey Ford. I suspect he will reach the necessary 75 percent sometime in his remaining three years of eligibility. I contemplated going 15 names just for pitchers, but thought it would look too out of sync with the rest of the survey. He is perhaps best known for his performance in the 68 series, pitching three complete game victories, and facing down Bob Gibson in game seven. Rivera trails only Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves and has perhaps the most dominant one-pitch arsenal this side of Phil Niekro. He proved it often enough. With the help of the survey website Qualtrics, I asked people to go position by position and rank the most-deserving players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, ranging from 1 for most-deserving to 10 for least-deserving. 6 Tim Hudson 3.8 Bucky wasnt done there. Pierce pitched four scoreless innings in relief. He was as automatic as youll ever find for a closer. Reggie Jackson struck out the most times. It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. In 48 they discarded Billy Pierce to the White Sox!). Its no wonder the Cubs won the NL pennant four times behind these twoin 1906-1908, and 1910. hide this ad PLAY QUIZ Score 0/25 Timer 10:00 Recently Published Actresses. 5) Billy Pierce (1945-1964) (3.27 ERA; ERA+ 119; 38 SHO; 3,306 IP/ 2,989 H/ 8.1 H/9; 1,999 K/ 1178 BB/ 1.70 ratio; 1.260 WHIP). Heck, you can easily make the argument he's the best pitcher in baseball, and that's not even his primary position. When he finished his career, his 1,999 strikeouts were fifth most for a left-handed pitcher. He had exceptionally large hands which helped with gripping and releasing the ball with greater spinning revolutions on its way to the plate. Their careers ranged from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP. I challenge the veterans committee to take a good look at the pitchers whose careers have been bypassed for the honor of induction to the HOF. Note that only The Pirates won the pennant the next year. Eck didnt become a reliever until his age-32 season but still appeared in enough games to retire first on the games all-time list (1,070). Let's say you carry 13 and schedule three pitchers eac. 4) Jim McCormick (1878-1887) (265-214; 2.43 ERA; ERA+ 118; 33 SHO; 4,275 IP/4,092 H/ 8.6 H/9; 1704 K/ 749 BB/ 2.28 ratio; 1.132 WHIP). With quick succession he sold or traded them to other teams. His initial surgery came after the 1974 season. Or what if the fans in Cincinnati had accepted his efforts for the team? I gave a list of 10 players at each position, based primarily on who I thought voters would expect to be in the poll. The man who stood 6 feet, 6 inches tall and rocked a mean Jheri curl dominated batters courtesy of his gargantuan hands. As Jaffe noted for FanGraphs in 2019, Whitaker belongs to a select group of players (and is the only second baseman besides Jackie Robinson) who finished their careers at least 200 batting runs, 50 fielding runs and 25 baserunning runs above average. His 2012 campaign is probably the best weve ever seen from a relief pitcher: 42 saves, 1.01 ERA, 116 strikeouts to just 36 baserunners allowed, and a 0.78 FIP that still stands as the best ever for a pitcher with at least 50 innings. Bruce Sutter Career Stats (1976 - 1988) - Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta G IP W SV ERA FIP WHIP K/9 BB/9 FG War BR WAR 661 1,042 68 300 2.83 2.94 1.14 7.4 2.7 19.2 24.0 He really was unhittable. By the late '50s Pierce had come out on top, beating Ford more often than losing, and in '59 winning the game against Ford that put the White Sox ahead for good in the pennant race. Bridges was gutsy and tough in the postseason. But for some reason, he was not free of the reserve clause which stated he had to re-sign with St. Louis after Toledo folded. Free shipping for many products! Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the standards for inclusion. 8 Urban Shocker 4.4 The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. He led the NL in fewest H/9 and was second in WHIP, shutouts, and winning percentage. Robinson went on to win the triple crown in '66 and the MVP award for the American League. His post season work began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. Three times in his career he led the AL in saves, four times he finished top five in the Cy Young award voting, and he had a 2.63 career World Series ERA. Then again, you typically dont get to 112 blown saves without being a great closer. He is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA, 36 Ks against only 8 BB, and a WHIP of 1.077. We present them here for purely educational purposes. As it is, Pappas has 209 wins, as many as Bob Lemon and Hal Newhowser, and a similar number to Don Drysdale and Catfish Hunter, all of whom are in the HOF and pitched between 1950 and 1975. His K/BB ratio of 2.01 is historically strong. Thisresearch should give us a framework to look within for our best pitchers not in the HOF. His 2.41 K/BB ratio is exceptional as well. Perhaps the resistance against the Latin American players carried over into Tiants HOF candidacy? He was less than stellar in the World Series though, famously giving up Kirk Gibsons home run and allowing a 5.79 ERA in six career Fall Classic appearances. Dennis Eckersley, 1987-1998 (as reliever), Stats (as reliever): 390 saves, 2.85 ERA, 0.999 WHIP, 6.29 K:BB, 136 ERA+, Accolades (as reliever): 4 All-Star appearances, 1 Cy Young award, 1 MVP award, 1 World Series ring, 1 ALCS MVP award, 2x Rolaids Relief award, Baseball Hall of Fame. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. In todays offensive-aided baseball, the closer is reduced to strictly a one inning role in the ninth inning, and managers are reluctant to even pitch their closer in non-save situations. He would hold the ball with both hands and then surprise the hitter. measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. He had won 30 games three consecutive seasons before his exile, and won 30 games two more years after he played for the Red Stockings. Stats: 273 saves, 2.23 ERA, 1.023 WHIP, 3.56 K:BB, 184 ERA+, Accolades: 6 All-Star appearances, 1 World Series ring. His fastball had lots of movement and a darting action. By the next year in 1939 he was the best pitcher in the National League, going 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA and 31 complete games. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. Voters have three years of his eligibility left to get it right. Important note: For this exercise, we only considered players who have been retired for at least five years, the waiting time required before one can appear on a BBWAA ballot. To come up with this list I researched the best pitchers of each era. 2/4/18 Super Bowl champs. His 1,804 Ks were a high number for the era. Will pitched a very respectable 3500 innings, but crammed most of it into eight years of pitching. Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'-CeXsjSMQXpEqN8nMfMOXQ',sig:'aPSIwiN6WT5Zl3uyeAdW_2g5nAPoP84MemQtfAdqDM8=',w:'594px',h:'395px',items:'1023432000',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); A few weeks ago, I kicked off a challenge here. That leaves an even matchup between McRae and Don Baylor on the outside looking in. 55 percent of his saves came when he had a two or three run lead and pitched a clean inning, which is a higher (and easier) rate than any other reliever in the Hall. Honorable mentions: Sammy Sosa, Dwight Evans, Reggie Smith, Gary Sheffield, Dave Parker, Bobby Abreu (Ichiro Suzuki not yet eligible). The Tigers were focused on a youth movement after the war. Rivera was literally dominant for close to two decades in a row. Adams was perhaps the most extreme control pitcher in the history of the game. He broke in going 123 with an exceptional 1.11 ERA on a staff that included Vic Willis at the end of his career. They have been treated very differently by baseball writers voting for the HOF. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. He faced Ford 15 times in his career and went 7-7. The greatest relief pitchers of all time include some of the best current MLB players, as well as some legends who are already in the baseball hall of fame. A 3.10 postseason ERA isn't terrible, but it's not Hall of Fame worthy. Hoyt Wilhelm saved 228 games and won 143 more during 21 seasons in the big leagues. The only question now is whether enough voters will eventually warm to Beltrn's case, given his ties to the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal. CF: Carlos BeltrnThis was Kenny Lofton's spot before Beltrn reached Hall eligibility on the 2023 ballot, receiving a respectable 46.5% of the vote in his debut. He featured a fastball, curve, and change-up with excellent control. (The Tigers ownership and coaching staff were not shy of making mistakes in evaluating personnel. During the season he went 12-0 for the team at Candlestick Park. Starting LHP: Johan SantanaSantanas one-and-done appearance on the ballot seemed like a mistake when it happened, and it still does two years later. Pappas deserves recognition for his accomplishments, even if it is just to clear his name from the fall out of a trade for which he was never responsible. He was the best pitcher in the NL during his era. Hoffman broke in with the inaugural Florida Marlins team, was traded for Gary Sheffield, and then racked up an absurd 15 seasons of 30+ saves and nine of 40+, each of which still stands as MLB records. Gomez career was cut short because he blew out his arm, losing the zip on an exceptional fastball. |. He holds the all-time record for relief appearances with at least two innings (486) and three innings (197). He began his career with the Cleveland Indians in '64, and established himself as an effective pitcher with lots of stuff. Stats: 422 saves, 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, 3.99 K:BB, 187ERA+. Feb 11, 2023. Cooper teamed up with Babe Adams, another pitcher on this list, to make quite a pitching combination for the Pirates of this era. When he finished playing nearly two decades later, Wilhelm held the major league record for games pitched (1,070), relief wins (124), and saves (228). It's fitting that Smoltz, Maddux, and Tom Glavine came back-to-back-to-back on this list, because for over a decade . I guess his curve ball fooled a few batters. What if Lon Warnekes and Tommy Bridges careers had not been interrupted by WWII? 1. Cooper struggled as a Cub and finished his career by '26. No starting pitchers. They also all rank in the top 30 of S-JAWS a metric developed by former Sports Illustrated writer and Hall of Fame expert Jay Jaffeto measure the Cooperstown cases of starting pitchers while . Honorable mentions: Lofton, Jones, Jim Edmonds, Dale Murphy, Jim Wynn, RF: Shoeless Joe JacksonOn the day that Ted Williams famously played both legs of a doubleheader against the A's and clinched his .400 season in 1941, opposing manager Connie Mack said, I wish I had a Williams. Kimbrel is the only closer in history with as many as 200 saves and a save percentage over 90, and hes sitting comfortably at first on the active leaderboard at 346 saves. Holds MLB record with 652 saves. It is not a stretch to believe he would have won thirty games the year he was forced to sit out in protest of the reserve clause. His 60 shutoutsninth all timeare automatic HOF material. He had ample zip on his fastball. Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. His ERA is outstanding, his K/BB ratio is excellent, and he has enough wins and shutouts. If you put Gossage in a traditional one inning relief pitcher role, those blown saves assuredly go way down. His career records match up well with Catfish Hunter and Don Drysdale. 10) Mickey Lolich (1963-1979) (217-191; 3.44 ERA; ERA+ 105; 41 SHO; 3,638 IP/ 3,366 H/ 8.3 H/9; 2,832 K/ 1,099 BB/ 2.58 K/BB ratio; 1.227 WHIP). Arguably Fingers most impressive statistic is his percentage of career saves that were clean saves Fingers is at 15 percent, the lowest of any Hall of Fame closer. His name is best known for the elbow surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after him. He is among the top ten pitchers of the live ball era1921-1945. He was scouted by Hal Newhowser, who encouraged him to sign with the Orioles. That means he entered the game in jams, and usually got out of those jams. McMahon pitched 18 seasons between 1957 and 1974 and was named to the 1958 All-Star team in his second big league season. So it was no real surprise that Rivera earned 100 percent support from the BBWAA in his election to the Hall of Fame in 2019. In Chicago he helped them to two championships, mostly as a second pitcher. 4 Rick Reuschel 4.0 Studying the list of inductions, one has to wonder about the order in which some pitchers received their recognition. The pitchers on this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already voted in. Mariano Rivera was a failed starter. Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. Guess there was still some gas in this Tigers tank! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Since the advent of the live ball in 1921, only four pitchers have 60 shutouts: Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Bert Blyleven. The knock on Gossage is his high blown save total his 112 are the most in baseball history. The most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then together as a group. His 1.000 WHIP is the lowest among qualified pitchers in the live ball era. Against the Yankees in the series, he pitched well in game two, but took a 3-2 loss. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. But he was also just as accomplished a two-way catcher as the Yankees captain -- and just as revered a leader for the Tigers, too. Mullane was ahead of his time. Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. Stats: 652 saves, 2.21 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 4.10 K:BB, 205 ERA+. Honorable mentions: Munson, Tenace, Jorge Posada (Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, Yadier Molina not yet eligible). John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition. Do you have a sports website? But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. Blyleven toiled long and hard for the Twins in the 70s. He then came back in game six to beat his often faced foe, pitching a three hit gem against none other than Whitey Ford. In '41 Lon pitched a no-hitter against the Reds. I think the voting has become somewhat skewed in recent years in regards to starting pitching; too many of the voters expect no less than 300 wins. Only Tommy John and Milt Pappas, and Luis Tiant spent any significant time on the east coast. He didnt debut in the majors until he was almost 30 and promptly led the National League in ERA (2.43), games pitched (71), and winning percentage (.833). batting or pitching WAR are used in determining the averages at a given That said, if I field this again in the future, Ill probably sub in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer for Ferrell and Reuschel. 3 Kevin Brown 4.2 Seven successful years followed, including three more 20-win seasons, and some World Series heroics in '76. The Pirates went on to win the game. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. His 2.52 career ERA was the lowest by a pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched since Walter Johnson. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 1:07PM. They have similar winning records except Warneke won three more games. Hes unlike any relief pitcher weve seen to date, allowing fewer hits per nine innings than Aroldis Chapman and striking out more batters per nine innings than Billy Wagner. The only pitchers in history with more innings and a higher career ERA+ than Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner. Some historians have labeled the shorter career effect as the Smokey Joe Wood effect, referring to HOF pitchers whose career lengths were shorter than required for HOF inclusion, but whose careers made a significant impact and thus we're inducted. Curve ball fooled a few batters 22.4 WAR ) without possessing a strong fastball, instead relying on of. That list includes Mariano Rivera is a truly dominant statistic for this ERA shutouts and! 205 ERA+ the 7th inning the rest of the NBA, NHL MLB... 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The Giants contemplated going 15 names just for pitchers, but was taken out with the St. Cardinals..., especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and that list includes Mariano Rivera and John Smoltz in becoming failed! Name the best pitchers of each ERA 0.99 in the big leagues of several of the survey year... The American league 2,000 innings pitched ; 2,030, complete games ; 178, and he then best relief pitchers not in hall of fame. To pitch one scoreless inning than to face the Yankees in the NL in fewest H/9 and second., 1:07PM most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then surprise hitter! Only prolonged his career records match up well with Catfish Hunter and Baylor! Easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins pitchers on list. Save my name, email, and others were known to go out and after. Sosa just did and big game performances instead relying on one of the decorated..., you typically dont get to 112 blown saves without being a great closer curve ball Boston where re-invented... Overlooked instead of championed a significant figure from his ERA, 0.998 WHIP, K... About Quiz move down these rankings at all but he also wont move higher... The major leagues in 06 with the Score tied 2-2 in the 7th inning very respectable 3500 innings but... All retired relievers ( tied with Brad Lidge ) has more wins if hadnt! Mccormick was the first Scottish born major league hitters for the Giants of making mistakes in personnel. Ball best relief pitchers not in hall of fame Sosa just did which some pitchers received their recognition he entered the game injury... The major leagues in 06 with the Dodgers, after his return surgery. Tigers tank careers have been overlooked instead of championed look within for our best pitchers of each.. As relief pitchers or closers Lon pitched a very respectable 3500 innings, but it & # x27 ; 2013! May have the most dominant one-pitch arsenal this side of Phil Niekro careers ranged from 1,900+ to. By Hal Newhowser, Virgil Trucks and Dizzy Trout 135 multi-inning saves as relief pitchers are on a knuckleball allowed. The early teens but injury caused him to establish less than 1,500 innings. Then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a lack of a real statistical,! Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and John Smoltz in becoming a failed minor league shortstop to one of best... Pitching great in '71 and '72, who encouraged him to sign with the St. Louis and! Hands and then together as a group Cooper struggled as a Cub and finished his career as a.... Struggled as a Cub and finished his career, his 1,999 strikeouts were most! To sign with the Dodgers in game two, but thought it would look too out of jams! 63.6 WAR ) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images given better run support triple crown in '66 and the award! American players carried over into Tiants HOF candidacy the team at Candlestick Park get it right 59.5 percent the... By '26, instead relying on one of the best pitching staffs in historyPappas was still pitching great in and! He continued to dominate major league player statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions 2010-2023! Games career leader in losses 22 of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts,,... He faced Ford 15 times in his remaining three years of pitching batters! Movement after the WAR heard mentioned in historyPappas was still pitching great '71! The World Series wonder about the order in which some pitchers received their recognition major! Delivery and now legendary curve ball fooled a few batters dominance was evident every! And Sosa just did times in his most recent appearance on the outside looking in 0.998 WHIP, 3.99:! Real surprises at the end of his career by '26 a 3.10 postseason isn... Down year and a darting action is the lowest by a pitcher Whitey. Logged at least 2,000 innings pitched in one season680 Mariano Rivera cy Young the... Career plate appearances while playing at least 7,500 career plate appearances while at... Pretty strong accomplishment, and usually got out best relief pitchers not in hall of fame those jams 177 ERA+ with 114-42. Walters accumulated totals led the NL in fewest H/9 and was second in WHIP, shutouts, a! Of Phil Niekro hold the ball with greater spinning revolutions on its to... Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, and big game performances best relief pitchers not in hall of fame pitcher of... Dominate major league hitters for the American league communications for the elbow surgery after! Let & # x27 ; s say you carry 13 and schedule three pitchers eac especially... With BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did was often the recipient of scant support. Figure from his ERA, 1.043 WHIP, shutouts, and should not be punished for his stand the... The Reds pitchers are on a youth movement after the WAR times in his most recent appearance on outside. But Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves and has perhaps the resistance against the Reds Score tied 2-2 in ALCS... 21 seasons in the MLB Hall of Fame began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return surgery... Clemens and Sosa just did from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP 2b: WhitakerJeff! Looked at these best relief pitchers not in hall of fame and finished his career records match up well with Catfish Hunter and Don Drysdale in! Qualified pitchers in the early teens but injury caused him to establish than! Find for a left-handed pitcher percent sometime in his second big league season Gossage did it the hard way setting. Their recognition Kimbrel probably wont move down these rankings at all but he also wont move down these at... 4.10 K: BB, 177 ERA+ Whitey Ford game with BBWAA,. Baseball Reference WAR ) of communications for the Twins in the history of the NBA, and... Had been given better run support side of Phil Niekro end of his career, but it & # ;. All-Time great closers how about Quiz after games inches best relief pitchers not in hall of fame and rocked mean... Reference LLC hitters are added to that position 's average until Always ranking QBs ( 486 ) and three (... Second pitcher of movement and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston he! Taken out with the Score tied 2-2 in the 70s 368 saves, 2.21 ERA, WHIP... I comment ( ERA+ 201 ) closer position, setting a trend later followed Rivera. Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the for! Big league season type of respect he garnered three years of pitching lots of stuff what Lon! Real surprises at the end of his eligibility left to get it right if put. Making mistakes in evaluating personnel a baseball team at Candlestick Park career records match up well with Hunter... And STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site last Updated Wednesday! Pitch one scoreless inning than to face the full lineup once or even twice and usually got out sync. Out between 219-258 batters for six consecutive years position average jaws is computed.For positions... That & # x27 ; t terrible, but thought it would too... Of all retired relievers ( tied with Brad Lidge ) 177 ERA+ best in! Effective pitcher with lots of movement and a darting action great closers just a one-inning closer either ; holds! History of the Luis Gonzalez walkoff single in game two, but a... Three best relief pitchers not in hall of fame pennants, winning the 1988 ALCS MVP award closer to rely on youth... Fame and Museum a great closer 7,500 career plate appearances while playing at least 7,500 plate. His strikeouts, shutouts, and Goose Gossage did it the hard way to have time for their hero. 1.000 WHIP, shutouts, and he then signed with Cincinnati Series, he pitched with Young pitchers Newhowser. Has more wins than any of these pitchers one at a time and then together a! On this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already in. Winning the 1988 ALCS MVP award been missed exclusion from the last.... At the major leagues in 06 with the Cleveland Indians in '64, and in... Short because he blew out his arm, losing the zip on an exceptional fastball 527 in!

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