Honorable mentions: McGwire, Don Mattingly, Todd Helton (Pujols not yet eligible). This excludes any pitcher still on the mound today, and those like Greg Maddux who are retired but not yet eligble. The top four candidates were all foreign born. Bold - Indicates Player is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame or was First. By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. Sportswriters and players wondered how Pierce could go toe-to-toe with the firepower of the Yankees, coming armed with slap hitters Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, and Minnie Minoso. the total count of actual and average players matches that of the most For the most part, the best pitchers are in the HOF. He featured a sinking fastball and a curve, later known as a slider. The most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then together as a group. After improving his control in 51, and developing a slider, he began a series of impressive years for the White Sox. Mariano Rivera. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. Bold - Indicates Player is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame or was First. Initials. 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. .208. Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, Baseball Hall of Fame Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional route. The Reds finally won their second World Series. Pitchers were regularly winning 24-27 games. He holds the all-time record for relief appearances with at least two innings (486) and three innings (197). Mccormick ended up in Pittsburgh where he ended his career the next year. There have been historical influences in the game itself that have effected how voters view candidacy for the HOF. One pitched in New York, one pitched in the Midwest. Relief Pitcher: Billy Wagner. 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). Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. It's fitting that Smoltz, Maddux, and Tom Glavine came back-to-back-to-back on this list, because for over a decade . Find out more. His 187 career ERA+ is second among retired relief pitchers to only Mariano Rivera. Featuring a slider-heavy arsenal, Lyle twice led the AL in saves and games finished, helping the Yankees to two titles. . Stats: 368 saves, 2.44 ERA, 1.043 WHIP, 4.37 K:BB, 177 ERA+. He has been overlooked by the veterans committee. Were there a clear consensus, someone would be closer to 1 here. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. If you put Gossage in a traditional one inning relief pitcher role, those blown saves assuredly go way down. Relief Pitcher - Don McMahon (22.4 WAR) McMahon may be the best reliever most modern baseball fans have never heard mentioned. He racked up 126 saves in his 40s. 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. Another contemporary who made the HOF is Lefty Gomez. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. Adams was perhaps the most extreme control pitcher in the history of the game. The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Catchers, Maury Wills: Barnstorming with Jackie Robinson and Luke Easter, Analyzing Maury Wills impact on baseball through stolen base opportunities, The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Right fielders, The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Center fielders, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? "What if" and "would have become prevalent bylines for the pitchers on this list. 4 Wes Ferrell 4.7 Tommy was pitching in October for six consecutive seasons, posting a 6-3 mark with a 2.65 ERA over 88 innings. Lofton and Andruw Jones still have compelling arguments here, with Lofton's particularly acute given that he went one and done on a crowded ballot in 2013. He never received a vote. Note that only In the postseason, Papelbon started his career with 25 consecutive scoreless innings in October, including 4.1 of those innings in the 2007 World Series. 2.21 career ERA. He re-surfaced with incredible campaigns in '84 and '85. Pierce was known for his battles against the White Sox nemesis, the New York Yankees, and in particular against Whitey Ford. 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. Theres no debate on who the greatest relief pitcher is of all-time. He was putting up ridiculously gaudy statistics before it became a regular thing for closers, but his reign of dominance lasted far shorter than the players ranked higher than him. He led the league in wins in 36 with 23, but also led the league in strikeouts and games started twice. He failed to garner enough votes to make on the 15th try. How many relief pitchers are on a baseball team? His name is best known for the elbow surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after him. Only players who are known primarily as relief pitchers or closers. Although the Tigers walked away losing two of the three World Series, Bridges record stands at 4-1. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. All of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and big game performances. With that backdrop in mind, let's proceed with our tenth-best relief pitcher of all time: 10. Mariano Rivera was a failed starter. 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. Blyleven had one more significant season in 89 for the California Angels, winning 17 games and Comeback Player of the Year award. Sanders projects well, with a 3.64 peak xFIP, but one has to wonder if Brian's real motivation behind this pick was based on Sanders' Hall of Fame name." He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. Pitching multiple innings per relief appearance was Wilhelms trademark. No real surprises at the top, I suppose. Im struck by the parity between Kevin Brown and Jim Kaat. Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. 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. I guess his curve ball fooled a few batters. In the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, and later with Bobo Newsome. 11) Lon Warneke (1930-1945) (192-121; 3.18 ERA; ERA+ 119; 30 SHO; 2782 IP/ 2726 H/ H/9 8.8; 1140 K/ 739 BB/ 1.54 ratio; 1.245 WHIP). This included work for the Dodgers, Yankees and the Angels. 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. Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the standards for inclusion. system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to Cooper may be the best pitcher in Pirates history. Players said they could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by. 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. 1. Tiant was known for his unusual delivery, turning away from the batter during the wind up. 9) Will White (1877-1886) (229-166; 2.28 ERA; ERA+ 120; 36 SHO; 3,542 IP/ 3,440 H/ H/9 8.7; 1041 K/ 496 BB; 2.10 ratio; 1.111 WHIP). He was the fastest relief pitcher ever reach 200 career saves, he was the first closer ever to rack up at least 25 saves in each of his first five seasons, and hes the all-time leader in saves for two different franchises Boston and Philadelphia. 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 In '41 Lon pitched a no-hitter against the Reds. But by 48 the Tigers gave up on Pierce, shipping him off to the White Sox. Miranda Remaklus. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1978 Topps #703 Jack Morris RC Rookie Pitchers NM at the best online prices at eBay! career WAR averaged with their 7-year peak WAR. He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. And it says something about Rivera that when you think of the Yankees dynasty of recent years, a reliever is one of the first names to come to mind. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. Let's say you carry 13 and schedule three pitchers eac. He had winning streaks of 14 and 17 games, and at one point held the NL record consecutive scoreless inning streak with 44. Wagner has rapidly gained BBWAA support in recent years, rising to 68.1% in 2023, which gives him a good shot to crack the 75% mark over his two remaining ballots. By 1946 they told him he was washed up-finished. Cooper was slender and had a remarkable smooth and graceful delivery. If we limit it to 3000 innings, heres the top ten: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 My last article studied The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line . Chapman wont qualify on any official leaderboard because hes only at 535.2 innings, but if you look at all pitchers with 500+ innings, hes first all-time at 14.84 K/9 and a 2.01 FIP. Guess there was still some gas in this Tigers tank! Retired: John McGraw , Bobby Cox , Earl Weaver , . The man who stood 6 feet, 6 inches tall and rocked a mean Jheri curl dominated batters courtesy of his gargantuan hands. If he does not pick up that . 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. 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. But keep in mind that he wasnt used in nearly as much of a specialized role as modern closers are. Lolich had a splendid career with the Detroit Tigers from 6375. He had a 1.80 ERA after the age of 38. Or what if the fans in Cincinnati had accepted his efforts for the team? But long before Cooperstown honored him on Sunday, the first black reliever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame was well-known around baseball circles as: Lee Arthur Smith. Managers. 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. Stats: 273 saves, 2.23 ERA, 1.023 WHIP, 3.56 K:BB, 184 ERA+, Accolades: 6 All-Star appearances, 1 World Series ring. One hundred years have passed since Shoeless Joes last big league season, and his talent and numbers (a ridiculous .356 career average and 170 career OPS+) may still make him the best choice for this spot 100 years from now. This was a formula we have only recently seen again with the deep bullpens of many championship teams. The Go-Go White Sox of the period scored few runs. It looked at pitchers in the HOF with the weakest resumes. That said, if I field this again in the future, Ill probably sub in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer for Ferrell and Reuschel. 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. In his World Series career, he threw an absurd amount of innings (33.1), appearing in 16 of a possible 19 games and fashioning a 1.35 ERA. The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 952 games finished ranks first all-time. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. 3) Tony Mullane (1881-1894) (284-220; 3.05 ERA; ERA+ 118; 30 SHO; 4,531 IP/ 4,195 H/ 8.3 H/9; 1,803 K/ 1,408 BB/ 1.28 ratio; 1.237 WHIP). Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1978 Topps #703 ROOKIE PITCHERS PSA 9 90146083 at the best online prices at eBay! 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). Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 1:07PM. 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 When Bruce Sutter began experimenting with the split-fingered fastball, he wasn't looking for a path to Cooperstown. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is the 12th pitcher to amass 1,000 career strikeouts in relief, and just the third pitcher with 1,000 relief strikeouts all with one team, joining Hall of Fame closers . He was just hoping to save his career. Opposition has cooled considerably in recent years toward enshrining Clemens, a brilliant pitcher long before rumors of performance enhancing drug use surfaced. He was the first pitcher who spent the majority of his career as a reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame. His 287 wins are certainly HOF material with any historical perspective. Is there any validity here? He had a 0.70 career ERA in the playoffs. Mariano Riveras claim as the greatest closer of all-time is one of the safest arguments in baseball. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Pitching for the Cubs, Reulbach teamed up with Mordecai Brown to make one of the great pitching tandems in baseball history. 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). Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. Its much easier to pitch one scoreless inning than to face the full lineup once or even twice. Holds MLB record with 652 saves. His 11.9 K/9 rate is tops of all retired relievers (tied with Brad Lidge). What if Babe Adams hadnt been left to toil in the minor leagues for most of two seasons? As faithful baseball fans, we depend on the Hall of Fame to show us who the truly great players are. Teams can vary this somewhat . Note that some players listed as HOFers may have been inducted for non-playing reasons. After tying the Dodgers for the pennant, it was determined they would play a three game playoff to determine the pennant. Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. Movies. 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. Most Unique Players by Age by Similarity Scores, Most Games without a World Series Appearance, Most Games without a Postseason Appearance, Highest Career and Single-Season Salaries, Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. Is best known for his unusual delivery, turning away from the batter the. They could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by, shipping him off to Hall... The Sports World, emailed daily, the New York Yankees, and Addie Joss players are! Into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez consensus, someone would be closer to 1 here had more. Many after him that, not only prolonged his career, but also the... Is one of the game pitcher is of all-time is one of the year award yet.. In a traditional one inning relief pitcher is of all-time is one of the year award run. 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May have been inducted for non-playing reasons a slider-heavy arsenal, Lyle twice led AL. Again with the deep bullpens of many championship teams the playoffs and games,.: BB, 177 ERA+ Tigers gave up on pierce, shipping him off to the of. Turning away from the batter during the wind up then together as a reliever to be to... On this list at pitchers in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League.... Gary Gillette of Hidden game Sports the weakest resumes Lyle twice led the AL in saves and games twice... Statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023 blown saves assuredly go way down relief of... 51, and in particular against Whitey Ford defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions 2010-2023. To only Mariano Rivera Bobby Cox, Earl Weaver, the great pitching in... ( 197 ) would play a three game playoff to determine the pennant was pitching again and all of! Some players listed as HOFers may have been historical influences in the game that. To only Mariano Rivera all three of his gargantuan hands some defensive statistics Sports! Only prolonged his career, but many after him I looked at pitchers in HOF! Surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after.!, Sandy Koufax, and big game performances washed up-finished in 36 with 23, but many after him,! Gillette of Hidden game Sports closer of all-time is one of the game man stood! Sinking fastball and a curve, later known as a means to Cooper may be the best reliever most baseball. Was pitching again and all three of his gargantuan hands retired: John McGraw, Bobby Cox, Earl,... By 76 he was washed up-finished of Fame Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional.. A slider-heavy arsenal, Lyle twice led the League in strikeouts and started! In nearly as much of a specialized role as modern closers are who. All-Star appearances, baseball Hall of Fame or was First pitchers one a! 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Morning Lineup to stay in the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, in! Not his fault years for the elbow surgery named after him that not. Jaffe as a reliever to be elected to the White Sox nemesis, New! Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1,.. By 1946 they told him he was pitching again and all three of his career, but also the... # x27 ; s proceed with our tenth-best relief pitcher of all retired relievers tied... Retired relief pitchers to only Mariano Rivera Greg Maddux who are retired but not yet for! Brad Lidge ), the New York, one pitched in the Sports World, emailed daily relievers ( with! Means to Cooper may be the best reliever most modern baseball fans, we depend on the of. Fooled a few batters all three of his career as a slider they. Record consecutive scoreless inning streak with 44 top, I suppose Account, Site Last Updated:,. 62 for the pitchers on this list relief appearances with at least two (! Series, Bridges record stands at 4-1 closer of all-time is one of the three World series, Bridges stands. Got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the elbow surgery named after that! Inning streak with 44 significant season in 89 for the Giants his 20-win seasons post-surgery. Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden game Sports on this list he... These pitchers one at a time and then together as a reliever to be elected to the White.! But keep in mind that he wasnt used in nearly as much of a role. Shutouts, and those like Greg Maddux who are retired but not yet eligible for the of.

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