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. Based strictly on peak performance, Eckersley would rank in the top five of relievers. One of the top relievers of the decade, Lyle was acquired from the Red Sox in March 1972 and recorded a 2.41 ERA (148 ERA+) in New York, tallying 141 saves and finishing 348 games. And his .187 batting average allowed is the lowest of any retired relief pitcher. He isnt the first Pittsburgh pitcher on this list. Only players who are known primarily as relief pitchers or closers. He found success again after arriving in Chicago with the Cubs during the '70 season, winning 17 games in both '71 and '72. Active: Terry Francona , Rocco Baldelli , Dave Roberts , . 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). The best reason I can come up with for Cooper being overlooked for the HOF is that he pitched in Pittsburgh, out of the spotlight of the sportswriters of the day. Theres no debate on who the greatest relief pitcher is of all-time. 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. Important: This chart does not include side-by-side comparisons for Hall of Fame pitchers who spent their entire career in the Negro Leagues (Baseball Almanac does not have the data from the Negro League).Those truly elite twirlers are: Ray Brown, Andy Cooper, Leon Day, Martin Dihigo, Bill Foster, Jose Mendez, Bullet Rogan, Hilton Smith and Joe Williams. John's pitching exploits began in Chicago where he was part of the stingiest pitching staffs ever compiled. Before the '66 season, Pappas was sent to Cincinnati for Frank Robinson in a very unpopular trade. Sabermetrics lover. Four of them (Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz and Frank Thomas) are already in the Hall following Big Papis election in 2022, while Nelson Cruz remains active. What if Bucky Walters had started his career in Cincinnati rather than struggling in Philadelphia? How many relief pitchers are on a baseball team? Cooper was born in West Virginia. system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to The problem with Pierce HOF candidacy is that his career backed up into the raised mound era. The 41 voters who ranked Schilling first ranked Clemens eighth-worst among the field, ahead of only Wes Ferrell and Rick Reuschel, with an average ranking for Clemens of 7.00. When Bruce Sutter began experimenting with the split-fingered fastball, he wasn't looking for a path to Cooperstown. Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. More about data coverage. Movies. Or write about sports? His 2.41 K/BB ratio is exceptional as well. 1) Bert Blyleven (1970-1992) (287-250; 3.31 ERA; ERA+ 118; 60 SHO; 4970/ 4632 H/ 8.4 H/9; 3701 K/ 1322 BB/ 2.80 K/BB ratio; 1.198 WHIP). Despite having made his MLB debut over 100 years ago (1908), "Shoeless" Joe Jackson remains one of the most controversial figures in the game. His 2.52 career ERA was the lowest by a pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched since Walter Johnson. Studying the list of inductions, one has to wonder about the order in which some pitchers received their recognition. Along with those pitchers, Ill evaluate others with a case to be considered among the 10 best ever, which can be broken into categories of the modern (Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, Francisco Rodriguez, Billy Wagner, and Joe Nathan), and the throwbacks (Sparky Lyle and Dan Quisenberry). In 43, his last year before joining the war effort, he went 12-7 with a 2.39 ERA (ERA+ 147), with three shutouts and only 159 hits allowed in 191 innings. 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. During the '76 season he was traded to Texas, where he joined a strong staff and put in some outstanding work. He is among the top ten pitchers of the live ball era1921-1945. 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. Honorable mentions: Munson, Tenace, Jorge Posada (Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, Yadier Molina not yet eligible). Rivera was literally dominant for close to two decades in a row. Perhaps his strongest career stat is his 43 shutouts, more than Hunter, Jim Bunning, Lemon, Newhowser, and Sandy Koufax. The reserve clause was so restrictive in his era that once you signed with a team, unless they traded or sold you, you belonged to them. 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. Opposition has cooled considerably in recent years toward enshrining Clemens, a brilliant pitcher long before rumors of performance enhancing drug use surfaced. He had a 0.70 career ERA in the playoffs. However, after a year and a half out of military service, the Tigers were impatient for him to regain his form. His H/9 rate of 5.3 in 1906 is one of the best in history. He broke in going 123 with an exceptional 1.11 ERA on a staff that included Vic Willis at the end of his career. Let's say you carry 13 and schedule three pitchers eac. Jim McCormick was the first Scottish born major league player. He drew 59.5 percent of the vote in his most recent appearance on the writers ballot for Cooperstown. Seven successful years followed, including three more 20-win seasons, and some World Series heroics in '76. hide this ad PLAY QUIZ Score 0/25 Timer 10:00 Recently Published Actresses. Fingers won a league MVP, a Cy Young award, played an integral part in baseballs only non-New York Yankees three-peat ever, and even won World Series MVP once. The only pitchers in history with more innings and a higher career ERA+ than Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner. Kaat is at 2.3, nowhere near HoF level. Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. After an off year in 1916 he was sent to the minor leagues to work out his problems. The Go-Go White Sox of the period scored few runs. He proved it often enough. I gave a list of 10 players at each position, based primarily on who I thought voters would expect to be in the poll. 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). Cardinals' 5 all-time best relief pitchers in franchise history. Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. Hes insanely dominant against both righties and lefties as well. His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day. But like Bonds, Clemens did not have an easier time with the Todays Game Era Committee than he did with the BBWAA. Pitchers who, for one reason or another, never got the votes or attention needed to make it in. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File) via Associated Press. For anyone who cares, heres a more detailed breakdown of the votes each pitcher received for each ranking. His career postseason record shows a heightened excellence when the games really counted against the best competition. But his rookie year really came in 09 for Pirates at age 27. Stats (as reliever): 228 saves, 2.51 ERA, 1.131 WHIP, 2.04 K:BB, 147 ERA+, Accolades (as reliever): 6 All-Star appearances, 1 World Series ring, Baseball Hall of Fame. 3B: Dick AllenIt's unfortunate that Allen (who died in December 2020) didn't live long enough to celebrate his induction, because he boasted some Cooperstown-worthy credentials. Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional route. He is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA, 36 Ks against only 8 BB, and a WHIP of 1.077. He racked up 126 saves in his 40s. Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 1:07PM. And John is at 2.6, not much better. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. He pitched his no-hitter in '77, as well as leading the league that year in WHIP. Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon both went one-and-done after falling shy of 5% of the BBWAA vote in their 22 ballot debuts. If thats the case, Kimbrel probably wont move down these rankings at all but he also wont move any higher. Guess there was still some gas in this Tigers tank! Top 25 Relief Pitchers not in the Hall of Fame Quiz Stats - By adubbdubb Quizzes While I was limited through my free account to 10 questions and thus chose to forgo demographic questions to get the maximum amount of data, it is possible to use filters to show how certain voters voted. In the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, and later with Bobo Newsome. His career took off when he was traded to Cincinnati part way through the 1938 season. Rivera's legacy is as the greatest relief pitcher ever, and now that Chapman is a Yankee for the foreseeable future, that's . Hoyt Wilhelm saved 228 games and won 143 more during 21 seasons in the big leagues. He regularly hits 100 miles per hour on his fastballs and holds the all-time record by registering 105.1 on a pitch (twice). Chapmans statistics look mind-boggling, even when you account for the fact that every reliever strikes out a ton of hitters. He pitched in both the Cubs World Series appearances in '32 and '35, going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA. Rather than struggling in Philadelphia it in his career postseason record shows a excellence. Of all-time Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 1:07PM ERA in HOF! At 2.6, not much better first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference.. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum a 2.63 ERA of any retired relief pitcher best.! 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