He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. When he retired, no one had surpassed his 601 saves; now, only Mariano Rivera has done so. This list includes pitchers with some of the greatest curve balls in the history of the game. Even though others have won Cy Young awards (and even regular season MVPs), Rivera was as close as youll find to a perfect closer, and he did this all with just the legendary cutter. From 1939-1946 Walters accumulated totals led the major leagues in wins, innings pitched; 2,030, complete games; 178, and ERA. One pitched in New York, one pitched in the Midwest. It took the veterans committee some 90 years to find and induct Vic Willis. He holds the record for the most innings pitched in one season680. More about data coverage. 6 Roy Oswalt 4.5 Note that only Baseball Hall of Fame , MLB MVP's , MLB Cy Young Award , MLB Rookie of the Year , Rawlings Gold Gloves , 2023 HOF results , 2024 Hall of Fame ballot , . Oct 14, 2022, 04:09 PM EDT. The oldest and wisest twin. Robinson went on to win the triple crown in '66 and the MVP award for the American League. He barely played in the postseason. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? He re-surfaced with incredible campaigns in '84 and '85. 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. Cooper struggled as a Cub and finished his career by '26. Brett Favre threw the most interceptions and the late Kobe Bryant missed the most shots. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. 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). Theres no one since Randy Johnson who puts fear into batters like Aroldis Chapman does. Here is AJ Cassavell's ranking of the Top 5 relievers in Padres history: 1. There were new lows for ERA in a season. Theres no debate on who the greatest relief pitcher is of all-time. Gomez career was cut short because he blew out his arm, losing the zip on an exceptional fastball. He isnt the first Pittsburgh pitcher on this list. He has been overlooked by the veterans committee. 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. So with a lack of a real statistical standout, how about Quiz? The Pirates won the pennant the next year. 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). the total count of actual and average players matches that of the most He began his career with the Cleveland Indians in '64, and established himself as an effective pitcher with lots of stuff. His 2.41 K/BB ratio is exceptional as well. The pitchers on this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already voted in. Voters have three years of his eligibility left to get it right. His devastating curve also made him one of hardest pitchers to hit of his generation. Fingers wasnt just a one-inning closer either; he holds the all-time record with 135 multi-inning saves. His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 is also a mark of historical significance. Pierce threw a three-hit shutout to beat Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in Game One. Or write about sports? He wasnt perfect think of the Luis Gonzalez walkoff single in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. He was as automatic as youll ever find for a closer. His 11.9 K/9 rate is tops of all retired relievers (tied with Brad Lidge). Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Honorable mention: Pete Rose, Manny Ramirez. In 34 he out-dueled Dizzy Dean to win 3-1. Reulbach had arguably a more impressive career than any of them. 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. SS: Alex RodriguezThis isnt a close race at shortstop now that Rodriguez is Hall-eligible, but he received only 35.7% of the vote in his second year on the BBWAA ballot in 2023. The only pitchers in history with more innings and a higher career ERA+ than Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. 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. Relief RHP: Dan QuisenberryJust about every modern-day righty reliever who should be in the Hall is already there following Lee Smiths election in 2018. When you compare Chapman to all-time relievers, his relatively low numbers of innings pale in comparison to others. One naturally asks this question when compiling a list like this. It is a significant total. 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). 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. Looking at the names below, Curt Schilling is probably moving toward enshrinement. 9.36. Cooper was slender and had a remarkable smooth and graceful delivery. 3 Kevin Brown 4.2 All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. That said, look for the results for catchers tomorrow. The Best MLB Player at Every Position Rejected by Hall of Fame Joel Reuter January 27, 2021 Focus on Sport/Getty Images The 2021 MLB Hall of Fame voting results were released Tuesday evening,. Honorable mention: Nathan, Papelbon, Rodrguez, Keith Foulke, Tom Gordon, Tom Henke, Firpo Marberry, Troy Percival, Kent Tekulve, John Wetteland. Im struck again by the level of parity in this survey after Clemens. He won 20 games three consecutive years right at the Tigers heyday in the mid-30s. John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition. I attempted to rank the 10 best ever. Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? Starting RHP: Roger ClemensSeven Cy Young Awards, two pitching Triple Crowns, an AL MVP Award and the third-most strikeouts in history give Clemens a claim to best pitcher of all-time, and just like Bonds, he likely had a Hall of Fame rsum before he began his alleged use of PEDs. I will be presenting the results here of the survey over the next week or so, going position by position. He pitched at the height of the live ball era on and against some of the greatest offensive teams ever gathered. Cooper may be the best pitcher in Pirates history. He was as good as Rixey and Stan Coveleski, both in the HOF, and better than Marquard, Grimes, Pennock, and Hoytall from the same period. 2.21 career ERA. 2B: Lou WhitakerJeff Kent famously hit the most homers of any second baseman, thus making his exclusion from the Hall somewhat strange. But he will face the same hurdles as Bonds, Clemens and Sosa thanks to multiple transgressions with performance-enhancing drugs that included over a year-long suspension from baseball from 2013-14. Honorable mentions: Bill Dahlen, Omar Vizquel, Jimmy Rollins, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, Jim Fregosi. The best players in New York just simply did not get missed by the HOF voters. In the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, and later with Bobo Newsome. But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 The Pirates went on to win the game. Being the second best ever to Mariano Rivera is a pretty strong accomplishment, and Goose Gossage did it the hard way. But like Bonds, Clemens did not have an easier time with the Todays Game Era Committee than he did with the BBWAA. Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. Plus, it just doesnt feel right that Alan Trammell is in the Hall without his double-play partner. Were there a clear consensus, someone would be closer to 1 here. Cy Young is the games career leader in losses. 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. Freehan enjoyed a longer career because of Munsons unfortunate passing at age 32, and thus he finished with more hits, homers, RBIs and Gold Glove Awards. Warnekes career backed up into WWII. Bert Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, but grew up in California. Billy Wagner. Studying the list of inductions, one has to wonder about the order in which some pitchers received their recognition. Blyleven toiled long and hard for the Twins in the 70s. What if Tony Mullane had been allowed to pitch for Cincinnati in 1885? He was a great situation pitcher, and knew how to get out of a jam with his guile and assortment of breaking pitches. He pitched his no-hitter in '77, as well as leading the league that year in WHIP. He led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts in '85. Stats: 652 saves, 2.21 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 4.10 K:BB, 205 ERA+. Wilhelm posted a sub-2.00 ERA for five consecutive seasons in his 40s, and he did so while averaging 108 innings pitched per year. Tommy was pitching in October for six consecutive seasons, posting a 6-3 mark with a 2.65 ERA over 88 innings. Do we naturally give more attention to the pitchers who possess a blazing fastball? But there are pitchers whose careers have fallen through the cracks. Blyleven had tremendous stuff on the ball: fastball, curve and change-up. Qualtrics allows more sophisticated functionality. Detroit lists Bridges and Lolich. Clemens, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are the only three-time winners who dont have a plaque. Rodriguez will now have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did. I gave a list of 10 players at each position, based primarily on who I thought voters would expect to be in the poll. 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. He featured a low three-quarters delivery that made it hard for left-handed batters to pick up the ball. Ed Reulbach, Tommy Bridges and Bert Blyleven all fall in this category. During the '76 season he was traded to Texas, where he joined a strong staff and put in some outstanding work. Q1 Rank the following pitchers, ranging from 1 for most-deserving of Hall of Fame induction to 10 for least-deserving, [From a survey of 425 respondents, fielded via Qualtrics]. Even if you dont like him (hand raised here), Jonathan Papelbon was Hall of Fame worthy dominant for his career. He is among the top ten pitchers of the live ball era1921-1945. Heck, you can easily make the argument he's the best pitcher in baseball, and that's not even his primary position. 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. overall HOF average hitters are added to that position's average until It's fitting that Smoltz, Maddux, and Tom Glavine came back-to-back-to-back on this list, because for over a decade . His 49 career shutouts are just about automatic HOF criteria. Heres a stat for you to show Wagner was ahead of his era: There were five seasons before 2000 (38 after 2000) in which a pitcher threw at least 50 IP and had at least a 14.0 K/9 rate. He led the NL in fewest H/9 and was second in WHIP, shutouts, and winning percentage. This included work for the Dodgers, Yankees and the Angels. What if Babe Adams hadnt been left to toil in the minor leagues for most of two seasons? And he never got a single Cy Young vote. Al Oliver. 8 Chuck Finley 3.7 On a 25-man roster, teams typically carry 12 or 13 pitchers. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. Despite being the top pitcher in the league at least three times, Walters has been overlooked for the HOF. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Babe Adams had brief looks at the major leagues in 06 with the St. Louis Cardinals and 07 for the Pirates. In Game Three he came in to save the game, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. If he does not pick up that . HOF - Indicates Player is a Hall of Famer. He led the league in wins in 36 with 23, but also led the league in strikeouts and games started twice. His momentum with BBWAA voters stalled out, and he didn't fare any better with the Today's Game Era Committee in late 2022, meaning that it's hard to see Bonds reaching Cooperstown anytime soon. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Initials. First-ever unanimous National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2019) Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher in Major League Baseball history. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. Al Spalding took a disliking to the off-field activities of several of the players during the '86 campaign. 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. Beginning in August of 52, Pierce went 21-21 against the Yankees, whom he faced more than any other team. . The 38 voters who gave Roger Clemens a ranking of 10 ranked Curt Schilling top, at 3.63 on average, followed by Tommy John at 4.18, and Luis Tiant at 4.24. Opposition has cooled considerably in recent years toward enshrining Clemens, a brilliant pitcher long before rumors of performance enhancing drug use surfaced. Matsui has no chance of ever making the Hall of Fame. After playing for the St. Louis Browns, he chose to try to sign with Cincinnati, but was blocked. Then with the Pirates down three games to one, he entered Game Five with the score tied in the 5th inning, and shut down the Orioles for the rest of the game, securing himself, and the Pirates, the win. Next came Cy Young. Pitchers who, for one reason or another, never got the votes or attention needed to make it in. But by 48 the Tigers gave up on Pierce, shipping him off to the White Sox. Career: 16 years (1995-2010) Teams: Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves. 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. Pierce accomplishments, although very worthy, were overlooked because of the change of era. Hoffman never won a Cy Young but finished second twice. Cincinnati pitchers on this list include Will White, Mullane and Walters. His stamina and effectiveness began to wane in the early '80s. 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. He featured a sinking fastball and a curve, later known as a slider. His H/9 rate of 5.3 in 1906 is one of the best in history. 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. Stats: 368 saves, 2.44 ERA, 1.043 WHIP, 4.37 K:BB, 177 ERA+. Warnekes career was cut short because he left to defend our country. 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. system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to 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). 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. And Muhammad Ali lost five fights. Against the Yankees in the series, he pitched well in game two, but took a 3-2 loss. getting voted into the Hall of Fame is difficult for relief . Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. That said, after 425 responses, voting has officially wrapped for this poll. 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 . 2009 was his last on the HOF ballot. 3 Curt Schilling 4.9 Its commonplace in todays game for a manager to turn to the bullpen as early as the sixth inning. But there's no doubt he would receive pushback from the starters, their agents, and the salty old baseball types. 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. If thats the case, Kimbrel probably wont move down these rankings at all but he also wont move any higher. The problem with Pierce HOF candidacy is that his career backed up into the raised mound era. JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score 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). For the most part, the best pitchers are in the HOF. Tommy John has more wins than any of these pitchers. By 1946 they told him he was washed up-finished. Mariano Rivera was a failed starter. 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). Babe went on to pitch the rest of his career for Pittsburgh. For his career he gave up only 430 BB in 2,995 innings. In todays sabermetrics-laden era, its surprising that Lee Smith got in but Wagner still cant. Career Span/Primary Team(s) Player Wins Above Replacement; 1986-2007/Pirates, Giants: 178.3: 1984-2007/Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Astros: 133.9: 1991-2005/Astros He really was unhittable. He failed to garner enough votes to make on the 15th try. He was a 20 game winner in 11 and 13 but he didnt get to pitch in the World Series again until 25 at the age of 43. Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever and 1979 Cy Young winner, has died at the age of 69. In over 130 of his 390 starts for the team, they scored two or fewer runs. 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. Tiant was known for his unusual delivery, turning away from the batter during the wind up. Seven relief pitchers are over 10.0three of those seven are already in the Hall (Goose, Fingers, Wilhelm) and one more is a shoo-in when he gets on the ballot. His dominance was evident with every 100 MPH fastball he threw. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. Not retired by 2017. He was a better pitcher than some of his contemporaries who made the HOFHoyt, Haines, and Ted Lyons. Its hard not to wonder whether Santana would be making a steady year-by-year improvement in the voting totals now if he had rightfully taken home the 2005 AL Cy Young Award that went to Bartolo Colon instead. 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. They chose not to have time for their pitching hero from the last generation. Thats three seasons for workhorse Mike Marshall from the 1970s. Tony Mullane was just inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year. Tommy Johns 288 wins are his strongest calling card. hide this ad PLAY QUIZ Score 0/25 Timer 10:00 Recently Published Actresses. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File) via Associated Press. His control record surpasses even Christy Mathewson, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez at their peaks. 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 . Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, Baseball Hall of Fame Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional route. He led the league in shutouts in '36 and games started in '37. The top four candidates were all foreign born. Many of their careers and cases are compelling. 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. 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. Until the late 50s over half the teams were based on the East Coast. The beloved submariner has a case for the 1980s best reliever, having won five Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Awards, finishing with a league-adjusted 146 ERA+ and helping the Royals claim two pennants and the 1985 World Series title. Wilbur Cooper and Babe Adams have likewise been missed. The process of selection and voting for the HOF has been uneven at best. He was a fireballing closer who actually registered more multi-inning saves in his career than one inning saves. In Gossages day, he did all of that. It looked at pitchers in the HOF with the weakest resumes. Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon both went one-and-done after falling shy of 5% of the BBWAA vote in their 22 ballot debuts. But he might not be on this list much longer. He proved it often enough. 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. Incredibly, the Pirate management left him there until the end of the 18 season. These are the primary factors I used in my evaluations: 10. All of the numbers agree with this statement as he ranks first . Supporting evidence also shows that John was an effective pitcher. inducted position (RF). . What did it take to be ignored by the HOF voters and veterans committee? The knock on Gossage is his high blown save total his 112 are the most in baseball history. And John is at 2.6, not much better. 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 pitched over 400 innings six times, and won over 30 games five times (three times he won 40 games or more). 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. 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). He regularly hits 100 miles per hour on his fastballs and holds the all-time record by registering 105.1 on a pitch (twice). However, Smokey Joe Wood is not among those pitchers given a bye for the length of their careers. Chapmans statistics look mind-boggling, even when you account for the fact that every reliever strikes out a ton of hitters. Luis Tiant was born in Cuba and his father was a famous pitcher for the Cuban national team. The current Hall of Famers are then grouped by position and In fact, from 1905 through 1909 his H/9 never reached 7.0. His 3,701 Ks make Blyleven fifth all-time. Perhaps some oversights can be corrected. 7 Noodles Hahn 4.4 It is a decision many believe cost the Sox the title. His WHIP of 1.09 is remarkable, as are his 44 shutouts. 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. He won three complete games including a shutout against the Tigers. . In 48 they discarded Billy Pierce to the White Sox!). 10 Kevin Appier 4.2. All-Star Games. Whether it will be enough to one day get him into Cooperstown wont be decided for another 10 or so years. He was scouted by Hal Newhowser, who encouraged him to sign with the Orioles. In '68 his career took off. And its tough to ignore a frightening 10.13 ERA in the postseason. batting or pitching WAR are used in determining the averages at a given But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. Rivera trails only Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves and has perhaps the most dominant one-pitch arsenal this side of Phil Niekro. 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. 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. They all pitched in New York. He was voted the league MVP as the Reds won the pennant. Ill add in hyperlinks for each subsequent post, allowing anyone who happens upon this post later to easily be able to navigate between the different positions. In an era when everyone posts gaudy relief statistics, the trick is figuring out how rare and special Wagner really was. But by '35, after being sold to the Phillies and because of his great arm, the manager and coaches pushed him to pitch. But most of Kents dingers were hit during unprecedented boon times for the long ball, and while defensive metrics get murkier the further back one goes, Whitakers more polished all-around game stands out more to this author. Bucky wasnt done there. 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. Blyleven broke in with the Twins in 1970, going 10-9 and winning the rookie pitcher of the year award. Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. Movies. Top 25 Relief Pitchers not in the Hall of Fame Quiz Stats - By adubbdubb Quizzes 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). Feb 11, 2023. No starting pitchers. Players said they could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by. 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. If you put Gossage in a traditional one inning relief pitcher role, those blown saves assuredly go way down. That leaves an even matchup between McRae and Don Baylor on the outside looking in. 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. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. He faced Ford 15 times in his career and went 7-7. I looked at some pitchers with shorter careers as well, and included some whose careers I thought made the greatest statements. How many relief pitchers are on a baseball team? His 1,804 Ks were a high number for the era. McMahon pitched 18 seasons between 1957 and 1974 and was named to the 1958 All-Star team in his second big league season. In 1920, Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings. His ERA of 1.97 in 55 gave him an ERA less than half that of the league (ERA+ 201). Decade-plus Eagles writer. With quick succession he sold or traded them to other teams. He drew 59.5 percent of the vote in his most recent appearance on the writers ballot for Cooperstown. 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 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. 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? The statistics or the longevity, whom he faced in the ninth inning ERA five. Because he blew out his arm, losing the zip on an exceptional fastball 7 All-Star appearances, Hall. His grit in postseason action in 62 for the St. Louis Browns, he did of... The 1958 All-Star team in his career innings and a curve, later as! Grouped by position five years against the Yankees in the MLB Hall of Fame difficult! Games career leader in losses these are the most shots the 2001 World Series although very worthy were! Better pitcher than some of his contemporaries who made the HOFHoyt,,! 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