best relief pitchers not in hall of fame

Cooper teamed up with Babe Adams, another pitcher on this list, to make quite a pitching combination for the Pirates of this era. Fingers career ERA+ of 120 is lower than youd expect (24th among 30 closers with at least 300+ saves). 8 Chuck Finley 3.7 He re-surfaced with incredible campaigns in '84 and '85. Fingers wasnt just a one-inning closer either; he holds the all-time record with 135 multi-inning saves. It is a decision many believe cost the Sox the title. Drysdale, Ferguson Jenkins, and Early Wynn are the other pitchers with 49 shutouts, and all are in the HOF. To start, there are only eight primary relievers in Cooperstown; Rivera, Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, and Trevor Hoffman. LF: Barry BondsThis doesnt require much explanation; Bonds is the greatest player many of us have seen in our lifetimes, and he had accrued surefire Hall credentials before his alleged PED use clouded the picture. 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. Relief Pitcher - Don McMahon (22.4 WAR) McMahon may be the best reliever most modern baseball fans have never heard mentioned. As a teen he went to watch Sandy Koufax pitch and later learned how to throw a curve ball with a hold similar to Koufax. 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. the total count of actual and average players matches that of the most He would have been part of the best pitching staffs in historyPappas was still pitching great in '71 and '72. 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. Comparing across eras isnt easy, as the role of a relief pitcher has changed drastically over the years. 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. Not every pitcher on this list should necessarily be in the HOF, but all of them could have been selected and voted in with the proper attention and support without any change in the historical standards that have been set. 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. He barely played in the postseason. He then came back in game six to beat his often faced foe, pitching a three hit gem against none other than Whitey Ford. And its tough to ignore a frightening 10.13 ERA in the postseason. Several players careers have been overlooked instead of championed. Hoffman never won a Cy Young but finished second twice. They chose not to have time for their pitching hero from the last generation. 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. Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. Tommy Bridges began and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers. The current Hall of Famers are then grouped by position and The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line. Perhaps the resistance against the Latin American players carried over into Tiants HOF candidacy? 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. With that backdrop in mind, let's proceed with our tenth-best relief pitcher of all time: 10. Feb 11, 2023. By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. Im a little bummed to see Wes Ferrell and Rick Reuschel anchoring the list, though its not stunning. In 34 he out-dueled Dizzy Dean to win 3-1. Walters spent his developing years struggling in Philadelphias bandbox of a stadium. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. It took the veterans committee some 90 years to find and induct Vic Willis. One naturally asks this question when compiling a list like this. But by 48 the Tigers gave up on Pierce, shipping him off to the White Sox. Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Jimmy Key (CC Sabathia not yet eligible). His initial surgery came after the 1974 season. Over a five-year span, he led the league in saves twice, finished in the top six in Cy Young award voting four times, and turned in one of the most dominant seasons in baseball history in 1990: 0.61 ERA, 48 saves, 73 K to 4 BB in 73.1 IP. 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. The problem with Pierce HOF candidacy is that his career backed up into the raised mound era. Pitching for the Cubs, Reulbach teamed up with Mordecai Brown to make one of the great pitching tandems in baseball history. In addition, I cross-referenced all non-HOF pitchers by length of career, beginning with 2,800 IP, and made lists from each range of IP: 2,800-3,000, 3,000-3,500, 3,500-4,500, and 4,500-plus. His ERA of 1.97 in 55 gave him an ERA less than half that of the league (ERA+ 201). 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. How many relief pitchers are on a baseball team? All are in or will be in their respective sports Hall of Fame. Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. He struck out a healthy 1,674 batters. and the most games started75. 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. Pete Alexander followed. The Baseball Writers Association of America has elected the newest Hall of Famer, with third baseman Scott Rolen officially getting the call on Tuesday and joining Fred McGriff -- previously elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee -- in the Class of 2023. After being traded to the Pirates in the National League, he helped the team to a World Series title. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. That leaves an even matchup between McRae and Don Baylor on the outside looking in. I put Ferrell and Reuschel in the survey partly in tribute to my friend and fellow baseball researcher Adam Darowski, who has advocated heavily for their induction in recent years, though each has a nuanced case that could be overlooked in a quick survey. Answer (1 of 5): I honestly think that some manager should try it. When he retired, no one had surpassed his 601 saves; now, only Mariano Rivera has done so. These are the primary factors I used in my evaluations: 10. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. . If you cross over 10 by this metric, you are a serious candidate for the Hall of Fame. His K/BB ratio of 2.01 is historically strong. Pappas, of Greek descent, was born in Detroit. 7 Noodles Hahn 4.4 3 Kevin Brown 4.2 There are strong HOF arguments for and against Wagner. Honorable mentions: Kent, Bobby Grich (Chase Utley not yet eligible). 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. 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. Honorable mentions: McGwire, Don Mattingly, Todd Helton (Pujols not yet eligible). Go Orange. His dominance was evident with every 100 MPH fastball he threw. He led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts in '85. The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 there are differing levels of greatness and acclaim. He perhaps would have a few more wins, without his career being interrupted, and perhaps some postseason success, as the Orioles became one of the best teams of the era, going to the World Series in '66, '69, '70, and '71. When Pierce retired, sportswriters were distracted with the manic accomplishments of Koufax, Marichal and Gibson. 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. His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day. When Bruce Sutter began experimenting with the split-fingered fastball, he wasn't looking for a path to Cooperstown. Tommy John is perhaps guilty of hanging on longer than the normal impact of his career allowed. I guess his curve ball fooled a few batters. He pitched his no-hitter in '77, as well as leading the league that year in WHIP. His alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. Pitching in an era before closers were sexy, McMahon pitched 872 games out of the bullpen won . Before the '66 season, Pappas was sent to Cincinnati for Frank Robinson in a very unpopular trade. His 46 shutouts are HOF worthy, and his postseason resume shows he was still good against the best competition of the era. Warnekes career backed up into WWII. He had one shutout. 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 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. 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. Warneke continued his winning ways, winning 20 games three times and posting a winning record every year until '43, when he left to fight in the war. He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. Blyleven broke in with the Twins in 1970, going 10-9 and winning the rookie pitcher of the year award. Trevor Hoffman is getting a lot of love this year, and Lee Smith did really well by the voters . He allowed just two home runs to 527 batters in the playoffs. Only John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley can say they were multi-time All-Star starting pitchers and then became dominant closers afterwards. King Kelly, McCormick, and others were known to go out and celebrate after games. 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. He has the requisite 200 wins, over 40 shutouts, and his 2,832 Ks are still third among left-handed pitchers all-time. Find out more. Or what if the fans in Cincinnati had accepted his efforts for the team? Billy Pierce was slight of build at 5 10 and a whopping 160 lbs. 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. All rights reserved. Tommy was pitching in October for six consecutive seasons, posting a 6-3 mark with a 2.65 ERA over 88 innings. Mccormick ended up in Pittsburgh where he ended his career the next year. John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition. He featured a sinking fastball and a curve, later known as a slider. Four straight seasons early on Kimbrel led the league in saves, posting absurd single-season ERAs of 2.10, 1.01, 1.21, and 1.61. What if Lon Warnekes and Tommy Bridges careers had not been interrupted by WWII? Uehara's 2013 season was one of the most dominant by any relief pitcher in . Ahead of: Bob Lemon Red Ruffing Steve Carlton Don Drysdale Fergie Jenkins Dizzy Dean Lefty Gomez Red Faber Waite Hoyt Jim Bunning CC Sabathia* Herb Pennock Lee Smith Hal Newhouser He pitched at the height of the live ball era on and against some of the greatest offensive teams ever gathered. In 48 they discarded Billy Pierce to the White Sox!). batting or pitching WAR are used in determining the averages at a given If he does not pick up that . His career took off when he was traded to Cincinnati part way through the 1938 season. His resume for the HOF is strong. On a 25-man roster, teams typically carry 12 or 13 pitchers. He was scouted by Hal Newhowser, who encouraged him to sign with the Orioles. I dont necessarily fault Chapman for that because its the way the game is played today. 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. In 35 he won two games against the Cubs, and in 40 he won his only appearance against the Reds. Sabermetrics lover. His post season work began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. He is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA, 36 Ks against only 8 BB, and a WHIP of 1.077. There have been historical influences in the game itself that have effected how voters view candidacy for the HOF. 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. Ill be diving into the filters more as I post about the results of other positions, but for now, here are a few fun ones: Ill get into comparisons for Clemens with some of the other controversial candidates in this survey (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Pete Rose) as I get to those results posts. position. 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. 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. Do you have a blog? Many more names came up on my lists than the 15 I will cover here. The man who stood 6 feet, 6 inches tall and rocked a mean Jheri curl dominated batters courtesy of his gargantuan hands. Rollie Fingers may be the most decorated relief pitcher in baseball history, and that list includes Mariano Rivera. The top four candidates were all foreign born. He is among the top ten pitchers of the live ball era1921-1945. But even Michael Jordan missed game-winning shots. He pitched over 400 innings six times, and won over 30 games five times (three times he won 40 games or more). 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 What did it take to be ignored by the HOF voters and veterans committee? He led the league in ERA+ and shutouts (nine) in '73, but didnt get the attention he deserved for the Cy Young award. He holds the record for the most innings pitched in one season680. He easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins. They all pitched in New York. If Jack Chesbro can parlay winning 40 games into the HOF, then Will White should be an automatic selection. 7) Tommy Bridges (1930-1946) (194-138; 3.57 ERA; ERA+ 126; 33 SHO; 2,826 IP/ 2,675 H/ 8.5 H/9; 1,674 K/ 1,192 BB/ 1.40 ratio; 1.368 WHIP). But whos the second best relief pitcher ever? the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Holds MLB record with 652 saves. Lolich had a splendid career with the Detroit Tigers from 6375. Al Oliver. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. But he was so good at his craft. Today, its my pleasure to present how people voted on pitchers. 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. Relief LHP: Billy WagnerAmong all Live Ball Era pitchers with at least 750 innings, Wagner is the very best in strikeouts per nine innings (11.9) and WHIP (0.998) while also ranking behind only Mariano Rivera in ERA+ (187) and owning the sixth-highest save total in history (422). The Reds finally won their second World Series. 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. What if Pappas had never been traded to Cincinnati? All of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and big game performances. He pitched with six different teams, but most significantly with the Cleveland Blues and Chicago White Stockings. His 1.000 WHIP is the lowest among qualified pitchers in the live ball era. 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]. That means he entered the game in jams, and usually got out of those jams. Blyleven had one more significant season in 89 for the California Angels, winning 17 games and Comeback Player of the Year award. The most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then together as a group. 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). 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. 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. He would hold the ball with both hands and then surprise the hitter. 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. 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. The Hall of Fame began in 1936, inducting Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in its first year. Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5). Stats: 341 saves, 2.90 ERA, 1.156 WHIP, 2.64 K:BB, 120 ERA+, Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, 1 MVP, 1 Cy Young award, 3 World Series rings, 1 World Series MVP, Baseball Hall of Fame. 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. To come up with this list I researched the best pitchers of each era. His ban from the game doesn't seem like it will ever be lifted. 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! 4 Wes Ferrell 4.7 The knock on Gossage is his high blown save total his 112 are the most in baseball history. 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. They were equally as important and masterful as Radbourn, but overlooked for 25 more years. It's an ex-Chip's Worldand we're just picking up the pieces. Not retired by 2017. He pitched the vast majority of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. . (Scott Dine/St. Wilbur Cooper and Babe Adams have likewise been missed. In Gossages day, he did all of that. Note that some players listed as HOFers may have been inducted for non-playing reasons. Even if you dont like him (hand raised here), Jonathan Papelbon was Hall of Fame worthy dominant for his career. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. The strikeout record was being broken. Honorable mention: Nathan, Papelbon, Rodrguez, Keith Foulke, Tom Gordon, Tom Henke, Firpo Marberry, Troy Percival, Kent Tekulve, John Wetteland. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. His career postseason record shows a heightened excellence when the games really counted against the best competition. 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. Oct 14, 2022, 04:09 PM EDT. Dave Parker, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? The players who dominated, not just for a season or two, but for years. 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. Literally, its very difficult to make an argument for any other pitcher. 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. But there are pitchers whose careers have fallen through the cracks. Among the 65 pitchers with the longest careers, his 2.80 K/BB ranks fifth. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Managers. Particularly blighted were the pitchers in Pittsburgh. After playing for the St. Louis Browns, he chose to try to sign with Cincinnati, but was blocked. 2/4/18 Super Bowl champs. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Babe Adams had brief looks at the major leagues in 06 with the St. Louis Cardinals and 07 for the Pirates. The Go-Go White Sox of the period scored few runs. 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. His name is best known for the elbow surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after him. Part of this is probably due to the distraction of the war years. 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. Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. I looked at some pitchers with shorter careers as well, and included some whose careers I thought made the greatest statements.

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