2 Johan Santana 5.1 Bridges was gutsy and tough in the postseason. His post season work began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. His 11.9 K/9 rate is tops of all retired relievers (tied with Brad Lidge). Free shipping for many products! Trevor Hoffman, 1993-2008 Key fact: He's one of two pitchers in MLB history, with Mariano Rivera, to eclipse the 500- and 600-save plateaus. This excludes any pitcher still on the mound today, and those like Greg Maddux who are retired but not yet eligble. 10 Orel Hershiser 3.6. Ed Reulbachs career somehow fell between the cracks by the time the veterans committee was reconstructing who should be in the HOF. When Bruce Sutter began experimenting with the split-fingered fastball, he wasn't looking for a path to Cooperstown. If Jack Chesbro can parlay winning 40 games into the HOF, then Will White should be an automatic selection. 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. And he never got a single Cy Young vote. then in Boston. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? In Game Three he came in to save the game, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. Clemens, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are the only three-time winners who dont have a plaque. Curiously enough, Eckersley didnt win the Cy Young award in his best year but then won the award along with the league MVP two seasons later in 1992 when he went 7-1 with a 1.91 ERA and 51 saves, then the second-best single-season total of all-time. He ended up nostalgically back in Minnesota for the '86 season, and helped the team to the World Series title in '87. 14) Bucky Walters (1934-1948,50) (198-160; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 115; 42 SHO; 3,104 IP/ 2,990 H/ 8.7 H/9; 1,107 K/ 1,121 BB; 1.324 WHIP). But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The only pitchers in history with more innings and a higher career ERA+ than Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner. He finished second in the MVP balloting. 4 Wes Ferrell 4.7 He didnt throw hard; instead, becoming the bizarre closer to rely on a knuckleball. Thisresearch should give us a framework to look within for our best pitchers not in the HOF. averages are skewed due to a lack of players at that position, so In Gossages day, he did all of that. 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. hide this ad PLAY QUIZ Score 0/25 Timer 10:00 Recently Published Actresses. 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. 7 Noodles Hahn 4.4 Many thanks to him. The voting body has become skewed in their view of starting pitching in recent decades. 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. Tom Brady lost three Super Bowls. Seven successful years followed, including three more 20-win seasons, and some World Series heroics in '76. Players said they could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by. He is one of our all-time greats. Babe went on to pitch the rest of his career for Pittsburgh. RF Andre Ethier After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. What do you think: Is Mariano Rivera the best relief pitcher in baseball 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. He was scouted by Hal Newhowser, who encouraged him to sign with the Orioles. 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. Probably not. In 1920, Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings. Here is AJ Cassavell's ranking of the Top 5 relievers in Padres history: 1. Its much easier to pitch one scoreless inning than to face the full lineup once or even twice. Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. John's pitching exploits began in Chicago where he was part of the stingiest pitching staffs ever compiled. 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. Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon both went one-and-done after falling shy of 5% of the BBWAA vote in their 22 ballot debuts. Stats: 346 saves, 2.08 ERA, 0.945 WHIP, 4.14 K:BB, 195 ERA+, Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, 1 Rookie of the Year award, 1 World Series ring. Plus, it just doesnt feel right that Alan Trammell is in the Hall without his double-play partner. 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. He holds the record for the most innings pitched in one season680. 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. Decade-plus Eagles writer. Free shipping for many products! No starting pitchers. Sabermetrics lover. He isnt the first Pittsburgh pitcher on this list. It's an ex-Chip's Worldand we're just picking up the pieces. His last year of allowing fewer hits than innings pitched was 81. Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Jimmy Key (CC Sabathia not yet eligible). He really was unhittable. In 48 they discarded Billy Pierce to the White Sox!). Stats: 422 saves, 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, 3.99 K:BB, 187ERA+. 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. Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5). It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. Fingers wasnt just a one-inning closer either; he holds the all-time record with 135 multi-inning saves. He was consistently excellent for the Orioles, winning 12 or more games and posting a winning record every year with the team. 6 Roy Oswalt 4.5 Gomez career was cut short because he blew out his arm, losing the zip on an exceptional fastball. For anyone who cares, heres a more detailed breakdown of the votes each pitcher received for each ranking. His 60 shutoutsninth all timeare automatic HOF material. His alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. Tommy John is perhaps guilty of hanging on longer than the normal impact of his career allowed. 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. 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. There have been historical events that have influenced voting. Perhaps his strongest career stat is his 43 shutouts, more than Hunter, Jim Bunning, Lemon, Newhowser, and Sandy Koufax. The Pirates went on to win the game. If you cross over 10 by this metric, you are a serious candidate for the Hall of Fame. What if Billy Pierce and Bert Blyleven had received league average run support though the peak of their careers? Tommy Bridges began and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers. 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. 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. Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? 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. 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). After winning 20 games in '24, the Pirates traded him to the Cubs. Pierce pitched four scoreless innings in relief. 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]. His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day. He broke in going 123 with an exceptional 1.11 ERA on a staff that included Vic Willis at the end of his career. The pitchers on this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already voted in. 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 This is a truly dominant statistic for this era. "With pick #132, @Brian59044 selects the first real relief pitcher of the draft, Phoenix Sanders. I guess his curve ball fooled a few batters. He won 21 games with an ERA of 1.60 and led the league in shutouts with nine. Uehara's 2013 season was one of the most dominant by any relief pitcher in . After breaking in with the Cleveland Indians, Tommy John spent significant time with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees, as well as a shorter stint with the California Angels. He pitched the vast majority of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The ballot just isnt that strong over the next few years. Do you have a sports website? In '68 his career took off. The committee missed his team mate, Mordecai Brown, until after his death in 1948. And John is at 2.6, not much better. From 1939-1946 Walters accumulated totals led the major leagues in wins, innings pitched; 2,030, complete games; 178, and ERA. However, after a year and a half out of military service, the Tigers were impatient for him to regain his form. 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. Initials. I contemplated going 15 names just for pitchers, but thought it would look too out of sync with the rest of the survey. 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 43 voters who ranked Tommy John, Jim Kaat, or Luis Tiant top overall gave Clemens an average ranking of 6.74, again ahead of only Ferrell and Reuschel. Bert Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, but grew up in California. Im struck again by the level of parity in this survey after Clemens. The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 Get Jay Jaffe's book The Cooperstown Casebook When he retired, no one had surpassed his 601 saves; now, only Mariano Rivera has done so. Tony Mullane was just inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year. He won three complete games including a shutout against the Tigers. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. Honorable mention: Nathan, Papelbon, Rodrguez, Keith Foulke, Tom Gordon, Tom Henke, Firpo Marberry, Troy Percival, Kent Tekulve, John Wetteland. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File) via Associated Press. 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. 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. Pierce accomplishments, although very worthy, were overlooked because of the change of era. Al Spalding took a disliking to the off-field activities of several of the players during the '86 campaign. 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. Walters spent his developing years struggling in Philadelphias bandbox of a stadium. His ERA is outstanding, his K/BB ratio is excellent, and he has enough wins and shutouts. This included work for the Dodgers, Yankees and the Angels. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. It also includes "Black" Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte who is banned from baseball, and not eligible for the HOF. His WHIP of 1.09 is remarkable, as are his 44 shutouts. Typically, in modern-day play, an active roster will consist of five starting pitchers, seven relief pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, and five outfielders. 1B: Rafael PalmeiroBBWAA voters strongly dismissed Palmeiros Cooperstown case on account of his connection to performance-enhancing drugs, but the fact remains that Palmeiro and Alex Rodriguez are the only Hall-eligible player with at least 3,000 hits and 500 homers who are not enshrined (Albert Pujols is yet to hit the ballot). Yet Allen fell just one vote shy of election when the Golden Days Committee last convened in 2021, meaning that the wait continues. What if Tony Mullane had been allowed to pitch for Cincinnati in 1885? The Pirates won the pennant the next year. Adams was perhaps the most extreme control pitcher in the history of the game. Wilbur Cooper and Babe Adams have likewise been missed. Honorable mentions: Sammy Sosa, Dwight Evans, Reggie Smith, Gary Sheffield, Dave Parker, Bobby Abreu (Ichiro Suzuki not yet eligible). Incredibly, the Pirate management left him there until the end of the 18 season. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. His career postseason record shows a heightened excellence when the games really counted against the best competition. However, Smokey Joe Wood is not among those pitchers given a bye for the length of their careers. What if Bucky Walters had started his career in Cincinnati rather than struggling in Philadelphia? Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. and the most games started75. 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. Pierce threw a three-hit shutout to beat Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in Game One. Tommy was pitching in October for six consecutive seasons, posting a 6-3 mark with a 2.65 ERA over 88 innings. 40 games into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year Blyleven was in...! ) historians to this day K/BB ratio is excellent, and ERA career the. Billy Wagner perhaps guilty of hanging on longer than the normal impact of career. His post season work began in 77 with the team to the Cubs only three-time winners who have. Began and finished his career for the most dominant by any relief pitcher in Baseball?. 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