His 1.000 WHIP is the lowest among qualified pitchers in the live ball era. Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. In the same way that Jerry Rice is unanimously the greatest wide receiver of all-time and Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player and Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player, Mariano Rivera is far and above any other closer to ever play the game of baseball. He had exceptionally large hands which helped with gripping and releasing the ball with greater spinning revolutions on its way to the plate. He isnt the first Pittsburgh pitcher on this list. Tommy Bridges began and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers. Babe went on to pitch the rest of his career for Pittsburgh. 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. He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. Do you have a blog? I dont necessarily fault Chapman for that because its the way the game is played today. In '41 Lon pitched a no-hitter against the Reds. 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. 4 Rick Reuschel 4.0 What if Lon Warnekes and Tommy Bridges careers had not been interrupted by WWII? Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. . His 3,701 Ks make Blyleven fifth all-time. Answer (1 of 5): I honestly think that some manager should try it. Chapmans statistics look mind-boggling, even when you account for the fact that every reliever strikes out a ton of hitters. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. One naturally asks this question when compiling a list like this. Perhaps the resistance against the Latin American players carried over into Tiants HOF candidacy? All-Star Games. 7 Andy Pettitte 3.7 Data Provided By 6) Babe Adams (1906-1926) (194-140; 2.76 ERA; ERA+ 117; 2,995 IP/ 2,841 H/ 8.5 H/9; 1,036 K/ 4,30 BB/ 2.41 ratio; 1.092 WHIP). A player's JAWS is their His initial surgery came after the 1974 season. 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. Or the Dave Roberts steal in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Rivera allowed zero runs in 22 of his 32 postseason series. No real surprises at the top, I suppose. Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon both went one-and-done after falling shy of 5% of the BBWAA vote in their 22 ballot debuts. Mariano Rivera was a failed starter. Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. Although posting a fine season in '67, he was never accepted by the Reds faithful, and was sent to Atlanta during the '68 season. 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). 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. Robinson went on to win the triple crown in '66 and the MVP award for the American League. His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 is also a mark of historical significance. 10 Kevin Appier 4.2. Here is AJ Cassavell's ranking of the Top 5 relievers in Padres history: 1. They were equally as important and masterful as Radbourn, but overlooked for 25 more years. But he was so good at his craft. Tom Brady lost three Super Bowls. He was less than stellar in the World Series though, famously giving up Kirk Gibsons home run and allowing a 5.79 ERA in six career Fall Classic appearances. 6 Tim Hudson 3.8 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. Typically, in modern-day play, an active roster will consist of five starting pitchers, seven relief pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, and five outfielders. What did it take to be ignored by the HOF voters and veterans committee? Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the standards for inclusion. 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. 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. Miranda Remaklus. His 60 shutoutsninth all timeare automatic HOF material. The strikeout record was being broken. Your email address will not be published. Fingers career ERA+ of 120 is lower than youd expect (24th among 30 closers with at least 300+ saves). Gossages 1975 season is still the greatest in baseball history by a relief pitcher in terms of WAR (8.2); he had a 1.84 ERA, a league-leading 26 saves, and an absurd 141.2 innings in 62 relief appearances. Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. Rivera trails only Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves and has perhaps the most dominant one-pitch arsenal this side of Phil Niekro. Their careers ranged from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP. getting voted into the Hall of Fame is difficult for relief . John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition. But by '35, after being sold to the Phillies and because of his great arm, the manager and coaches pushed him to pitch. Were there a clear consensus, someone would be closer to 1 here. Top 25 Relief Pitchers not in the Hall of Fame Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? 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. A 3.10 postseason ERA isn't terrible, but it's not Hall of Fame worthy. 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]. Relief Pitcher: Billy Wagner. His 11.9 K/9 rate is tops of all retired relievers (tied with Brad Lidge). He pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the early teens but injury caused him to establish less than 1,500 career innings. 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. After improving his control in 51, and developing a slider, he began a series of impressive years for the White Sox. 13)Wilbur Cooper (1912-1926) (216-178; 2.89 ERA; ERA+ 116; 35 SHO; 3480 IP/ 3415 H/ H/9 8.8; 1252 K/ 853 BB; 1.47 ratio; 1.226 WHIP). He would hold the ball with both hands and then surprise the hitter. Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5). Goose Gossage once commented that Rivera cant be the best ever since he didnt do the same job of Gossage. Brett Favre threw the most interceptions and the late Kobe Bryant missed the most shots. But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Pitchers Embed from Getty Images see more Roger Clemens, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox prepares to throw a pitch during the Major League Baseball American League East game against the Cleveland Indians on 27 May 1987 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Being the second best ever to Mariano Rivera is a pretty strong accomplishment, and Goose Gossage did it the hard way. Many more names came up on my lists than the 15 I will cover here. He finished second in the MVP balloting. 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. Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. Holds MLB record with 652 saves. Reulbach had arguably a more impressive career than any of them. The ballot just isnt that strong over the next few years. 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? 2B: Lou WhitakerJeff Kent famously hit the most homers of any second baseman, thus making his exclusion from the Hall somewhat strange. The Tigers were focused on a youth movement after the war. Pitchers who, for one reason or another, never got the votes or attention needed to make it in. Rivera was literally dominant for close to two decades in a row. That means he entered the game in jams, and usually got out of those jams. Literally, its very difficult to make an argument for any other pitcher. Luis Tiant was born in Cuba and his father was a famous pitcher for the Cuban national team. 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. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. After playing for the St. Louis Browns, he chose to try to sign with Cincinnati, but was blocked. . 3 Curt Schilling 4.9 Yet Allen fell just one vote shy of election when the Golden Days Committee last convened in 2021, meaning that the wait continues. 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. 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. He racked up 126 saves in his 40s. What if Milt Pappas had not been traded to Cincinnati? He went on to tally 324 saves over a 13-year career, good for 20th on the all-time list, putting him squarely in the Hall of Very Good category among relief pitchers. Trevor Hoffman is getting a lot of love this year, and Lee Smith did really well by the voters . The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Blyleven had one more significant season in 89 for the California Angels, winning 17 games and Comeback Player of the Year award. He was a significant figure from his era, and should not be punished for his stand against the reserve clause. Adams was perhaps the most extreme control pitcher in the history of the game. Im a little bummed to see Wes Ferrell and Rick Reuschel anchoring the list, though its not stunning. Fingers helped revolutionize the closer position, setting a trend later followed by Rivera and John Smoltz in becoming a failed starter-turned-closer. 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. Billy Pierce was slight of build at 5 10 and a whopping 160 lbs. And its tough to ignore a frightening 10.13 ERA in the postseason. Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Jimmy Key (CC Sabathia not yet eligible). Bridges was still an effective pitcher after his peak. 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. But Beltrn gets the slight edge, given his enviable combination of power (435 homers), speed (312 steals), defense (three Gold Gloves) and postseason heroics. 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. 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). We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 11 Belongs: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The HOF process seemed uneven, and somewhat political. For his career he gave up only 430 BB in 2,995 innings. Francisco Rodrguez debuted on the ballot in 23, getting 10.8%. Even if you dont like him (hand raised here), Jonathan Papelbon was Hall of Fame worthy dominant for his career. Bert Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, but grew up in California. Lolich had a splendid career with the Detroit Tigers from 6375. Heck, you can easily make the argument he's the best pitcher in baseball, and that's not even his primary position. 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. The pitchers of note among them areCharles Buffington, David Cone, Paul Derringer, Orel Hershiser, Larry Jackson, Jim Kaat, Carl Mays, Dave Stieb, Hippo Vaughn, and Doc White. His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day. Or what if the fans in Cincinnati had accepted his efforts for the team? Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'-CeXsjSMQXpEqN8nMfMOXQ',sig:'aPSIwiN6WT5Zl3uyeAdW_2g5nAPoP84MemQtfAdqDM8=',w:'594px',h:'395px',items:'1023432000',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); A few weeks ago, I kicked off a challenge here. 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. 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. Mullane was ahead of his time. He led the NL in fewest H/9 and was second in WHIP, shutouts, and winning percentage. I contemplated going 15 names just for pitchers, but thought it would look too out of sync with the rest of the survey. His ERA of 1.97 in 55 gave him an ERA less than half that of the league (ERA+ 201). Wilhelm became the first true reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame when he was honored in 1985. He didnt throw hard; instead, becoming the bizarre closer to rely on a knuckleball. He was the first pitcher who spent the majority of his career as a reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Let's say you carry 13 and schedule three pitchers eac. After winning 20 games in '24, the Pirates traded him to the Cubs. Stats: 652 saves, 2.21 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 4.10 K:BB, 205 ERA+. Not retired by 2017. Pitching for the Cubs, Reulbach teamed up with Mordecai Brown to make one of the great pitching tandems in baseball history. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. The Reds finally won their second World Series. 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. 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). He had won 30 games three consecutive seasons before his exile, and won 30 games two more years after he played for the Red Stockings. He drew 59.5 percent of the vote in his most recent appearance on the writers ballot for Cooperstown. They have been treated very differently by baseball writers voting for the HOF. position. But keep in mind that he wasnt used in nearly as much of a specialized role as modern closers are. Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 1:07PM. 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. Find out more. Every supporting evidence points to him being a HOF pitcher. I attempted to rank the 10 best ever. The only pitchers in history with more innings and a higher career ERA+ than Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner. He pitched at the height of the live ball era on and against some of the greatest offensive teams ever gathered. This list includes pitchers with some of the greatest curve balls in the history of the game. Managers. But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. What if Bucky Walters had started his career in Cincinnati rather than struggling in Philadelphia? Starting LHP: Johan SantanaSantanas one-and-done appearance on the ballot seemed like a mistake when it happened, and it still does two years later. He was a fireballing closer who actually registered more multi-inning saves in his career than one inning saves. Kimbrel still hasnt hit the decline phase of his career, unless 2019 was the beginning of the end and not just an aberration. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Would Santana have gotten enough votes to clear the 75% threshold for election? JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score Only Tommy John and Milt Pappas, and Luis Tiant spent any significant time on the east coast. Tony Mullane was just inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year. 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 Detroit lists Bridges and Lolich. Covering the latest and most controversial news around the world of sports, heavily centered on the Philadelphia Eagles and National Football League. He easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In an era when everyone posts gaudy relief statistics, the trick is figuring out how rare and special Wagner really was. Everything is in line, but hes been overlooked by the veterans committee. More about data coverage. As faithful baseball fans, we depend on the Hall of Fame to show us who the truly great players are. 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. This gives us a cut off of 2500 innings to. What if Billy Pierce and Bert Blyleven had received league average run support though the peak of their careers? While he walked his share of batters during the regular season, in postseason play, he walked only nine batters in 46 innings, while striking out 27 batters. 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). When Pierce retired, sportswriters were distracted with the manic accomplishments of Koufax, Marichal and Gibson. Hes insanely dominant against both righties and lefties as well. He would have had more wins if he hadnt been held back to face the Yankees, or had been given better run support . His 2.41 K/BB ratio is exceptional as well. The Blue Stockings folded after one year, and he then signed with Cincinnati. 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. I gave a list of 10 players at each position, based primarily on who I thought voters would expect to be in the poll. The current Hall of Famers are then grouped by position and Nothing in his pitching resume says he doesnt belong in the HOF. He is among the top ten pitchers of the live ball era1921-1945. Tommy John is perhaps guilty of hanging on longer than the normal impact of his career allowed. By adubbdubb Plays - /5 - RATE QUIZ MORE INFO Classic Best Score? He holds the all-time record for relief appearances with at least two innings (486) and three innings (197). Why were pitchers like Pennock, Chesbro, and McGinnity going in before greats like Mordecai Brown and Kid Nichols? 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. 1. Only players who are known primarily as relief pitchers or closers. It looked at pitchers in the HOF with the weakest resumes. 9.36. 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. 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,. 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. 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. 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 got just 10.5 percent of the Hall of Fame voting in 2016, his first year of eligibility, and was still only at 31.7 percent at last year. Movies. Warneke has more shutouts, a better K/BB ratio, and a better WHIP. During the season he went 12-0 for the team at Candlestick Park. Kimbrel/Chapman/Eckersley have an argument for being more dominant in their prime than Hoffman, but Hoffmans reign of longevity puts him higher on this list. Eck didnt become a reliever until his age-32 season but still appeared in enough games to retire first on the games all-time list (1,070). And John is at 2.6, not much better. They all pitched in New York. It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. Rivera somehow managed to be even better in the postseason when facing the best teams, and he did this year after year after year. This included work for the Dodgers, Yankees and the Angels. The players who dominated, not just for a season or two, but for years.