best relief pitchers not in hall of fame

When Pierce retired, sportswriters were distracted with the manic accomplishments of Koufax, Marichal and Gibson. 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). Babe went on to pitch the rest of his career for Pittsburgh. What if Pappas had never been traded to Cincinnati? Their careers ranged from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. With 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, three AL MVP Awards, 14 All-Star Game selections and a World Series championship across his 22 year career, A-Rods on-field numbers legitimately rank alongside the Halls inner-circle members. No real surprises at the top, I suppose. Find out more. They were equally as important and masterful as Radbourn, but overlooked for 25 more years. If he does not pick up that . the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Honorable mentions: Kent, Bobby Grich (Chase Utley not yet eligible). Decade-plus Eagles writer. Honorable mentions: Graig Nettles, Ken Boyer, Sal Bando (Adrin Beltr not yet eligible). It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. His 49 career shutouts are just about automatic HOF criteria. HOF - Indicates Player is a Hall of Famer. He pitched Game Two of the Series, but was taken out with the score tied 2-2 in the 7th inning. 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. 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. More about data coverage. Stats: 601 saves, 2.87 ERA, 1.058 WHIP, 3.69 K:BB, 141 ERA+, Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, Baseball Hall of Fame. He won 21 games with an ERA of 1.60 and led the league in shutouts with nine. His post season work began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 Your email address will not be published. In Game Three he came in to save the game, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. Supporting evidence also shows that John was an effective pitcher. The Arkansas Hummingbird pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career. Teams can vary this somewhat . He barely played in the postseason. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition. His career took off when he was traded to Cincinnati part way through the 1938 season. 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. Kaat is at 2.3, nowhere near HoF level. Get Jay Jaffe's book The Cooperstown Casebook He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. Many of them were from the initial live ball era1921-1945. Billy Pierce was slight of build at 5 10 and a whopping 160 lbs. 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. Recent history doesnt recognize Billy Wagner for how dominant he was. Bert Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, but grew up in California. I suspect he will reach the necessary 75 percent sometime in his remaining three years of eligibility. 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. Wilbur Cooper and Babe Adams have likewise been missed. Or the Dave Roberts steal in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. These are the primary factors I used in my evaluations: 10. Part of this is probably due to the distraction of the war years. Im struck again by the level of parity in this survey after Clemens. He failed to garner enough votes to make on the 15th try. Tommy John has more wins than any of these pitchers. He pitched in both the Cubs World Series appearances in '32 and '35, going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA. Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates. He easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins. Among the 65 pitchers with the longest careers, his 2.80 K/BB ranks fifth. Typically, in modern-day play, an active roster will consist of five starting pitchers, seven relief pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, and five outfielders. No one has a legitimate argument to surpass Rivera, who made 13 All-Star teams, holds the highest adjusted ERA (205) in baseball history, and was a key component in the New York Yankees dynasty. Cooper teamed up with Babe Adams, another pitcher on this list, to make quite a pitching combination for the Pirates of this era. Nothing in his pitching resume says he doesnt belong in the HOF. His name is best known for the elbow surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after him. Why were pitchers like Pennock, Chesbro, and McGinnity going in before greats like Mordecai Brown and Kid Nichols? Relief LHP: Billy Wagner Among 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). His alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. He holds the record for the most innings pitched in one season680. He isnt the first Pittsburgh pitcher on this list. In todays sabermetrics-laden era, its surprising that Lee Smith got in but Wagner still cant. Mariano Rivera. He was consistently excellent for the Orioles, winning 12 or more games and posting a winning record every year with the team. 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). In Gossages day, he did all of that. He struck out a healthy 1,674 batters. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. Incredibly, the Pirate management left him there until the end of the 18 season. He pitched a one hit shutout in the '06 series, and on Sept, 26, 1908 he pitched back to back shutouts on the same day. Ed Reulbachs career somehow fell between the cracks by the time the veterans committee was reconstructing who should be in the HOF. In Cleveland he won 25 or more games four times, and 40 games twice. Is there any validity here? From 1939 to 1947, while only Rogers Hornsby was elected, the veteran's committee was busy reconstructing 60+ years of baseball history to find those who belonged in the HOF. The Hall of Fame began in 1936, inducting Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in its first year. Pitching for the Cubs, Reulbach teamed up with Mordecai Brown to make one of the great pitching tandems in baseball history. Studying the list of inductions, one has to wonder about the order in which some pitchers received their recognition. 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. Big Ed broke in with the Chicago Cubs during their heyday in 1905, going 18-14 with a 1.42 ERA. Although posting a fine season in '67, he was never accepted by the Reds faithful, and was sent to Atlanta during the '68 season. "With pick #132, @Brian59044 selects the first real relief pitcher of the draft, Phoenix Sanders. In the '40s he pitched with young pitchers Hal Newhowser, Virgil Trucks and Dizzy Trout. . He led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts in '85. 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 . The HOF process seemed uneven, and somewhat political. His career postseason record shows a heightened excellence when the games really counted against the best competition. His ERA+, curve ball, postseason record and H/9 all speak of a pitcher who was one of the best of his era. Rivera was literally dominant for close to two decades in a row. Beginning in August of 52, Pierce went 21-21 against the Yankees, whom he faced more than any other team. Rivera's legacy is as the greatest relief pitcher ever, and now that Chapman is a Yankee for the foreseeable future, that's . 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. The Go-Go White Sox of the period scored few runs. 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). His career stands up nicely against contemporary HOF pitchers Bob Lemon and Hal Newhowser. He is first all-time in saves (652) and ERA+ (205). Cooper may be the best pitcher in Pirates history. McCormick was a pitcher of high quality who won 265 games. During the '76 season he was traded to Texas, where he joined a strong staff and put in some outstanding work. No starting pitchers. . Bold - Indicates Player is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame or was First. . Honorable mentions: Sammy Sosa, Dwight Evans, Reggie Smith, Gary Sheffield, Dave Parker, Bobby Abreu (Ichiro Suzuki not yet eligible). Against Detroit, he pitched a five hitter to win Game Two, and a complete game shutout to win Game Five. But by 48 the Tigers gave up on Pierce, shipping him off to the White Sox. Not retired by 2017. Stats: 652 saves, 2.21 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 4.10 K:BB, 205 ERA+. He holds the all-time record for relief appearances with at least two innings (486) and three innings (197). The ballot just isnt that strong over the next few years. There have been historical events that have influenced voting. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. It looked at pitchers in the HOF with the weakest resumes. The Pirates won the pennant the next year. Comparing across eras isnt easy, as the role of a relief pitcher has changed drastically over the years. Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5). In the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, and later with Bobo Newsome. Not retired by 2017. Hoffman never won a Cy Young but finished second twice. He relented, signed with St. Louis, but they then shipped him off to the expansion Toledo Blue Stockings. After tying the Dodgers for the pennant, it was determined they would play a three game playoff to determine 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. Dave Parker, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? His 187 career ERA+ is second among retired relief pitchers to only Mariano Rivera. Movies 8m His 1.000 WHIP is the lowest among qualified pitchers in the live ball era. The pitchers on this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already voted in. By '59, Pappas was a mainstay of the Orioles staff. One time, Wilhelm entered a tie game in the eighth inning and pitched through the 18th, allowing just two hits and no runs. Al Spalding took a disliking to the off-field activities of several of the players during the '86 campaign. 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. 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. What if Bucky Walters had started his career in Cincinnati rather than struggling in Philadelphia? He is one of our all-time greats. But he might not be on this list much longer. 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. Although the Tigers walked away losing two of the three World Series, Bridges record stands at 4-1. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1978 Topps #703 ROOKIE PITCHERS PSA 9 90146083 at the best online prices at eBay! He won 22 games the next year, leading the Reds back to the World Series. He was a major factor in Oaklands stretch of three straight pennants, winning the 1988 ALCS MVP award. Players said they could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by. He was a better pitcher than some of his contemporaries who made the HOFHoyt, Haines, and Ted Lyons. 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. He had a 0.70 career ERA in the playoffs. Bridges was gutsy and tough in the postseason. There are seventh inning guys, lefty specialists, setup men, long relievers, and traditional closers. Particularly blighted were the pitchers in Pittsburgh. He was the first player to wear glasses while he played. 9 David Cone 4.3 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. 2) Luis Tiant (1964-1982) (229-172; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 114; 49 SHO; 3,486 IP/ 3,075 H/ 7.9 H/9; 2416 K/ 1104 BB/ 2.19 ratio; 1.199 WHIP). 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 , . The most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then together as a group. 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 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. Free shipping for many products! 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. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. He faced Ford 15 times in his career and went 7-7. That said, after 425 responses, voting has officially wrapped for this poll. So with a lack of a real statistical standout, how about Quiz? 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. Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Jimmy Key (CC Sabathia not yet eligible). Yet Allen fell just one vote shy of election when the Golden Days Committee last convened in 2021, meaning that the wait continues. After improving his control in 51, and developing a slider, he began a series of impressive years for the White Sox. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. 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 Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. 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. The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line. But long before Cooperstown honored him on Sunday, the first black reliever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame was well-known around baseball circles as: Lee Arthur Smith. Thisresearch should give us a framework to look within for our best pitchers not in the HOF. With the aid of Comiskey Park, Gary Peters, Tommy John, and Joe Horlen, they were backed up by the likes of Bob Locker, Eddie fisher, Don McMahon and none other than Hoyt Wilhelm at his peak. 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. Billy Wagner. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Literally, its very difficult to make an argument for any other pitcher. Several players careers have been overlooked instead of championed. The knock against Wagner is that he got some easy saves throughout his career. The players on those teams were the players the sportswriters saw most. After an off year in 1916 he was sent to the minor leagues to work out his problems. One of the top relievers of the decade, Lyle was acquired from the Red Sox in March 1972 and recorded a 2.41 ERA (148 ERA+) in New York, tallying 141 saves and finishing 348 games. They have been treated very differently by baseball writers voting for the HOF. Only Tommy John and Milt Pappas, and Luis Tiant spent any significant time on the east coast. 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). 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. 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 Reds finally won their second World Series. 8 Chuck Finley 3.7 All are in or will be in their respective sports Hall of Fame. This excludes any pitcher still on the mound today, and those like Greg Maddux who are retired but not yet eligble. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. Mariano Riveras claim as the greatest closer of all-time is one of the safest arguments in baseball. All of the numbers agree with this statement as he ranks first . 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. The top four candidates were all foreign born. In Chicago he helped them to two championships, mostly as a second pitcher. 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. Drysdale, Ferguson Jenkins, and Early Wynn are the other pitchers with 49 shutouts, and all are in the HOF. I found some interesting threads that could be followed up. This list includes pitchers with some of the greatest curve balls in the history of the game. 10 Orel Hershiser 3.6. Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever and 1979 Cy Young winner, has died at the age of 69. Perhaps the resistance against the Latin American players carried over into Tiants HOF candidacy? By 1946 they told him he was washed up-finished. Bob Caruthers was between Cone and Appier, but a lot of his value was from playing the field as well. Bridges had the most awesome drop off the table curve ball of his era. 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. 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. . Since the advent of the live ball in 1921, only four pitchers have 60 shutouts: Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Bert Blyleven. The average run scoring in the period was some 20-25 percent more than the league average. Here is AJ Cassavell's ranking of the Top 5 relievers in Padres history: 1. This is a truly dominant statistic for this era. Qualtrics allows more sophisticated functionality. Tony Mullane was just inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year. Honorable mentions: McGwire, Don Mattingly, Todd Helton (Pujols not yet eligible). He then came back in game six to beat his often faced foe, pitching a three hit gem against none other than Whitey Ford. 9 Charlie Buffinton 3.7 Hes insanely dominant against both righties and lefties as well. Top 25 Relief Pitchers not in the Hall of Fame Quiz Stats - By adubbdubb Quizzes On a technical level, both Freehan and Munson (along with Gene Tenace, who nearly split his career evenly between catcher and first base) own the highest JAWS totals (Jay Jaffes system that combines career Wins Above Replacement with a players seven best seasons) among eligible backstops on the outside of Cooperstown looking in. The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 He would have had more wins if he hadnt been held back to face the Yankees, or had been given better run support . Chapman wont qualify on any official leaderboard because hes only at 535.2 innings, but if you look at all pitchers with 500+ innings, hes first all-time at 14.84 K/9 and a 2.01 FIP. A 3.10 postseason ERA isn't terrible, but it's not Hall of Fame worthy. He would also be the only pitcher in the Hall of Fame not to exceed 1,000 career innings pitched, which is a testament to the unique specialty role of being a modern closer. 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. After winning 20 games in '24, the Pirates traded him to the Cubs. But like Bonds, Clemens did not have an easier time with the Todays Game Era Committee than he did with the BBWAA. In 1920, Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings. 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. Relief Pitcher - Don McMahon (22.4 WAR) McMahon may be the best reliever most modern baseball fans have never heard mentioned. DH: Hal McRaeOnly six players have logged at least 7,500 career plate appearances while playing at least half their games at designated hitter. His ban from the game doesn't seem like it will ever be lifted. system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to Larry Anderson (1975-1994) 699 games, 995.1 innings pitched, 3.15 ERA, 18.2 K%, 121 ERA+ Paul Assenmacher (1986-1999) 884 games, 855.2 innings pitched, 3.53 ERA, 22.0 K%, 118 ERA+ Luis Ayala (2003-2013) 534 games, 554.1 innings pitched, 3.34 ERA, 15.7 K%, 129 ERA+ Grant Balfour (2001-2015) Seven successful years followed, including three more 20-win seasons, and some World Series heroics in '76. And his .187 batting average allowed is the lowest of any retired relief pitcher. 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). Games, and all are in or will be in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and prevented... Expansion Toledo Blue Stockings players on those teams were the players on those teams were the players on those were... The '76 season he was a mainstay of the NBA, NHL and MLB he,. In Philadelphia Mitchell Layton/Getty Images postseason record and H/9 all speak of a real standout. Pitchers with the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis, but was out... Signed with St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career the Yankees, whom faced! As a group he faced more than the league average shipped him off to off-field. Part way through the 1938 season evaluations: 10 cut his careers short and has prevented him from inducted. 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