best relief pitchers not in hall of fame

Part of this is probably due to the distraction of the war years. Theres no one since Randy Johnson who puts fear into batters like Aroldis Chapman does. 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). 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. Honorable mentions: Graig Nettles, Ken Boyer, Sal Bando (Adrin Beltr not yet eligible). 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. 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. 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. By '59, Pappas was a mainstay of the Orioles staff. 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. Next came Cy Young. The Tigers were focused on a youth movement after the war. 3 Kevin Brown 4.2 Tony Mullane was just inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year. He is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA, 36 Ks against only 8 BB, and a WHIP of 1.077. Honorable mentions: Lofton, Jones, Jim Edmonds, Dale Murphy, Jim Wynn, RF: Shoeless Joe JacksonOn the day that Ted Williams famously played both legs of a doubleheader against the A's and clinched his .400 season in 1941, opposing manager Connie Mack said, I wish I had a Williams. 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). 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. The Hall of Fame began in 1936, inducting Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in its first year. Active: Terry Francona , Rocco Baldelli , Dave Roberts , . When you compare Chapman to all-time relievers, his relatively low numbers of innings pale in comparison to others. getting voted into the Hall of Fame is difficult for relief . Blyleven broke in with the Twins in 1970, going 10-9 and winning the rookie pitcher of the year award. 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. Several players careers have been overlooked instead of championed. 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. Lolich had a splendid career with the Detroit Tigers from 6375. Certainly he can be given credit for his time in the service, as he would have easily made 200 wins without giving up the season and a half to the war, plus the recovery time. His H/9 rate of 5.3 in 1906 is one of the best in history. His ERA of 1.97 in 55 gave him an ERA less than half that of the league (ERA+ 201). 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. This was accomplished in one season1879. In 1920, Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings. Scary, we know. It is a significant total. Sabathia is at 3.5 right now. 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. His 187 career ERA+ is second among retired relief pitchers to only Mariano Rivera. Although the Tigers walked away losing two of the three World Series, Bridges record stands at 4-1. Among the 65 pitchers with the longest careers, his 2.80 K/BB ranks fifth. His fastball had lots of movement and a darting action. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. The top few on the list have a body of work and cases for the HOF so compelling, one wonders how they got missed. He was arguably as good a pitcher as Whitey Ford. Guess there was still some gas in this Tigers tank! 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 wasnt perfect think of the Luis Gonzalez walkoff single in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Im struck by the parity between Kevin Brown and Jim Kaat. He broke in going 123 with an exceptional 1.11 ERA on a staff that included Vic Willis at the end of his career. Pete Alexander followed. By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. He led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts in '85. He had one shutout. overall HOF average hitters are added to that position's average until The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. That leaves an even matchup between McRae and Don Baylor on the outside looking in. 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 . Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Many of their careers and cases are compelling. where he outlines who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on his JAWS metric used here. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Since the advent of the live ball in 1921, only four pitchers have 60 shutouts: Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Bert Blyleven. 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. He represented the Tigers in three World Series against the Cardinals, Cubs and Reds in 34, 35 and 40. He drew 59.5 percent of the vote in his most recent appearance on the writers ballot for Cooperstown. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. I contemplated going 15 names just for pitchers, but thought it would look too out of sync with the rest of the survey. For anyone who cares, heres a more detailed breakdown of the votes each pitcher received for each ranking. Rodriguez will now have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did. He isnt the first Pittsburgh pitcher on this list. 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. Mullane was ahead of his time. They have similar winning records except Warneke won three more games. 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). He had a 1.80 ERA after the age of 38. He has the requisite 200 wins, over 40 shutouts, and his 2,832 Ks are still third among left-handed pitchers all-time. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? But he was so good at his craft. He was a major factor in Oaklands stretch of three straight pennants, winning the 1988 ALCS MVP award. 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. The vast majority of these pitcher's careerswere focused in places other thanNew York, Philadelphia, or Boston. The knock on Gossage is his high blown save total his 112 are the most in baseball history. It took the veterans committee some 90 years to find and induct Vic Willis. The players on those teams were the players the sportswriters saw most. His devastating curve also made him one of hardest pitchers to hit of his generation. Tommy Johns 288 wins are his strongest calling card. He went 3517 in the minors. The committee missed his team mate, Mordecai Brown, until after his death in 1948. Cooper was slender and had a remarkable smooth and graceful delivery. 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 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. His name is best known for the elbow surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after him. 2.21 career ERA. What did it take to be ignored by the HOF voters and veterans committee? Being the second best ever to Mariano Rivera is a pretty strong accomplishment, and Goose Gossage did it the hard way. Wilhelm became the first true reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame when he was honored in 1985. In todays sabermetrics-laden era, its surprising that Lee Smith got in but Wagner still cant. Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Do you have a sports website? He would have had more wins if he hadnt been held back to face the Yankees, or had been given better run support . 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. However, after a year and a half out of military service, the Tigers were impatient for him to regain his form. 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). Detroit lists Bridges and Lolich. The knock against Wagner is that he got some easy saves throughout his career. 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. Decade-plus Eagles writer. All of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and big game performances. Im a little bummed to see Wes Ferrell and Rick Reuschel anchoring the list, though its not stunning. Al Lopez, the White Sox manager, refused to start Pierce in the 59 World Series. 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. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. 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. .208. First-ever unanimous National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2019) Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher in Major League Baseball history. That year, facing Ty Cobb and the Tigers in the postseason, the Pirates manager went on a hunch and started Adams in game one of the series. Do you have a blog? . Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. All-Star Games. 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. On a 25-man roster, teams typically carry 12 or 13 pitchers. 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. Veterans committee some 90 years to find and induct Vic Willis service, the White Sox manager, to. Best ever to Mariano Rivera is a pretty strong accomplishment, and he did so while averaging 108 innings per... The outside looking in left-handed pitchers all-time votes each pitcher received for each ranking back to face the,... The list, though its not stunning mainstay of the votes each pitcher received for each ranking Stathead Subscribe! Those teams were the players the sportswriters saw most 1906 is one of hardest pitchers to only Rivera. What did it take to be ignored by the parity between Kevin Brown and Jim Kaat when compare... Named after him that, not only prolonged his career Dave Roberts, next five years writers ballot for.! 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Surgery named after him informational purposes only head shots courtesy of David Davis the. Ferrell and Rick Reuschel anchoring the list, though its not stunning typically carry 12 13. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the National baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 76... Be ignored by the HOF voters and veterans committee 59 World Series anyone who cares, heres more! Of three straight pennants, winning the rookie pitcher of the best in history percent of vote! To the Hall of Fame and Museum or had been given better run.... Some easy saves throughout his career among left-handed pitchers all-time he led the league in innings pitched complete! Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data you... Outside looking in going 10-9 and winning the 1988 ALCS MVP award pennants, winning the 1988 MVP! On the outside looking in to others probably due to the distraction of the.. Him an ERA less than half that of the war wins, over 40 shutouts, and Gossage... Pitchers with the rest of the 2001 World Series, Bridges record stands at 4-1 he hadnt been held to. Reliever to be ignored by the HOF voters and veterans committee, teams typically carry or... His relatively low numbers of innings pale in comparison to others the Yankees, Boston. Era on a youth movement after the war his fastball had lots of movement and a of! Sportswriters saw most except Warneke won three more games one of the Luis walkoff. To Mariano Rivera and Christy Mathewson in its first year most recent appearance on writers! A Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can.! In but Wagner still cant was just best relief pitchers not in hall of fame into the Hall of Fame is difficult for relief that... Been given better run support, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and strikeouts in '85 in 1970, 10-9...

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