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. The man who stood 6 feet, 6 inches tall and rocked a mean Jheri curl dominated batters courtesy of his gargantuan hands. 2 Johan Santana 5.1 After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. Bucky wasnt done there. If he does not pick up that . But there's no doubt he would receive pushback from the starters, their agents, and the salty old baseball types. Wilhelm became the first true reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame when he was honored in 1985. And John is at 2.6, not much better. He featured a fastball, curve, and change-up with excellent control. But Beltrn gets the slight edge, given his enviable combination of power (435 homers), speed (312 steals), defense (three Gold Gloves) and postseason heroics. Get Jay Jaffe's book The Cooperstown Casebook Tommy Bridges began and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers. Chapmans statistics look mind-boggling, even when you account for the fact that every reliever strikes out a ton of hitters. His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 is also a mark of historical significance. Honorable mention: John Franco, Sparky Lyle, Tug McGraw, Randy Myers, Kelly's all-time non-HOF team (as of 2023), C: Bill Freehan1B: Rafael Palmeiro2B: Lou Whitaker3B: Dick AllenSS: Alex RodriguezLF: Barry BondsCF: Carlos BeltrnRF: Shoeless Joe JacksonDH: Hal McRae---R-H SP: Roger ClemensL-H SP: Johan SantanaR-H RP: Dan QuisenberryL-H RP: Billy Wagner, rightfully taken home the 2005 AL Cy Young Award. By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. In 43, his last year before joining the war effort, he went 12-7 with a 2.39 ERA (ERA+ 147), with three shutouts and only 159 hits allowed in 191 innings. Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever and 1979 Cy Young winner, has died at the age of 69. 2B: Lou WhitakerJeff Kent famously hit the most homers of any second baseman, thus making his exclusion from the Hall somewhat strange. Everything is in line, but hes been overlooked by the veterans committee. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. History doesnt remember Hoyt Wilhelm the way it should. My last article studied The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line . Probably not. Every supporting evidence points to him being a HOF pitcher. 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. His 49 career shutouts are just about automatic HOF criteria. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Pitching multiple innings per relief appearance was Wilhelms trademark. By adubbdubb Plays - /5 - RATE QUIZ MORE INFO Classic Best Score? He really was unhittable. In Game Three he came in to save the game, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. Its time the veterans committee woke up and realized he should also be in baseballs HOF, good looks aside. 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. But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. He is among the top ten pitchers of the live ball era1921-1945. 7 Noodles Hahn 4.4 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. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Career: 16 years (1995-2010) Teams: Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves. Awards. He finished second in the MVP balloting. Ed Reulbach, Tommy Bridges and Bert Blyleven all fall in this category. What if Babe Adams hadnt been left to toil in the minor leagues for most of two seasons? Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the standards for inclusion. Decade-plus Eagles writer. 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. 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. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File) via Associated Press. 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. Mccormick ended up in Pittsburgh where he ended his career the next year. 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. 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. Oct 14, 2022, 04:09 PM EDT. He began his career with the Cleveland Indians in '64, and established himself as an effective pitcher with lots of stuff. Supporting evidence also shows that John was an effective pitcher. 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. Rollie Fingers may be the most decorated relief pitcher in baseball history, and that list includes Mariano Rivera. When you compare Chapman to all-time relievers, his relatively low numbers of innings pale in comparison to others. There were new lows for ERA in a season. John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition. 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). He struck out a healthy 1,674 batters. There are strong HOF arguments for and against Wagner. 9.36. He re-surfaced with incredible campaigns in '84 and '85. Ed Reulbachs career somehow fell between the cracks by the time the veterans committee was reconstructing who should be in the HOF. He was the first player to wear glasses while he played. With quick succession he sold or traded them to other teams. 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. He would have had more wins if he hadnt been held back to face the Yankees, or had been given better run support . Seven successful years followed, including three more 20-win seasons, and some World Series heroics in '76. It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. Blyleven continued his career in Cleveland, working through injury to re-invent his delivery and now legendary curve ball. In Cleveland he won 25 or more games four times, and 40 games twice. Pitchers were regularly winning 24-27 games. 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). He was a fireballing closer who actually registered more multi-inning saves in his career than one inning saves. Its a valid point, but also probably worth mentioning that Rivera dominated the closers of his era much more than Gossage dominated the closers ofhisera. Big Ed broke in with the Chicago Cubs during their heyday in 1905, going 18-14 with a 1.42 ERA. During his later years, he was instrumental in organizing fellow players to join a baseball players fraternity, done before the first players union. He was voted the league MVP as the Reds won the pennant. Cy Young is the games career leader in losses. The strikeout record was being broken. C: Bill FreehanCall this a toss-up between Freehan and Thurman Munson, both of whom could use a longer look from the Halls veteran committees. Movies. (I cant imagine that happening todayleaving the potential ace of your staff in the minors for 50-plus decisions after he had shown his form had returned?). He was a 20 game winner in 11 and 13 but he didnt get to pitch in the World Series again until 25 at the age of 43. His control record surpasses even Christy Mathewson, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez at their peaks. He was a significant figure from his era, and should not be punished for his stand against the reserve clause. 4 Wes Ferrell 4.7 Their careers ranged from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP. But winning the 2005 Cy Young -- which would have given him three straight Cys from 2004-06 -- would have forced the BBWAA to give him a much longer look. 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 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). No real surprises at the top, I suppose. Cooper may be the best pitcher in Pirates history. 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. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. In over 130 of his 390 starts for the team, they scored two or fewer runs. Mariano Rivera. Then again, you typically dont get to 112 blown saves without being a great closer. 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. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. He won 21 games with an ERA of 1.60 and led the league in shutouts with nine. Players said they could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by. Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. Note that only 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. Fingers wasnt just a one-inning closer either; he holds the all-time record with 135 multi-inning saves. Cooper struggled as a Cub and finished his career by '26. 3 Kevin Brown 4.2 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). His career stands up nicely against contemporary HOF pitchers Bob Lemon and Hal Newhowser. . His resume for the HOF is strong. I guess his curve ball fooled a few batters. His alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. It is a decision many believe cost the Sox the title. Adams was perhaps the most extreme control pitcher in the history of the game. Kaat is at 2.3, nowhere near HoF level. 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. 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+. 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. Bridges continued pitching in the Pacific Coast Leaguewinning the ERA title in 47. He won 22 games the next year, leading the Reds back to the World Series. there are differing levels of greatness and acclaim. He easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins. 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. 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. Next came Cy Young. 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best relief pitchers not in hall of fame