7 Andy Pettitte 3.7 Most Unique Players by Age by Similarity Scores, Most Games without a World Series Appearance, Most Games without a Postseason Appearance, Highest Career and Single-Season Salaries, Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. But there are pitchers whose careers have fallen through the cracks. He held the career record in saves when he retired (341). Rivera trails only Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves and has perhaps the most dominant one-pitch arsenal this side of Phil Niekro. Ed Reulbach, Tommy Bridges and Bert Blyleven all fall in this category. However, Smokey Joe Wood is not among those pitchers given a bye for the length of their careers. 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. He ended up nostalgically back in Minnesota for the '86 season, and helped the team to the World Series title in '87. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. There were new lows for ERA in a season. After being traded to the Pirates in the National League, he helped the team to a World Series title. The players on those teams were the players the sportswriters saw most. Blyleven toiled long and hard for the Twins in the 70s. Bold - Indicates Player is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame or was First. Yet Allen fell just one vote shy of election when the Golden Days Committee last convened in 2021, meaning that the wait continues. The Go-Go White Sox of the period scored few runs. He won 21 games with an ERA of 1.60 and led the league in shutouts with nine. His 1,804 Ks were a high number for the era. He was the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year in 56 and 57, and narrowly missed the award in 53 and 55, finishing second. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. 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. He wasnt perfect think of the Luis Gonzalez walkoff single in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. He was a better pitcher than some of his contemporaries who made the HOFHoyt, Haines, and Ted Lyons. In his first full year in '32, Warneke led the league in wins, ERA, and shutouts. Heres a stat for you to show Wagner was ahead of his era: There were five seasons before 2000 (38 after 2000) in which a pitcher threw at least 50 IP and had at least a 14.0 K/9 rate. 8 Urban Shocker 4.4 His devastating curve also made him one of hardest pitchers to hit of his generation. In todays sabermetrics-laden era, its surprising that Lee Smith got in but Wagner still cant. Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. He led the league in wins in 36 with 23, but also led the league in strikeouts and games started twice. Along with those pitchers, Ill evaluate others with a case to be considered among the 10 best ever, which can be broken into categories of the modern (Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, Francisco Rodriguez, Billy Wagner, and Joe Nathan), and the throwbacks (Sparky Lyle and Dan Quisenberry). In addition, I cross-referenced all non-HOF pitchers by length of career, beginning with 2,800 IP, and made lists from each range of IP: 2,800-3,000, 3,000-3,500, 3,500-4,500, and 4,500-plus. The pitchers on this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already voted in. What do you think: Is Mariano Rivera the best relief pitcher in baseball history? 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 guess his curve ball fooled a few batters. 5) Billy Pierce (1945-1964) (3.27 ERA; ERA+ 119; 38 SHO; 3,306 IP/ 2,989 H/ 8.1 H/9; 1,999 K/ 1178 BB/ 1.70 ratio; 1.260 WHIP). 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. 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. Al Oliver. 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. Historically, pitchers like Red Ruffing, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Eppa Rixey, and Burleigh Grimes are in the HOF mostly because of their win totals. His 49 career shutouts are just about automatic HOF criteria. Despite being the top pitcher in the league at least three times, Walters has been overlooked for the HOF. The players had withstood enough abuse by 1890 and formed their own league. Honorable mention: Nathan, Papelbon, Rodrguez, Keith Foulke, Tom Gordon, Tom Henke, Firpo Marberry, Troy Percival, Kent Tekulve, John Wetteland. Ahead of: Bob Lemon Red Ruffing Steve Carlton Don Drysdale Fergie Jenkins Dizzy Dean Lefty Gomez Red Faber Waite Hoyt Jim Bunning CC Sabathia* Herb Pennock Lee Smith Hal Newhouser After tying the Dodgers for the pennant, it was determined they would play a three game playoff to determine the pennant. Many of them were from the initial live ball era1921-1945. 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 In Chicago he helped them to two championships, mostly as a second pitcher. Cardinals' 5 all-time best relief pitchers in franchise history. He failed to garner enough votes to make on the 15th try. 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. Bob Caruthers was between Cone and Appier, but a lot of his value was from playing the field as well. Always ranking QBs. He was voted the league MVP as the Reds won the pennant. He has been overlooked by the veterans committee. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years. Mariano Riveras claim as the greatest closer of all-time is one of the safest arguments in baseball. Their careers ranged from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP. He has the requisite 200 wins, over 40 shutouts, and his 2,832 Ks are still third among left-handed pitchers all-time. Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. The best players in New York just simply did not get missed by the HOF voters. Rocky Colavito, Vote: The most-deserving players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame at each position, The best baseball player not in the Hall of Fame, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? The committee found Charles Radbourn early on in their process in '39, but where were Tim Keefe ('63) and John Clarkson ('64)? It is a significant total. .208. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 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. Data Provided By Do we naturally give more attention to the pitchers who possess a blazing fastball? To come up with this list I researched the best pitchers of each era. In Gossages day, he did all of that. Tony Mullane was just inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year. Clemens, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are the only three-time winners who dont have a plaque. 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. It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day. 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. He pitched over 400 innings six times, and won over 30 games five times (three times he won 40 games or more). Important: This chart does not include side-by-side comparisons for Hall of Fame pitchers who spent their entire career in the Negro Leagues (Baseball Almanac does not have the data from the Negro League).Those truly elite twirlers are: Ray Brown, Andy Cooper, Leon Day, Martin Dihigo, Bill Foster, Jose Mendez, Bullet Rogan, Hilton Smith and Joe Williams. Among the 65 pitchers with the longest careers, his 2.80 K/BB ranks fifth. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. Jim McCormick was the first Scottish born major league player. Over a five-year span, he led the league in saves twice, finished in the top six in Cy Young award voting four times, and turned in one of the most dominant seasons in baseball history in 1990: 0.61 ERA, 48 saves, 73 K to 4 BB in 73.1 IP. 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. In Cleveland he won 25 or more games four times, and 40 games twice. I attempted to rank the 10 best ever. Pitching multiple innings per relief appearance was Wilhelms trademark. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is the 12th pitcher to amass 1,000 career strikeouts in relief, and just the third pitcher with 1,000 relief strikeouts all with one team, joining Hall of Fame closers . In 35 he won two games against the Cubs, and in 40 he won his only appearance against the Reds. and the most games started75. The top few on the list have a body of work and cases for the HOF so compelling, one wonders how they got missed. Wilbur Cooper and Babe Adams have likewise been missed. Wilhelm became the first true reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame when he was honored in 1985. First-ever unanimous National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2019) Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher in Major League Baseball history. The only pitchers in history with more innings and a higher career ERA+ than Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner. After playing for the St. Louis Browns, he chose to try to sign with Cincinnati, but was blocked. hide this ad PLAY QUIZ Score 0/25 Timer 10:00 Recently Published Actresses. He sustained his excellence late into his career. Walters spent his developing years struggling in Philadelphias bandbox of a stadium. And John is at 2.6, not much better. Literally, its very difficult to make an argument for any other pitcher. Were there a clear consensus, someone would be closer to 1 here. That means he entered the game in jams, and usually got out of those jams. Note that only Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Jimmy Key (CC Sabathia not yet eligible). 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. 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. 2.21 career ERA. 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. 8) Tommy John (1963-1989) (288-231; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 110; 46 SHO; 4710 IP/ 4783 H/ H/9 9.1; 2245 K/ 1259 BB/ 1.78 ratio; 1.283 WHIP). Honorable mention: Pete Rose, Manny Ramirez. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Rodriguez will now have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did. How many relief pitchers are on a baseball team? No starting pitchers. 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. 3) Tony Mullane (1881-1894) (284-220; 3.05 ERA; ERA+ 118; 30 SHO; 4,531 IP/ 4,195 H/ 8.3 H/9; 1,803 K/ 1,408 BB/ 1.28 ratio; 1.237 WHIP). He had a 0.70 career ERA in the playoffs. After improving his control in 51, and developing a slider, he began a series of impressive years for the White Sox. Tommy Bridges began and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers. 9 Charlie Buffinton 3.7 HOF - Indicates Player is a Hall of Famer. This is a truly dominant statistic for this era. He was scouted by Hal Newhowser, who encouraged him to sign with the Orioles. Join our linker program. Billy Pierce was slight of build at 5 10 and a whopping 160 lbs. 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. As faithful baseball fans, we depend on the Hall of Fame to show us who the truly great players are. Thats three seasons for workhorse Mike Marshall from the 1970s. Miranda Remaklus. What if Lon Warnekes and Tommy Bridges careers had not been interrupted by WWII? But he might not be on this list much longer. In an era when everyone posts gaudy relief statistics, the trick is figuring out how rare and special Wagner really was. After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. He was a great situation pitcher, and knew how to get out of a jam with his guile and assortment of breaking pitches. This time he refused and was forced to sit out a season in order to play for Cincinnati, which he did. He was consistently excellent, winning between 15-20 games five consecutive years, and striking out between 219-258 batters for six consecutive years. He pitched in both the Cubs World Series appearances in '32 and '35, going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA. He proved it often enough. Its no wonder the Cubs won the NL pennant four times behind these twoin 1906-1908, and 1910. His 60 shutoutsninth all timeare automatic HOF material. (The Tigers ownership and coaching staff were not shy of making mistakes in evaluating personnel. For his career he gave up only 430 BB in 2,995 innings. Pitchers were regularly winning 24-27 games. Pitching in an era before closers were sexy, McMahon pitched 872 games out of the bullpen won . 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. Im struck again by the level of parity in this survey after Clemens. He is one of our all-time greats. Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, Baseball Hall of Fame Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional route. He allowed just two home runs to 527 batters in the playoffs. Hoffman never won a Cy Young but finished second twice. In the 1970s, the closer was the pitcher that would enter the game with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and try to work out of a jam and then sometimes finish the game. His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 is also a mark of historical significance. 9 David Cone 4.3 (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?). 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). Qualtrics allows more sophisticated functionality. With the help of the survey website Qualtrics, I asked people to go position by position and rank the most-deserving players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, ranging from 1 for most-deserving to 10 for least-deserving. 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. It barely existed when Babe Ruth and Ted Williams played, as starters would routinely pitch complete games. Most impressively, he did all this without possessing a strong fastball, instead relying on one of the best changeups ever. 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. The Arkansas Hummingbird pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career. He pitched his no-hitter in '77, as well as leading the league that year in WHIP. The vast majority of these pitcher's careerswere focused in places other thanNew York, Philadelphia, or Boston. 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. Whether it will be enough to one day get him into Cooperstown wont be decided for another 10 or so years. The problem with Pierce HOF candidacy is that his career backed up into the raised mound era. But whos the second best relief pitcher ever? 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. 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. 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. Its much easier to pitch one scoreless inning than to face the full lineup once or even twice. 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. Oct 14, 2022, 04:09 PM EDT. DH: Hal McRaeOnly six players have logged at least 7,500 career plate appearances while playing at least half their games at designated hitter. 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. But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. 8 Chuck Finley 3.7 Mccormick ended up in Pittsburgh where he ended his career the next year. 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. When you compare Chapman to all-time relievers, his relatively low numbers of innings pale in comparison to others. 4 Rick Reuschel 4.0 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). Despite having made his MLB debut over 100 years ago (1908), "Shoeless" Joe Jackson remains one of the most controversial figures in the game. That said, look for the results for catchers tomorrow. As MLB.coms Andrew Simon noted, Allens career 156 league-adjusted OPS+ puts him in the very upper echelon of post-integration hitters, and his best 10-year run at the plate was pretty much unmatched by his peers. 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. Tommy was pitching in October for six consecutive seasons, posting a 6-3 mark with a 2.65 ERA over 88 innings. Initials. Or the Dave Roberts steal in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Nothing in his pitching resume says he doesnt belong in the HOF. Dave Parker, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Bert Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, but grew up in California. This was accomplished in one season1879. But like Bonds, Clemens did not have an easier time with the Todays Game Era Committee than he did with the BBWAA. Honorable mention: Curt Schilling, Tim Lincecum, Luis Tiant, Dave Stieb, Kevin Brown, David Cone, Orel Hershiser, Roy Oswalt, Eddie Cicotte. His H/9 rate of 5.3 in 1906 is one of the best in history. 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.