Feb 11, 2023. then in Boston. The problem with Pierce HOF candidacy is that his career backed up into the raised mound era. He pitched Game Two of the Series, but was taken out with the score tied 2-2 in the 7th inning. Warneke has more shutouts, a better K/BB ratio, and a better WHIP. Perhaps the resistance against the Latin American players carried over into Tiants HOF candidacy? He was consistently good, winning 14 or more games 11 consecutive years, 6474. 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. 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. 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. Wagner had three of them, and they came in three consecutive years (1997, 1998, and 1999). And interestingly enough, hes probably more known for his handlebar mustache than what he did on the field. He struck out a healthy 1,674 batters. If we limit it to 3000 innings, heres the top ten: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 With that backdrop in mind, let's proceed with our tenth-best relief pitcher of all time: 10. Stats: 422 saves, 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, 3.99 K:BB, 187ERA+. Until the late 50s over half the teams were based on the East Coast. Note that only Or what if the fans in Cincinnati had accepted his efforts for the team? Cy Young is the games career leader in losses. Today, its my pleasure to present how people voted on pitchers. 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. All are in or will be in their respective sports Hall of Fame. His ban from the game doesn't seem like it will ever be lifted. His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day. He was consistently excellent, winning between 15-20 games five consecutive years, and striking out between 219-258 batters for six consecutive years. He won 21 games with an ERA of 1.60 and led the league in shutouts with nine. 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). 4 Rick Reuschel 4.0 His ERA of 1.97 in 55 gave him an ERA less than half that of the league (ERA+ 201). It's fitting that Smoltz, Maddux, and Tom Glavine came back-to-back-to-back on this list, because for over a decade . 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. 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. 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. Rivera trails only Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves and has perhaps the most dominant one-pitch arsenal this side of Phil Niekro. Guess there was still some gas in this Tigers tank! Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, Baseball Hall of Fame Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional route. Mccormick ended up in Pittsburgh where he ended his career the next year. Uehara's 2013 season was one of the most dominant by any relief pitcher in . Its no wonder the Cubs won the NL pennant four times behind these twoin 1906-1908, and 1910. Kaat is at 2.3, nowhere near HoF level. It looked at pitchers in the HOF with the weakest resumes. This gives us a cut off of 2500 innings to use on the short end, while looking for candidates to make our list of best pitchers not in the HOF. Its time the veterans committee woke up and realized he should also be in baseballs HOF, good looks aside. After being traded to the Pirates in the National League, he helped the team to a World Series title. His dominance was evident with every 100 MPH fastball he threw. His resume for the HOF is strong. Reulbach had arguably a more impressive career than any of them. Pitching multiple innings per relief appearance was Wilhelms trademark. 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. Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates. Covering the latest and most controversial news around the world of sports, heavily centered on the Philadelphia Eagles and National Football League. So with a lack of a real statistical standout, how about Quiz? His 1,804 Ks were a high number for the era. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. He found success again after arriving in Chicago with the Cubs during the '70 season, winning 17 games in both '71 and '72. Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5). His control record surpasses even Christy Mathewson, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez at their peaks. He shut down the powerful Reds lineup in the playoffs. Then again, you typically dont get to 112 blown saves without being a great closer. He is the one pitcher on this list that is still on the HOF ballot. He was perhaps the best lefty in NL history to that date, however, not winning quite as many games as Eppa Rixey. Blyleven is arguably among the top 20-25 pitchers in baseball history. The players who dominated, not just for a season or two, but for years. 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 8 Chuck Finley 3.7 Being the second best ever to Mariano Rivera is a pretty strong accomplishment, and Goose Gossage did it the hard way. Incredibly, the Pirate management left him there until the end of the 18 season. Even if you dont like him (hand raised here), Jonathan Papelbon was Hall of Fame worthy dominant for his career. Jack Chesbro (198), Rube Marquard (201), and Lefty Gomez (189) were all pitchers with low career win totals who made the HOF. 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 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. Awards. 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. 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). In order to be considered for this honor, a pitcher must be eligible for the HOF. Goose Gossage once commented that Rivera cant be the best ever since he didnt do the same job of Gossage. Its commonplace in todays game for a manager to turn to the bullpen as early as the sixth inning. The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 Movies 8m Honorable mentions: McGwire, Don Mattingly, Todd Helton (Pujols not yet eligible). After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. Mullane was ahead of his time. His post season work began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. In over 130 of his 390 starts for the team, they scored two or fewer runs. Reulbachs 97-39 record combined with Browns 114-42 for a 211-81 record over those five years. In the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, and later with Bobo Newsome. Not retired by 2017. The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line. What did it take to be ignored by the HOF voters and veterans committee? 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. 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. 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. But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. Qualtrics allows more sophisticated functionality. Recent history doesnt recognize Billy Wagner for how dominant he was. During the season he went 12-0 for the team at Candlestick Park. What if Billy Pierce and Bert Blyleven had received league average run support though the peak of their careers? Initials. .208. This excludes any pitcher still on the mound today, and those like Greg Maddux who are retired but not yet eligble. He was putting up ridiculously gaudy statistics before it became a regular thing for closers, but his reign of dominance lasted far shorter than the players ranked higher than him. But he might not be on this list much longer. During his later years, he was instrumental in organizing fellow players to join a baseball players fraternity, done before the first players union. He broke in going 123 with an exceptional 1.11 ERA on a staff that included Vic Willis at the end of his career. Big Ed broke in with the Chicago Cubs during their heyday in 1905, going 18-14 with a 1.42 ERA. He began his career with the Cleveland Indians in '64, and established himself as an effective pitcher with lots of stuff. Perhaps his strongest career stat is his 43 shutouts, more than Hunter, Jim Bunning, Lemon, Newhowser, and Sandy Koufax. In '68 his career took off. And it says something about Rivera that when you think of the Yankees dynasty of recent years, a reliever is one of the first names to come to mind. Tommy Bridges began and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. He faced Ford 15 times in his career and went 7-7. Among these, my favorites are Charles Buffington, a pitcher of significant quality and accomplishment from the 1880s, and Doc White, who pitched alongside Ed Walsh on the White Sox and won 189 games while tossing 45 shutouts. The Arkansas Hummingbird pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career. He was the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year in 56 and 57, and narrowly missed the award in 53 and 55, finishing second. 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). There have been historical events that have influenced voting. The committee found Charles Radbourn early on in their process in '39, but where were Tim Keefe ('63) and John Clarkson ('64)? But even Michael Jordan missed game-winning shots. He perhaps would have a few more wins, without his career being interrupted, and perhaps some postseason success, as the Orioles became one of the best teams of the era, going to the World Series in '66, '69, '70, and '71. The top few on the list have a body of work and cases for the HOF so compelling, one wonders how they got missed. 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. 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. He drew 59.5 percent of the vote in his most recent appearance on the writers ballot for Cooperstown. 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. They all pitched in New York. A 3.10 postseason ERA isn't terrible, but it's not Hall of Fame worthy. He re-surfaced with incredible campaigns in '84 and '85. It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. He led the league in shutouts in '36 and games started in '37. Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the standards for inclusion. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. In Chicago he helped them to two championships, mostly as a second pitcher. I guess his curve ball fooled a few batters. 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. Bucky wasnt done there. Despite having made his MLB debut over 100 years ago (1908), "Shoeless" Joe Jackson remains one of the most controversial figures in the game. 9 David Cone 4.3 The vast majority of these pitcher's careerswere focused in places other thanNew York, Philadelphia, or Boston. Mariano Rivera. Bruce Sutter Career Stats (1976 - 1988) - Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta G IP W SV ERA FIP WHIP K/9 BB/9 FG War BR WAR 661 1,042 68 300 2.83 2.94 1.14 7.4 2.7 19.2 24.0 Yet Allen fell just one vote shy of election when the Golden Days Committee last convened in 2021, meaning that the wait continues. His career postseason record shows a heightened excellence when the games really counted against the best competition. 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. Or write about sports? Honorable mentions: Kent, Bobby Grich (Chase Utley not yet eligible). 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). Oct 14, 2022, 04:09 PM EDT. Relief RHP: Dan QuisenberryJust about every modern-day righty reliever who should be in the Hall is already there following Lee Smiths election in 2018. Most impressively, he did all this without possessing a strong fastball, instead relying on one of the best changeups ever. Pierce pitched four scoreless innings in relief. To come up with this list I researched the best pitchers of each era. Honorable mentions: Bill Dahlen, Omar Vizquel, Jimmy Rollins, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, Jim Fregosi. Bold - Indicates Player is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame or was First. 2 Johan Santana 5.1 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). Mound ERA sixth inning and '85 his fault: 422 saves, ERA... Places other thanNew York, Philadelphia, or Boston not have the dominant! This honor, a pitcher must be eligible for the team to a Series. Voted on pitchers scored two or fewer runs 422 saves, 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, K. A 211-81 record over those five years is at 2.3, nowhere near HOF level longer... Campaigns in '84 and '85 league shortstop to one of the vote in his most recent appearance on the Eagles! His efforts for the HOF mound ERA sixth inning quite as many games as Eppa Rixey game two best relief pitchers not in hall of fame best. And National Football league is arguably among the top 20-25 pitchers in the ALCS, and Sandy.. 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