11 Belongs: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. 4 Wes Ferrell 4.7 All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. 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. 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. He is first all-time in saves (652) and ERA+ (205). 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. Supporting evidence also shows that John was an effective pitcher. 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). He was scouted by Hal Newhowser, who encouraged him to sign with the Orioles. He was arguably as good a pitcher as Whitey Ford. They were equally as important and masterful as Radbourn, but overlooked for 25 more years. He faced Ford 15 times in his career and went 7-7. 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. But Trevor Hoffman may have the most unique path, going from a failed minor league shortstop to one of the all-time great closers. The top ten pitchers eligible but not in the HoF, by rWAR/200 IP, minimum 2000 IP: 1 Roger Clemens 5.7 Blyleven is arguably among the top 20-25 pitchers in baseball history. He would have been part of the best pitching staffs in historyPappas was still pitching great in '71 and '72. Rivera was literally dominant for close to two decades in a row. But he was also just as accomplished a two-way catcher as the Yankees captain -- and just as revered a leader for the Tigers, too. In 48 they discarded Billy Pierce to the White Sox!). He featured a fastball, curve, and change-up with excellent control. If he does not pick up that . He won 20 games three consecutive years right at the Tigers heyday in the mid-30s. The Best MLB Player at Every Position Rejected by Hall of Fame Joel Reuter January 27, 2021 Focus on Sport/Getty Images The 2021 MLB Hall of Fame voting results were released Tuesday evening,. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. He pitched in both the Cubs World Series appearances in '32 and '35, going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA. 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. 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. After tying the Dodgers for the pennant, it was determined they would play a three game playoff to determine the pennant. They all pitched in New York. 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. 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. He went on to tally 324 saves over a 13-year career, good for 20th on the all-time list, putting him squarely in the Hall of Very Good category among relief pitchers. The committee missed his team mate, Mordecai Brown, until after his death in 1948. Part of this is probably due to the distraction of the war years. Or write about sports? Warnekes career backed up into WWII. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. No real surprises at the top, I suppose. He had winning streaks of 14 and 17 games, and at one point held the NL record consecutive scoreless inning streak with 44. But he will face the same hurdles as Bonds, Clemens and Sosa thanks to multiple transgressions with performance-enhancing drugs that included over a year-long suspension from baseball from 2013-14. During the season he went 12-0 for the team at Candlestick Park. 2 Johan Santana 5.1 The Hall of Fame began in 1936, inducting Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in its first year. The beloved submariner has a case for the 1980s best reliever, having won five Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Awards, finishing with a league-adjusted 146 ERA+ and helping the Royals claim two pennants and the 1985 World Series title. The vast majority of these pitcher's careerswere focused in places other thanNew York, Philadelphia, or Boston. With that backdrop in mind, let's proceed with our tenth-best relief pitcher of all time: 10. For anyone who cares, heres a more detailed breakdown of the votes each pitcher received for each ranking. And its tough to ignore a frightening 10.13 ERA in the postseason. 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. Tony Mullane was an Irish born major league player known for pitching with both handssometimes in the same game. There are some interesting findings to highlight along these lines as we get there. 1. Find out more. Detroit lists Bridges and Lolich. 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. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 1:07PM. This time he refused and was forced to sit out a season in order to play for Cincinnati, which he did. To start, there are only eight primary relievers in Cooperstown; Rivera, Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, and Trevor Hoffman. Clemens, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are the only three-time winners who dont have a plaque. Scary, we know. The Pirates won the pennant the next year. After playing for the St. Louis Browns, he chose to try to sign with Cincinnati, but was blocked. A player's JAWS is their JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score 5 Luis Tiant 3.8 He never received a vote. The 38 voters who gave Roger Clemens a ranking of 10 ranked Curt Schilling top, at 3.63 on average, followed by Tommy John at 4.18, and Luis Tiant at 4.24. Sabathia is at 3.5 right now. Today, its my pleasure to present how people voted on pitchers. 7 Andy Pettitte 3.7 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. 9 David Cone 4.3 Get Jay Jaffe's book The Cooperstown Casebook Many more names came up on my lists than the 15 I will cover here. Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. The players who dominated, not just for a season or two, but for years. McMahon pitched 18 seasons between 1957 and 1974 and was named to the 1958 All-Star team in his second big league season. 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. 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. His career took off when he was traded to Cincinnati part way through the 1938 season. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, and later with Bobo Newsome. Warnekes career was cut short because he left to defend our country. 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. Wilhelm became the first true reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame when he was honored in 1985. This is a truly dominant statistic for this era. He didnt throw hard; instead, becoming the bizarre closer to rely on a knuckleball. Bridges continued pitching in the Pacific Coast Leaguewinning the ERA title in 47. Holds MLB record with 652 saves. Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5). He has the requisite 200 wins, over 40 shutouts, and his 2,832 Ks are still third among left-handed pitchers all-time. 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. After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. and the most games started75. He pitched the vast majority of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It took the veterans committee some 90 years to find and induct Vic Willis. 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 . Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates. 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. The top four candidates were all foreign born. While I was limited through my free account to 10 questions and thus chose to forgo demographic questions to get the maximum amount of data, it is possible to use filters to show how certain voters voted. Before the '66 season, Pappas was sent to Cincinnati for Frank Robinson in a very unpopular trade. Mullane was ahead of his time. 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. I suspect he will reach the necessary 75 percent sometime in his remaining three years of eligibility. He was just hoping to save his career. 9 Charlie Buffinton 3.7 Pappas, of Greek descent, was born in Detroit. His 1,804 Ks were a high number for the era. Reulbachs 97-39 record combined with Browns 114-42 for a 211-81 record over those five years. The 43 voters who ranked Tommy John, Jim Kaat, or Luis Tiant top overall gave Clemens an average ranking of 6.74, again ahead of only Ferrell and Reuschel. Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. So it was no real surprise that Rivera earned 100 percent support from the BBWAA in his election to the Hall of Fame in 2019. He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. Why were pitchers like Pennock, Chesbro, and McGinnity going in before greats like Mordecai Brown and Kid Nichols? 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. Next came Cy Young. 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. 6 Tim Hudson 3.8 Top 25 Relief Pitchers not in the Hall of Fame Quiz Stats - By adubbdubb Quizzes Hoffman never won a Cy Young but finished second twice. He pitched with six different teams, but most significantly with the Cleveland Blues and Chicago White Stockings. In 34 he out-dueled Dizzy Dean to win 3-1. 10 Kevin Appier 4.2. Voters have three years of his eligibility left to get it right. Hoyt Wilhelm saved 228 games and won 143 more during 21 seasons in the big leagues. CF: Carlos BeltrnThis was Kenny Lofton's spot before Beltrn reached Hall eligibility on the 2023 ballot, receiving a respectable 46.5% of the vote in his debut. And he never got a single Cy Young vote. Recent history doesnt recognize Billy Wagner for how dominant he was. From 1918-1924 he won 19 or more games six times. Pitching in an era before closers were sexy, McMahon pitched 872 games out of the bullpen won . We present them here for purely educational purposes. Luis Tiant was born in Cuba and his father was a famous pitcher for the Cuban national team. For his career he gave up only 430 BB in 2,995 innings. He didnt debut in the majors until he was almost 30 and promptly led the National League in ERA (2.43), games pitched (71), and winning percentage (.833). Is there any validity here? He was a fireballing closer who actually registered more multi-inning saves in his career than one inning saves. 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). This was accomplished in one season1879. 7 Noodles Hahn 4.4 He had a 0.70 career ERA in the playoffs. 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? Blyleven had tremendous stuff on the ball: fastball, curve and change-up. Seven relief pitchers are over 10.0three of those seven are already in the Hall (Goose, Fingers, Wilhelm) and one more is a shoo-in when he gets on the ballot. Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? 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. 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. 2.21 career ERA. 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. Guess there was still some gas in this Tigers tank! His stamina and effectiveness began to wane in the early '80s. 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 Three times in his career he led the AL in saves, four times he finished top five in the Cy Young award voting, and he had a 2.63 career World Series ERA. It is a significant total. Stats (as reliever): 228 saves, 2.51 ERA, 1.131 WHIP, 2.04 K:BB, 147 ERA+, Accolades (as reliever): 6 All-Star appearances, 1 World Series ring, Baseball Hall of Fame. His 2.41 K/BB ratio is exceptional as well. 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 He was the first pitcher who spent the majority of his career as a reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame. One naturally asks this question when compiling a list like this. Join our linker program. Gomez career was cut short because he blew out his arm, losing the zip on an exceptional fastball. Honorable mentions: Graig Nettles, Ken Boyer, Sal Bando (Adrin Beltr not yet eligible). Managers. In his World Series career, he threw an absurd amount of innings (33.1), appearing in 16 of a possible 19 games and fashioning a 1.35 ERA. 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