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. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. He had a 1.80 ERA after the age of 38. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Honorable mention: Pete Rose, Manny Ramirez. 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. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. What if Babe Adams hadnt been left to toil in the minor leagues for most of two seasons? Fingers wasnt just a one-inning closer either; he holds the all-time record with 135 multi-inning saves. Reulbach had arguably a more impressive career than any of them. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. He drew 59.5 percent of the vote in his most recent appearance on the writers ballot for Cooperstown. There were numerous circumstances that held players careers back. Historically, pitchers like Red Ruffing, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Eppa Rixey, and Burleigh Grimes are in the HOF mostly because of their win totals. Go Orange. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. His career records match up well with Catfish Hunter and Don Drysdale. JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score Cincinnati pitchers on this list include Will White, Mullane and Walters. And his .187 batting average allowed is the lowest of any retired relief pitcher. He holds the all-time record for relief appearances with at least two innings (486) and three innings (197). 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 I put Ferrell and Reuschel in the survey partly in tribute to my friend and fellow baseball researcher Adam Darowski, who has advocated heavily for their induction in recent years, though each has a nuanced case that could be overlooked in a quick survey. "With pick #132, @Brian59044 selects the first real relief pitcher of the draft, Phoenix Sanders. The top few on the list have a body of work and cases for the HOF so compelling, one wonders how they got missed. 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. Do you have a blog? It was 0.32 in the ALDS, 0.92 in the ALCS, and 0.99 in the World Series. where he outlines who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on his JAWS metric used here. The voting body has become skewed in their view of starting pitching in recent decades. I will be presenting the results here of the survey over the next week or so, going position by position. Featuring a slider-heavy arsenal, Lyle twice led the AL in saves and games finished, helping the Yankees to two titles. Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the standards for inclusion. 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. 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. overall HOF average hitters are added to that position's average until Accolades: 7 All-Star appearances, Baseball Hall of Fame Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional route. Bold - Indicates Player is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame or was First. No starting pitchers. 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. 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. 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 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 is the one pitcher on this list that is still on the HOF ballot. Bridges was still an effective pitcher after his peak. The process of selection and voting for the HOF has been uneven at best. History doesnt remember Hoyt Wilhelm the way it should. With quick succession he sold or traded them to other teams. 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. Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. Do you have a sports website? In 34 he out-dueled Dizzy Dean to win 3-1. 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. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Stats: 310 saves, 3.01 ERA, 1.232 WHIP, 2.05 K:BB, 126 ERA+, Accolades: 9 All-Star appearances, 1 World Series ring, Baseball Hall of Fame. 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. That said, after 425 responses, voting has officially wrapped for this poll. 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. 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. 3B: Dick AllenIt's unfortunate that Allen (who died in December 2020) didn't live long enough to celebrate his induction, because he boasted some Cooperstown-worthy credentials. Retired: John McGraw , Bobby Cox , Earl Weaver , . Goose Gossage once commented that Rivera cant be the best ever since he didnt do the same job of Gossage. He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. Pete Alexander followed. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File) via Associated Press. 7) Tommy Bridges (1930-1946) (194-138; 3.57 ERA; ERA+ 126; 33 SHO; 2,826 IP/ 2,675 H/ 8.5 H/9; 1,674 K/ 1,192 BB/ 1.40 ratio; 1.368 WHIP). 6 Tim Hudson 3.8 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. Chapmans statistics look mind-boggling, even when you account for the fact that every reliever strikes out a ton of hitters. How many relief pitchers are on a baseball team? They have been treated very differently by baseball writers voting for the HOF. Rollie Fingers may be the most decorated relief pitcher in baseball history, and that list includes Mariano Rivera. He would have had more wins if he hadnt been held back to face the Yankees, or had been given better run support . Warnekes career backed up into WWII. My last article studied The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line . Bridges was gutsy and tough in the postseason. Thisresearch should give us a framework to look within for our best pitchers not in the HOF. His post season work began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. Honorable mention: Curt Schilling, Tim Lincecum, Luis Tiant, Dave Stieb, Kevin Brown, David Cone, Orel Hershiser, Roy Oswalt, Eddie Cicotte. Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. His 60 shutoutsninth all timeare automatic HOF material. Note that only The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Pitchers Embed from Getty Images see more Roger Clemens, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox prepares to throw a pitch during the Major League Baseball American League East game against the Cleveland Indians on 27 May 1987 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. 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. Billy Pierce was slight of build at 5 10 and a whopping 160 lbs. 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. The committee missed his team mate, Mordecai Brown, until after his death in 1948. Arguably Fingers most impressive statistic is his percentage of career saves that were clean saves Fingers is at 15 percent, the lowest of any Hall of Fame closer. Qualtrics allows more sophisticated functionality. 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. In Chicago he helped them to two championships, mostly as a second pitcher. The Tigers were focused on a youth movement after the war. He found success again after arriving in Chicago with the Cubs during the '70 season, winning 17 games in both '71 and '72. Free shipping for many products! Looking at the names below, Curt Schilling is probably moving toward enshrinement. In fact, from 1905 through 1909 his H/9 never reached 7.0. Craig Kimbrels ranks among post-1900 pitchers with at least 500 innings pitched: Opponents batting average allowed: .158, H/9: 4.98 (1st), ERA+: 195, K/9: 14.61, opponents slugging percentage allowed: .257 (2nd). 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. Their careers ranged from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP. 3 Curt Schilling 4.9 Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. Pappas deserves recognition for his accomplishments, even if it is just to clear his name from the fall out of a trade for which he was never responsible. When he finished his career, his 1,999 strikeouts were fifth most for a left-handed pitcher. His alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. He was arguably as good a pitcher as Whitey Ford. Kaat is at 2.3, nowhere near HoF level. Clemens, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are the only three-time winners who dont have a plaque. McMahon pitched 18 seasons between 1957 and 1974 and was named to the 1958 All-Star team in his second big league season. His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 is also a mark of historical significance. John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition. The pitchers on this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already voted in. Yet Allen fell just one vote shy of election when the Golden Days Committee last convened in 2021, meaning that the wait continues. There are seventh inning guys, lefty specialists, setup men, long relievers, and traditional closers. By '59, Pappas was a mainstay of the Orioles staff. What if Pappas had never been traded to Cincinnati? He was a better pitcher than some of his contemporaries who made the HOFHoyt, Haines, and Ted Lyons. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. 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