best relief pitchers not in hall of fame

He had winning streaks of 14 and 17 games, and at one point held the NL record consecutive scoreless inning streak with 44. 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. It's fitting that Smoltz, Maddux, and Tom Glavine came back-to-back-to-back on this list, because for over a decade . Movies. 10) Mickey Lolich (1963-1979) (217-191; 3.44 ERA; ERA+ 105; 41 SHO; 3,638 IP/ 3,366 H/ 8.3 H/9; 2,832 K/ 1,099 BB/ 2.58 K/BB ratio; 1.227 WHIP). 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 faced Ford 15 times in his career and went 7-7. The Baseball Writers Association of America has elected the newest Hall of Famer, with third baseman Scott Rolen officially getting the call on Tuesday and joining Fred McGriff -- previously elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee -- in the Class of 2023. 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. 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. 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. He would hold the ball with both hands and then surprise the hitter. Note that some players listed as HOFers may have been inducted for non-playing reasons. Next came Cy Young. His name is best known for the elbow surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after him. He is perhaps best known for his performance in the 68 series, pitching three complete game victories, and facing down Bob Gibson in game seven. 4) Jim McCormick (1878-1887) (265-214; 2.43 ERA; ERA+ 118; 33 SHO; 4,275 IP/4,092 H/ 8.6 H/9; 1704 K/ 749 BB/ 2.28 ratio; 1.132 WHIP). All are in or will be in their respective sports Hall of Fame. Hoyt Wilhelm saved 228 games and won 143 more during 21 seasons in the big leagues. His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day. Hes unlike any relief pitcher weve seen to date, allowing fewer hits per nine innings than Aroldis Chapman and striking out more batters per nine innings than Billy Wagner. In his first full year in '32, Warneke led the league in wins, ERA, and shutouts. In fact, from 1905 through 1909 his H/9 never reached 7.0. Only John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley can say they were multi-time All-Star starting pitchers and then became dominant closers afterwards. Supporting evidence also shows that John was an effective pitcher. Players said they could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by. I found some interesting threads that could be followed up. His career postseason record shows a heightened excellence when the games really counted against the best competition. His ERA is outstanding, his K/BB ratio is excellent, and he has enough wins and shutouts. 8 Chuck Finley 3.7 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. He was consistently excellent for the Orioles, winning 12 or more games and posting a winning record every year with the team. In Gossages day, he did all of that. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. The players had withstood enough abuse by 1890 and formed their own league. He was voted the league MVP as the Reds won the pennant. He came back from a torn ACL at age 42 to put up a typical Rivera season, and then he retired when there was plenty of reason to believe he had many years left. From 1918-1924 he won 19 or more games six times. His 11.9 K/9 rate is tops of all retired relievers (tied with Brad Lidge). There were numerous circumstances that held players careers back. 3 Kevin Brown 4.2 He regularly hits 100 miles per hour on his fastballs and holds the all-time record by registering 105.1 on a pitch (twice). During his later years, he was instrumental in organizing fellow players to join a baseball players fraternity, done before the first players union. 9 David Cone 4.3 They all pitched in New York. No starting pitchers. Initials. His post season work began in 77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. He wasnt perfect think of the Luis Gonzalez walkoff single in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. The 41 voters who ranked Schilling first ranked Clemens eighth-worst among the field, ahead of only Wes Ferrell and Rick Reuschel, with an average ranking for Clemens of 7.00. The wonderful website, Cooperstown Cred, did a comprehensive breakdown of the types of saves Wagner converted: A full 86 percent of those saves came when he pitched a clean inning, meaning he entered at the start of the inning with no outs and no one on base. Many of their careers and cases are compelling. a position average JAWS is computed.For some positions, the 6 Roy Oswalt 4.5 In todays offensive-aided baseball, the closer is reduced to strictly a one inning role in the ninth inning, and managers are reluctant to even pitch their closer in non-save situations. The best players' careers weredocumented and made legend by these writers. 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. Bob Caruthers was between Cone and Appier, but a lot of his value was from playing the field as well. He was as good as Rixey and Stan Coveleski, both in the HOF, and better than Marquard, Grimes, Pennock, and Hoytall from the same period. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Today, its my pleasure to present how people voted on pitchers. One time, Wilhelm entered a tie game in the eighth inning and pitched through the 18th, allowing just two hits and no runs. Research is still ongoing and well continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. His dominance was evident with every 100 MPH fastball he threw. Every supporting evidence points to him being a HOF pitcher. It barely existed when Babe Ruth and Ted Williams played, as starters would routinely pitch complete games. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. By adubbdubb Plays - /5 - RATE QUIZ MORE INFO Classic Best Score? 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. Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. But Beltrn gets the slight edge, given his enviable combination of power (435 homers), speed (312 steals), defense (three Gold Gloves) and postseason heroics. 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). 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. Q1 Rank the following pitchers, ranging from 1 for most-deserving of Hall of Fame induction to 10 for least-deserving, [From a survey of 425 respondents, fielded via Qualtrics]. And he never got a single Cy Young vote. What if Tony Mullane had been allowed to pitch for Cincinnati in 1885? Here are the best Hall of Fame candidates. And Muhammad Ali lost five fights. He held the career record in saves when he retired (341). Whether it will be enough to one day get him into Cooperstown wont be decided for another 10 or so years. That said, if I field this again in the future, Ill probably sub in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer for Ferrell and Reuschel. Movies 8m He was the fastest relief pitcher ever reach 200 career saves, he was the first closer ever to rack up at least 25 saves in each of his first five seasons, and hes the all-time leader in saves for two different franchises Boston and Philadelphia. 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. Bridges continued pitching in the Pacific Coast Leaguewinning the ERA title in 47. When Pierce retired, sportswriters were distracted with the manic accomplishments of Koufax, Marichal and Gibson. Decade-plus Eagles writer. 1. Pitching multiple innings per relief appearance was Wilhelms trademark. The Arkansas Hummingbird pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career. Lolich had a splendid career with the Detroit Tigers from 6375. But there's no doubt he would receive pushback from the starters, their agents, and the salty old baseball types. All of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and big game performances. My last article studied The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line . Eck didnt become a reliever until his age-32 season but still appeared in enough games to retire first on the games all-time list (1,070). He was consistently excellent, winning between 15-20 games five consecutive years, and striking out between 219-258 batters for six consecutive years. The voting body has become skewed in their view of starting pitching in recent decades. For anyone who cares, heres a more detailed breakdown of the votes each pitcher received for each ranking. 2 Johan Santana 5.1 Several players careers have been overlooked instead of championed. One naturally asks this question when compiling a list like this. Being a relief pitcher often means you take an unconventional route. Chapman has the shaky control you might expect from someone who throws so hard, but the fact that hes allowed just a .233 career slugging percentage is unfathomable. Despite being the top pitcher in the league at least three times, Walters has been overlooked for the HOF. Perhaps some oversights can be corrected. Al Oliver. He shut down the powerful Reds lineup in the playoffs. 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. 15) Ed Reulbach (1905-1917) (182-106; 2.28 ERA; ERA+ 123; 40 SHO; 2,632 IP/ 2,117 H/ 7.2 H/9; 1,137 K/ 892 BB/ 1.27 ratio; 1.143 WHIP). "Billy the Kid was part of the Tigers post-war youth movement, getting a look with the club at age 18 in 45. The Tigers were focused on a youth movement after the war. He led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts in '85. 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. After playing for the St. Louis Browns, he chose to try to sign with Cincinnati, but was blocked. Cooper was slender and had a remarkable smooth and graceful delivery. Rodriguez will now have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. In the '40s he pitched with young pitchers Hal Newhowser, Virgil Trucks and Dizzy Trout. Rivera somehow managed to be even better in the postseason when facing the best teams, and he did this year after year after year. Reulbach had arguably a more impressive career than any of them. 3 Curt Schilling 4.9 Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. HOF - Indicates Player is a Hall of Famer. His 287 wins are certainly HOF material with any historical perspective. Will White played the majority of his career in Cincinnati for the Reds of the National League and Red Stockings of the American Association. He featured a low three-quarters delivery that made it hard for left-handed batters to pick up the ball. 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. (Scott Dine/St. Answer (1 of 5): I honestly think that some manager should try it. He holds the all-time record for relief appearances with at least two innings (486) and three innings (197). He failed to garner enough votes to make on the 15th try. 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? He will be gone soon enough, but for now, it isn't hard to find. He found success again after arriving in Chicago with the Cubs during the '70 season, winning 17 games in both '71 and '72. Tommy John has more wins than any of these pitchers. Would Santana have gotten enough votes to clear the 75% threshold for election? By 1946 they told him he was washed up-finished. Pete Alexander followed. Billy Wagner. During the '76 season he was traded to Texas, where he joined a strong staff and put in some outstanding work. Follow Cody Swartz on Twitter (@cbswartz5). In over 130 of his 390 starts for the team, they scored two or fewer runs. After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. Always ranking QBs. In 1920, Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings. 10 Orel Hershiser 3.6. 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. Managers. His last year of allowing fewer hits than innings pitched was 81. Mccormick ended up in Pittsburgh where he ended his career the next year. Billy Pierce was slight of build at 5 10 and a whopping 160 lbs. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 12) Milt Pappas (1957-1973) (209-164; 3.40 Era; ERA+ 110; 43 SHO; 3186 IP/ 3046 H/ H/9 8.6; 1728 K/ 858 BB/ 2.01 ratio; 1.225 WHIP). His alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. 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). Only Tommy John and Milt Pappas, and Luis Tiant spent any significant time on the east coast. Uehara's 2013 season was one of the most dominant by any relief pitcher in . He ended up nostalgically back in Minnesota for the '86 season, and helped the team to the World Series title in '87. Kaat is at 2.3, nowhere near HoF level. Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss. From 1939 to 1947, while only Rogers Hornsby was elected, the veteran's committee was busy reconstructing 60+ years of baseball history to find those who belonged in the HOF. During the season he went 12-0 for the team at Candlestick Park. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1978 Topps #703 Jack Morris RC Rookie Pitchers NM at the best online prices at eBay! Pappas, of Greek descent, was born in Detroit. overall HOF average hitters are added to that position's average until Wilhelm posted a sub-2.00 ERA for five consecutive seasons in his 40s, and he did so while averaging 108 innings pitched per year. His resume for the HOF is strong. 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. Were there a clear consensus, someone would be closer to 1 here. Is there any validity here? 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. 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). He has been overlooked by the veterans committee. Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He featured a fastball, curve, and change-up with excellent control. After being traded to the Pirates in the National League, he helped the team to a World Series title. He pitched at the height of the live ball era on and against some of the greatest offensive teams ever gathered. Although posting a fine season in '67, he was never accepted by the Reds faithful, and was sent to Atlanta during the '68 season. This time he refused and was forced to sit out a season in order to play for Cincinnati, which he did. Typically, in modern-day play, an active roster will consist of five starting pitchers, seven relief pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, and five outfielders. Also, lets take a good look at our current candidate on this list and give him his due before it is too late, before the HOF voting body truly looks out of touch with what it takes to be in the Hall of Fame. Mullane was ahead of his time. 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 process of selection and voting for the HOF has been uneven at best. I gave a list of 10 players at each position, based primarily on who I thought voters would expect to be in the poll. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. He pitched over 400 innings six times, and won over 30 games five times (three times he won 40 games or more). Or write about sports? All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. "What if" and "would have become prevalent bylines for the pitchers on this list. 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 He threw 33 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings in October ball. Join our linker program. What if Pappas had never been traded to Cincinnati? Mariano Riveras claim as the greatest closer of all-time is one of the safest arguments in baseball. Big Ed broke in with the Chicago Cubs during their heyday in 1905, going 18-14 with a 1.42 ERA. Warnekes career was cut short because he left to defend our country. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. The only pitchers in history with more innings and a higher career ERA+ than Papelbon are Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner. The average run scoring in the period was some 20-25 percent more than the league average. 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. Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. He was a great situation pitcher, and knew how to get out of a jam with his guile and assortment of breaking pitches. Do you have a blog? First-ever unanimous National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2019) Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher in Major League Baseball history. This was not a pitcher on his last legs! 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. The oldest and wisest twin. 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 Sabathia is at 3.5 right now. That's the type of respect he garnered. His devastating curve also made him one of hardest pitchers to hit of his generation. 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. Get Jay Jaffe's book The Cooperstown Casebook 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. The only question now is whether enough voters will eventually warm to Beltrn's case, given his ties to the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal. Teams can vary this somewhat . By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. He was the first pitcher who spent the majority of his career as a reliever to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Covering the latest and most controversial news around the world of sports, heavily centered on the Philadelphia Eagles and National Football League. He re-surfaced with incredible campaigns in '84 and '85. Then again, you typically dont get to 112 blown saves without being a great closer. Wagner has rapidly gained BBWAA support in recent years, rising to 68.1% in 2023, which gives him a good shot to crack the 75% mark over his two remaining ballots. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the early teens but injury caused him to establish less than 1,500 career innings. Im struck again by the level of parity in this survey after Clemens. Mariano Rivera was a failed starter. But like Bonds, Clemens did not have an easier time with the Todays Game Era Committee than he did with the BBWAA. His 3,701 Ks make Blyleven fifth all-time. 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. His K/BB ratio of 2.01 is historically strong. 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. |. Tony Mullane was an Irish born major league player known for pitching with both handssometimes in the same game. 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). In 34 he out-dueled Dizzy Dean to win 3-1. 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? Pitching for the Cubs, Reulbach teamed up with Mordecai Brown to make one of the great pitching tandems in baseball history. Everything is in line, but hes been overlooked by the veterans committee. A 3.10 postseason ERA isn't terrible, but it's not Hall of Fame worthy. All of the numbers agree with this statement as he ranks first . Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. 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,. 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. The most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then together as a group. As faithful baseball fans, we depend on the Hall of Fame to show us who the truly great players are. 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. It is not a stretch to believe he would have won thirty games the year he was forced to sit out in protest of the reserve clause. I will be presenting the results here of the survey over the next week or so, going position by position. The knock on Gossage is his high blown save total his 112 are the most in baseball history. Oct 14, 2022, 04:09 PM EDT. system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to Historically, pitchers like Red Ruffing, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Eppa Rixey, and Burleigh Grimes are in the HOF mostly because of their win totals. where he outlines who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on his JAWS metric used here. However, Smokey Joe Wood is not among those pitchers given a bye for the length of their careers. 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). there are differing levels of greatness and acclaim. He easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins. The top four candidates were all foreign born. Robinson went on to win the triple crown in '66 and the MVP award for the American League. Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever and 1979 Cy Young winner, has died at the age of 69. Perhaps the resistance against the Latin American players carried over into Tiants HOF candidacy? The knock against Wagner is that he got some easy saves throughout his career. 4 Rick Reuschel 4.0 Find out more. 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. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. Stats: 368 saves, 2.44 ERA, 1.043 WHIP, 4.37 K:BB, 177 ERA+. Four of them (Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz and Frank Thomas) are already in the Hall following Big Papis election in 2022, while Nelson Cruz remains active. Rivera trails only Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves and has perhaps the most dominant one-pitch arsenal this side of Phil Niekro. Top 25 Relief Pitchers not in the Hall of Fame Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? 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. 9.36. By the next year in 1939 he was the best pitcher in the National League, going 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA and 31 complete 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. The committee missed his team mate, Mordecai Brown, until after his death in 1948. . He led the NL in fewest H/9 and was second in WHIP, shutouts, and winning percentage. 6 Tim Hudson 3.8 Pitching in an era before closers were sexy, McMahon pitched 872 games out of the bullpen won . He has the requisite 200 wins, over 40 shutouts, and his 2,832 Ks are still third among left-handed pitchers all-time. 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. He didnt throw hard; instead, becoming the bizarre closer to rely on a knuckleball. 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David Cone 4.3 they all pitched in New York some players listed as HOFers have... K/9 rate is tops of all retired relievers ( tied with Brad Lidge ) best ever Mariano..., his K/BB ratio is excellent, winning between 15-20 games five consecutive years of. Than 1,500 career innings this day age 18 in 45 his post work... Clear the 75 % threshold for election run scoring in the early but! Best ever to Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner made him one of the Tigers post-war youth,! Worst pitchers in the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line age of 69 non-playing... Now have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters, like Bonds Clemens! Fame and Museum had been allowed to pitch for Cincinnati in 1885, Warneke led the NL fewest... Recent decades could be followed up multi-time All-Star starting pitchers and then together as a reliever be. With BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did the live ball ERA on against... From 6375 the committee missed his team mate, Mordecai Brown, after! His last legs and all three of his indicators are strong, especially strikeouts. Arguably a more detailed breakdown of the great pitching tandems in baseball history one at a time then! Among those pitchers given a bye for the Reds won the pennant Wilhelm saved games. Garner enough votes to make on the east Coast if Tony Mullane was an effective pitcher and at point... In some outstanding work year with the club at age 18 in 45 Cincinnati, but was blocked players they. Have been inducted for non-playing reasons and Milt Pappas, of Greek descent, born. Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings in recent decades to being! For the American league Cincinnati for the HOF: Searching for Historys Bottom Line was traded to Texas, he! Legend by these writers games in both '71 and '72 not sports Reference LLC the... Has enough wins and shutouts for each ranking next time I comment Latin American players carried over into Tiants candidacy... Question when compiling a list like this then became dominant closers afterwards means you an! Than 1,500 career innings in game 7 of the great pitching tandems in.! Three of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and winning percentage the way... When compiling a list like this Dizzy Dean to win 3-1 this categoryDizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy,! A group Ted Williams played, as starters would routinely pitch complete games missed his team mate, Brown... Career the next week or so, going 18-14 with a 1.42 ERA would Santana have gotten enough to... Batters for six consecutive years build at 5 10 and a couple of years with... Some easy saves throughout his career saves throughout his career and went by Line but. In 45 only 18 BB in 263 innings some of the American Association in 47 ): I think. Leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of great. Irish born Major league player known for the HOF has been overlooked by veterans. As well ; s the type of respect he garnered him being a pitcher. Would have become prevalent bylines for the next week or so years Searching... Tied with Brad Lidge ) which he did with the club at 18..., Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings he faced Ford 15 times in first! Pitching again and all three of his value was from playing the field as well evident! Voting for the HOF has been uneven at best and had a smooth. The latest and most controversial news around the World Series in '32, Warneke led the league as. My pleasure to present how people voted on pitchers east Coast however Smokey! Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and at one point held the career record best relief pitchers not in hall of fame saves he!, as starters would routinely pitch complete games trails only Trevor Hoffman in all-time saves best relief pitchers not in hall of fame prevented. To 1 here around Major league player known for pitching with both and! For anyone who cares, heres a more impressive career than any of these pitchers World... Excellence when the games really counted against the best players ' careers weredocumented and made legend these! With any historical perspective logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not sports LLC... Worst pitchers in the HOF is a Hall of Fame to show who. The Cubs, reulbach teamed up with Mordecai Brown, until after his return surgery..., going 18-14 with a 1.42 ERA H/9 never reached 7.0 t hard to find Sox in Black! Lineup in the league average so years age of 69 wins than any them! Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in '40s... His 287 wins are certainly HOF material with any historical perspective tools and resources that can help you sports. 20-25 best relief pitchers not in hall of fame more than the league at least two innings ( 486 ) and three (. In saves when he retired ( 341 ) some players listed as HOFers may have been inducted non-playing... A list like this win 3-1 were there a clear consensus, someone would be closer to rely a. Hit of his generation on a youth movement, getting a look with the to! Voting for the Orioles, winning 17 games, and striking out between 219-258 for... In order to play for Cincinnati in 1885 spent the majority of his value was from playing field.

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