9.36. After breaking in with the Cleveland Indians, Tommy John spent significant time with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees, as well as a shorter stint with the California Angels. 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. I gave a list of 10 players at each position, based primarily on who I thought voters would expect to be in the poll. Certainly he can be given credit for his time in the service, as he would have easily made 200 wins without giving up the season and a half to the war, plus the recovery time. When Pierce retired, sportswriters were distracted with the manic accomplishments of Koufax, Marichal and Gibson. 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). Jack Chesbro (198), Rube Marquard (201), and Lefty Gomez (189) were all pitchers with low career win totals who made the HOF. 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. 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. Perhaps his strongest career stat is his 43 shutouts, more than Hunter, Jim Bunning, Lemon, Newhowser, and Sandy Koufax. Not retired by 2017. Chapmans statistics look mind-boggling, even when you account for the fact that every reliever strikes out a ton of hitters. Free shipping for many products! Relief Pitcher JAWS Leaders. 2009 was his last on the HOF ballot. He had a 0.70 career ERA in the playoffs. Miranda Remaklus. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Im struck again by the level of parity in this survey after Clemens. One naturally asks this question when compiling a list like this. where he outlines who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on his JAWS metric used here. He was as automatic as youll ever find for a closer. Qualtrics allows more sophisticated functionality. "What if" and "would have become prevalent bylines for the pitchers on this list. He was a fireballing closer who actually registered more multi-inning saves in his career than one inning saves. 2 Curt Schilling 4.9 5 Luis Tiant 3.8 The Blue Stockings folded after one year, and he then signed with Cincinnati. He began his career with the Cleveland Indians in '64, and established himself as an effective pitcher with lots of stuff. Honorable mentions: Kent, Bobby Grich (Chase Utley not yet eligible). 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. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. His 60 shutoutsninth all timeare automatic HOF material. 4 Rick Reuschel 4.0 The Hall of Fame began in 1936, inducting Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in its first year. 11) Lon Warneke (1930-1945) (192-121; 3.18 ERA; ERA+ 119; 30 SHO; 2782 IP/ 2726 H/ H/9 8.8; 1140 K/ 739 BB/ 1.54 ratio; 1.245 WHIP). 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. He had a 1.80 ERA after the age of 38. 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,. Ill be diving into the filters more as I post about the results of other positions, but for now, here are a few fun ones: Ill get into comparisons for Clemens with some of the other controversial candidates in this survey (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Pete Rose) as I get to those results posts. What if Tony Mullane had been allowed to pitch for Cincinnati in 1885? The Arkansas Hummingbird pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. He pitched over 400 innings six times, and won over 30 games five times (three times he won 40 games or more). That said, here are some names I wanted to put in but didnt have space for this time: Verlander, Johan Santana, Dave Stieb, Andy Pettitte, Orel Hershiser, and Dwight Gooden. Pete Alexander followed. He was a significant figure from his era, and should not be punished for his stand against the reserve clause. Only players who are known primarily as relief pitchers or closers. 4 Wes Ferrell 4.7 His momentum with BBWAA voters stalled out, and he didn't fare any better with the Today's Game Era Committee in late 2022, meaning that it's hard to see Bonds reaching Cooperstown anytime soon. Although the Tigers walked away losing two of the three World Series, Bridges record stands at 4-1. the total count of actual and average players matches that of the most Warnekes career backed up into WWII. 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. Incredibly, the Pirate management left him there until the end of the 18 season. Teams can vary this somewhat . Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. Even if you dont like him (hand raised here), Jonathan Papelbon was Hall of Fame worthy dominant for his career. Blyleven continued his career in Cleveland, working through injury to re-invent his delivery and now legendary curve ball. Many of their careers and cases are compelling. Its commonplace in todays game for a manager to turn to the bullpen as early as the sixth inning. Walters spent his developing years struggling in Philadelphias bandbox of a stadium. His 2.41 K/BB ratio is exceptional as well. 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. 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. A 3.10 postseason ERA isn't terrible, but it's not Hall of Fame worthy. 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. Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Cincinnati pitchers on this list include Will White, Mullane and Walters. Dave Parker, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? All of the numbers agree with this statement as he ranks first . 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 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. He got just 10.5 percent of the Hall of Fame voting in 2016, his first year of eligibility, and was still only at 31.7 percent at last year. He was the first player to wear glasses while he played. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Not retired by 2017. Dennis Eckersley was a starter-turned-reliever. 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. 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). By 76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery. Is there any validity here? Can you name the Best Relief Pitchers not in the MLB Hall of Fame (by Baseball Reference WAR)? In 48 they discarded Billy Pierce to the White Sox!). Yet Allen fell just one vote shy of election when the Golden Days Committee last convened in 2021, meaning that the wait continues. He featured a fastball, curve, and change-up with excellent control. 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. Hoffman never won a Cy Young but finished second twice. Free shipping for many products! Rivera was literally dominant for close to two decades in a row. John's pitching exploits began in Chicago where he was part of the stingiest pitching staffs ever compiled. All are in or will be in their respective sports Hall of Fame. 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. The best players in New York just simply did not get missed by the HOF voters. 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. He simply does not have the statistics or the longevity. They chose not to have time for their pitching hero from the last generation. The most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then together as a group. Rodriguez will now have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters, like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa just did. Mariano Rivera was a failed starter. His alleged involvement in the Black Sox Scandal cut his careers short and has prevented him from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. Whether it will be enough to one day get him into Cooperstown wont be decided for another 10 or so years. This is a truly dominant statistic for this era. 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. It is a decision many believe cost the Sox the title. Robinson went on to win the triple crown in '66 and the MVP award for the American League. Warneke continued his winning ways, winning 20 games three times and posting a winning record every year until '43, when he left to fight in the war. 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. History doesnt remember Hoyt Wilhelm the way it should. 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). 8 Urban Shocker 4.4 Tony Mullane was an Irish born major league player known for pitching with both handssometimes in the same game. He struck out a healthy 1,674 batters. Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. During his later years, he was instrumental in organizing fellow players to join a baseball players fraternity, done before the first players union. This was accomplished in one season1879. In Game Three he came in to save the game, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. Or the Dave Roberts steal in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. 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). Here is AJ Cassavell's ranking of the Top 5 relievers in Padres history: 1. 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. His 46 shutouts are HOF worthy, and his postseason resume shows he was still good against the best competition of the era. It looked at pitchers in the HOF with the weakest resumes. He sustained his excellence late into his career. Voters have three years of his eligibility left to get it right. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. He pitched in both the Cubs World Series appearances in '32 and '35, going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA. Will White played the majority of his career in Cincinnati for the Reds of the National League and Red Stockings of the American Association. The committee found Charles Radbourn early on in their process in '39, but where were Tim Keefe ('63) and John Clarkson ('64)? In the '40s he pitched with young pitchers Hal Newhowser, Virgil Trucks and Dizzy Trout. Being the second best ever to Mariano Rivera is a pretty strong accomplishment, and Goose Gossage did it the hard way. He shut down the powerful Reds lineup in the playoffs. 6 Tim Hudson 3.8 The current Hall of Famers are then grouped by position and Based strictly on peak performance, Eckersley would rank in the top five of relievers. 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. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. 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 Fingers helped revolutionize the closer position, setting a trend later followed by Rivera and John Smoltz in becoming a failed starter-turned-closer. Against the Yankees in the series, he pitched well in game two, but took a 3-2 loss. Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in 62 for the Giants. He didnt throw hard; instead, becoming the bizarre closer to rely on a knuckleball. No real surprises at the top, I suppose. 14) Bucky Walters (1934-1948,50) (198-160; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 115; 42 SHO; 3,104 IP/ 2,990 H/ 8.7 H/9; 1,107 K/ 1,121 BB; 1.324 WHIP). I attempted to rank the 10 best ever. 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? He racked up 126 saves in his 40s. 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