Chart for Relief Pitchers

    In the past 40 years, certain pitchers have specialized as their teams’ closers. Taking heed of this new role and its increasing importance, the Hall of Fame has been inducting them ever since. Now I doubt whether any closers belong in Cooperstown at all, since many of them were failed starters (who pitch more innings and consequently allow more runs as they run out of steam). However, I will give a chart listing all the relievers in the Hall of Fame and some closers who compare favorably to them. Those in bold are Hall of Famers, and I would not object if the rest were someday inducted. The list is in alphabetical order. For active players, statistics are through the end of the 2021 season. 

G GS IP W-L K ERA 

Dennis Eckersley     1,071    361      3,285 ⅔           197-171          2,401    3.50 

Rollie Fingers           944       37        1,701 ⅓           114-118          1,299    2.90

John Franco               1,119    0          1,245 ⅔           90-87              975       2.89

Goose Gossage       1,002    37        1,809 ⅓           124-107          1,502    3.01 

Tom Henke                642       0          789 ⅔              41-42              861       2.67 

Trevor Hoffman       1,035     0         1,089 ⅓            61-75             1,133     2.87   

Kenley Jansen          701        0         705                   37-26             1,022     2.37 

Craig Kimbrel            646        0         628 ⅓               35-29             1,026     2.18 

Joe Nathan               787        29       923 ⅓               64-34             976         2.87 

Robb Nen                 643        4         715                    45-42             793        2.98 

Jonathan Papelbon  689        3         725 ⅔                41-36             808        2.44 

Mariano Rivera       1,115     10       1,283 ⅔             82-60             1,173     2.21 

Frankie Rodriguez   948        0         976                     52-53            1,142     2.86 

Lee Smith                1,023     6        1,289 ⅓              71-92            1,251     3.03 

Huston Street           668        0        680                     42-34             665       2.95 

Bruce Sutter           661        0        1,042                  68-71             861       2.83 

Billy Wagner             853        0        903                     47-40             1,196    2.31 

John Wetteland        618       17       765                     48-45             804       2.93 

Hoyt Wilhelm         1,070     52       2,254 ⅓             143-122         1,610     2.52 

As Reliever 

                               G IP W-L   K ERA GF SV 

Dennis Eckersley     710      807 ⅓   48-41     792   2.85     577      390 

Rollie Fingers           907      1,505 ⅔           107-101          1,183                2.73     709      341 

John Franco              1,119    1,245 ⅔           90-87              975                   2.89     774      424 

Goose Gossage      965       1,556 ⅔           115-85            1,340                 2.77    681      310 

Tom Henke               642       789 ⅔              41-42              861                    2.67    548      311 

Trevor Hoffman      1,035    1,089 ⅓           61-75              1,133                 2.87     856      601 

Kenley Jansen         701       705                  37-26              1,022                 2.37     519      350 

Craig Kimbrel           646       628 ⅓              35-29              1,026                 2.18     520      372 

Joe Nathan              758       761                   52-29              881                    2.50     587      377    

Robb Nen                639       697                   43-41              779                    2.94     549      314 

Jonathan Papelbon  686     709 ⅔                41-36             793                   2.45     585     368 

Mariano Rivera      1,105   1,233 ⅔             79-57             1,135                2.06     952     652

Frankie Rodriguez   948     976                     52-53             1,142                2.86     677     437 

Lee Smith               1,017   1,252 ⅓             71-87             1,225                2.98     802     478 

Huston Street          668      680                    42-34             665                   2.95     525     324 

Bruce Sutter          661      1,042                 68-71             861                   2.83     512     300 

Billy Wagner            853      903                    47-40             1,196                2.31     703     422 

John Wetteland       601      683                    46-36             730                   2.62     523     330 

Hoyt Wilhelm         1,018   1,872 ⅓             124-103         1,363                2.49     651     228

Lucky Hall of Famer Number 42 - Kirby Puckett

    Kirby Puckett was an outfielder active from 1984 through 1995. He was one of baseball's most popular players from 1986 through 1995, but a broken jaw suffered from a beaning in 1995 ended his career. He made the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2001, a decision that I am not in favor of. In fact, I don't know if he belongs in the Hall of Fame at all. 

    Puckett was a very good player, but he wasn't really great at anything. His biggest product was his .318 career batting average, but he backed it up with only 207 home runs and a .360 OBP, which are very low for a Hall of Fame outfielder. His overall batting statistics are very borderline, at best, for a Hall of Fame outfielder. 

    I never would have doubted Kirby Puckett if not for some serious criminal charges filed against him. Fans, especially kids, should be able to look up to their favorite players, imitate them, and admire them. Anyone who faces such criminal charges in recent years should be chastised by voters, at least for a while. This all made me reevaluate his career, which suddenly didn't look as impressive as it did before. 

My opinion: Kirby Puckett is probably not a Hall of Famer. 

Managers of Today

    Nowadays there are a lot of managers who will probably make the Hall of Fame. Joe Maddon, Dusty Baker, etc., etc. This post is not to give my opinion on individual, active managers. My question concerns considering them as a whole. 

    My biggest problem with modern day managing is the shift. Oh boy, the shift. Besides the fact that it is not traditional, not to mention very ugly, I don't think that it actually works as well as people think. How many times do hitters go the other way on the shift, or bunt against the shift? More importantly, how many hitters can bunt against the shift? Probably a whole lot. Additionally, cutoffs, double plays, and other complex plays are greatly neutralized by the shift, and are impossible to set up. Finally, an increasing percentage of today's hits fly out of the park for home runs, against which the shift is utterly helpless. 

    Nowadays every manager uses the shift, and for most hitters, too. You rarely see a straight up defensive alignment anymore. Everyone already knows my opinion about this, I'm sure. For this reason, I don't know if we can induct all these managers. What do you think? 

NOTICE XII

    I am going to start another series with tables comparing my players with contemporary Hall of Famers at the same position. They will be simple, but nonetheless they will give good insight into how these guys compare to the actual Hall of Famers.