So as some of you saw earlier, I posted a comparison of 2014 Wade Davis vs. a composite of Mariano Rivera's best stats he had ever compiled in his career, in seasons in which he was used like Wade was used last year (so 15 of Mo's 19 career years) and what I found was that Wade's numbers compared very favorably to Mo's in every standard pitching category besides walks. You can read the full analysis here:
2014 Wade Davis vs. Mariano Rivera's career bests
But what really intrigued me was when several posters brought up Gagne and Eckersley. So I decided to take it a step further and look at the greatest relief seasons of all time. So, what constitutes a great relief season? Good question, me. Hits per 9 innings? ERA+? FIP? K/BB? It's all opinion, obviously. I'm pretty partial to FIP, myself, so I decided to take all relief seasons since 1901, where the reliever had a FIP below 2.00 and pitched more than 50 innings. There are other methods to this madness that you can try, but the point is to show how nasty Wade was in 2014, and I think all methods will lead to the same conclusion. To the Excel machine!! First, the raw data. There were 56 such seasons.
Rk | Player | Year | Age | Tm | Lg | W | L | SV | H | R | ER | BB | ERA | ERA+ | FIP | IP | HR | SO | BF | AB | 2B | 3B | IBB | HBP | SH | SF | GDP | SB | CS | PO | BK | WP | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | Pit | Str |
1 | Craig Kimbrel | 2012 | 24 | ATL | NL | 3 | 1 | 42 | 27 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1.01 | 399 | 0.78 | 62.2 | 3 | 116 | 231 | 215 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.126 | 0.186 | 0.172 | 0.358 | 1 | 936 | 661 |
2 | Eric Gagne | 2003 | 27 | LAD | NL | 2 | 3 | 55 | 37 | 12 | 11 | 20 | 1.20 | 337 | 0.86 | 82.1 | 2 | 137 | 306 | 279 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.133 | 0.199 | 0.176 | 0.374 | 4 | 1187 | 824 |
3 | Aroldis Chapman | 2014 | 26 | CIN | NL | 0 | 3 | 36 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 2.00 | 181 | 0.89 | 54.0 | 1 | 106 | 202 | 174 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.121 | 0.234 | 0.172 | 0.406 | 21 | 935 | 596 |
4 | Wade Davis | 2014 | 28 | KCR | AL | 9 | 2 | 3 | 38 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 1.00 | 399 | 1.19 | 72.0 | 0 | 109 | 279 | 252 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.151 | 0.229 | 0.179 | 0.408 | 16 | 1210 | 787 |
5 | Dennis Eckersley | 1990 | 35 | OAK | AL | 4 | 2 | 48 | 41 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0.61 | 603 | 1.34 | 73.1 | 2 | 73 | 262 | 257 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.160 | 0.172 | 0.226 | 0.397 | 13 | ||
6 | Greg Holland | 2013 | 27 | KCR | AL | 2 | 1 | 47 | 40 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 1.21 | 342 | 1.36 | 67.0 | 3 | 103 | 255 | 235 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.170 | 0.228 | 0.251 | 0.479 | 31 | 1063 | 693 |
7 | Rob Dibble | 1990 | 26 | CIN | NL | 8 | 3 | 11 | 62 | 22 | 19 | 34 | 1.74 | 229 | 1.50 | 98.0 | 3 | 136 | 384 | 339 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.183 | 0.255 | 0.254 | 0.509 | 42 | ||
8 | Andrew Miller | 2014 | 29 | TOT | AL | 5 | 5 | 1 | 33 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 2.02 | 193 | 1.51 | 62.1 | 3 | 103 | 242 | 216 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.153 | 0.229 | 0.227 | 0.456 | 29 | 993 | 644 |
9 | Craig Kimbrel | 2011 | 23 | ATL | NL | 4 | 3 | 46 | 48 | 19 | 18 | 32 | 2.10 | 182 | 1.52 | 77.0 | 3 | 127 | 306 | 270 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.178 | 0.266 | 0.233 | 0.499 | 42 | 1314 | 843 |
10 | Jonathan Papelbon | 2011 | 30 | BOS | AL | 4 | 1 | 31 | 50 | 22 | 21 | 10 | 2.94 | 147 | 1.53 | 64.1 | 3 | 87 | 255 | 241 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.207 | 0.247 | 0.299 | 0.546 | 47 | 1001 | 706 |
11 | Dave Smith | 1987 | 32 | HOU | NL | 2 | 3 | 24 | 39 | 13 | 11 | 21 | 1.65 | 239 | 1.54 | 60.0 | 0 | 73 | 240 | 214 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.182 | 0.257 | 0.229 | 0.486 | 36 | ||
12 | John Smoltz | 2003 | 36 | ATL | NL | 0 | 2 | 45 | 48 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 1.12 | 385 | 1.54 | 64.1 | 2 | 73 | 244 | 235 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.204 | 0.230 | 0.281 | 0.510 | 36 | 893 | 648 |
13 | Rob Dibble | 1991 | 27 | CIN | NL | 3 | 5 | 31 | 67 | 32 | 29 | 25 | 3.17 | 122 | 1.54 | 82.1 | 5 | 124 | 334 | 301 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.223 | 0.280 | 0.322 | 0.602 | 71 | ||
14 | Aroldis Chapman | 2012 | 24 | CIN | NL | 5 | 5 | 38 | 35 | 13 | 12 | 23 | 1.51 | 274 | 1.55 | 71.2 | 4 | 122 | 276 | 248 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.141 | 0.225 | 0.226 | 0.450 | 25 | 1203 | 769 |
15 | Koji Uehara | 2013 | 38 | BOS | AL | 4 | 1 | 21 | 33 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 1.09 | 379 | 1.61 | 74.1 | 5 | 101 | 265 | 253 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.130 | 0.163 | 0.237 | 0.400 | 8 | 1049 | 775 |
16 | Bruce Sutter | 1977 | 24 | CHC | NL | 7 | 3 | 31 | 69 | 21 | 16 | 23 | 1.34 | 328 | 1.61 | 107.1 | 5 | 129 | 411 | 377 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.183 | 0.231 | 0.271 | 0.502 | 31 | ||
17 | Rob Dibble | 1992 | 28 | CIN | NL | 3 | 5 | 25 | 48 | 26 | 24 | 31 | 3.07 | 120 | 1.62 | 70.1 | 3 | 110 | 286 | 249 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0.193 | 0.285 | 0.265 | 0.550 | 59 | ||
18 | Mark Melancon | 2013 | 28 | PIT | NL | 3 | 2 | 16 | 60 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 1.39 | 256 | 1.64 | 71.0 | 1 | 70 | 279 | 269 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.223 | 0.247 | 0.264 | 0.511 | 50 | 988 | 689 |
19 | Francisco Rodriguez | 2004 | 22 | ANA | AL | 4 | 1 | 12 | 51 | 21 | 17 | 33 | 1.82 | 245 | 1.64 | 84.0 | 2 | 123 | 335 | 297 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.172 | 0.256 | 0.226 | 0.482 | 29 | 1355 | 843 |
20 | Dellin Betances | 2014 | 26 | NYY | AL | 5 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 15 | 14 | 24 | 1.40 | 277 | 1.64 | 90.0 | 4 | 135 | 341 | 308 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.149 | 0.218 | 0.224 | 0.442 | 26 | 1365 | 891 |
21 | Billy Wagner | 1999 | 27 | HOU | NL | 4 | 1 | 39 | 35 | 14 | 13 | 23 | 1.57 | 287 | 1.65 | 74.2 | 5 | 124 | 286 | 259 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.135 | 0.208 | 0.212 | 0.420 | 10 | ||
22 | Joe Nathan | 2006 | 31 | MIN | AL | 7 | 0 | 36 | 38 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 1.58 | 284 | 1.68 | 68.1 | 3 | 95 | 262 | 240 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.158 | 0.212 | 0.242 | 0.454 | 18 | 1072 | 703 |
23 | Sean Doolittle | 2014 | 27 | OAK | AL | 2 | 4 | 22 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 8 | 2.73 | 137 | 1.71 | 62.2 | 5 | 89 | 236 | 225 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.169 | 0.197 | 0.262 | 0.459 | 30 | 928 | 681 |
24 | Rob Dibble | 1989 | 25 | CIN | NL | 10 | 5 | 2 | 62 | 23 | 23 | 39 | 2.09 | 173 | 1.71 | 99.0 | 4 | 141 | 401 | 352 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.176 | 0.261 | 0.250 | 0.511 | 49 | ||
25 | Dennis Eckersley | 1992 | 37 | OAK | AL | 7 | 1 | 51 | 62 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 1.91 | 195 | 1.72 | 80.0 | 5 | 93 | 309 | 294 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.211 | 0.242 | 0.306 | 0.548 | 57 | ||
26 | Jake McGee | 2014 | 27 | TBR | AL | 5 | 2 | 19 | 48 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 1.89 | 197 | 1.73 | 71.1 | 2 | 90 | 274 | 254 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.189 | 0.242 | 0.244 | 0.486 | 41 | 1151 | 764 |
27 | Terry Forster | 1972 | 20 | CHW | AL | 6 | 5 | 29 | 75 | 31 | 25 | 44 | 2.25 | 141 | 1.73 | 100.0 | 0 | 104 | 419 | 360 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.208 | 0.296 | 0.256 | 0.552 | 68 | ||
28 | J.J. Putz | 2006 | 29 | SEA | AL | 4 | 1 | 36 | 59 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 2.30 | 194 | 1.73 | 78.1 | 4 | 104 | 303 | 285 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.207 | 0.245 | 0.284 | 0.529 | 39 | 1215 | 825 |
29 | Kenley Jansen | 2011 | 23 | LAD | NL | 2 | 1 | 5 | 30 | 17 | 17 | 26 | 2.85 | 130 | 1.74 | 53.2 | 3 | 96 | 218 | 189 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.159 | 0.266 | 0.228 | 0.494 | 44 | 982 | 630 |
30 | Duane Ward | 1991 | 27 | TOR | AL | 7 | 6 | 23 | 80 | 36 | 33 | 33 | 2.77 | 153 | 1.74 | 107.1 | 3 | 132 | 428 | 386 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.207 | 0.271 | 0.262 | 0.532 | 46 | ||
31 | Eric Gagne | 2002 | 26 | LAD | NL | 4 | 1 | 52 | 55 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 1.97 | 193 | 1.80 | 82.1 | 6 | 114 | 314 | 291 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.189 | 0.235 | 0.302 | 0.537 | 49 | 1241 | 866 |
32 | Tom Henke | 1989 | 31 | TOR | AL | 8 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 20 | 19 | 25 | 1.92 | 191 | 1.80 | 89.0 | 5 | 116 | 356 | 322 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.205 | 0.264 | 0.314 | 0.578 | 66 | ||
33 | Hung-Chih Kuo | 2010 | 28 | LAD | NL | 3 | 2 | 12 | 29 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 1.20 | 324 | 1.81 | 60.0 | 1 | 73 | 229 | 208 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.139 | 0.211 | 0.192 | 0.403 | 15 | 941 | 626 |
34 | Jake McGee | 2012 | 25 | TBR | AL | 5 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 1.95 | 198 | 1.81 | 55.1 | 3 | 73 | 212 | 197 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.168 | 0.213 | 0.239 | 0.452 | 27 | 920 | 627 |
35 | Greg Holland | 2014 | 28 | KCR | AL | 1 | 3 | 46 | 37 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 1.44 | 277 | 1.83 | 62.1 | 3 | 90 | 240 | 218 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.170 | 0.238 | 0.234 | 0.472 | 32 | 1002 | 640 |
36 | Craig Kimbrel | 2014 | 26 | ATL | NL | 0 | 3 | 47 | 30 | 13 | 11 | 26 | 1.61 | 227 | 1.83 | 61.2 | 2 | 95 | 244 | 212 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.142 | 0.242 | 0.189 | 0.430 | 26 | 1048 | 680 |
37 | David Robertson | 2011 | 26 | NYY | AL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 9 | 8 | 35 | 1.08 | 399 | 1.84 | 66.2 | 1 | 100 | 272 | 235 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.170 | 0.280 | 0.226 | 0.506 | 38 | 1213 | 768 |
38 | Doug Jones | 1988 | 31 | CLE | AL | 3 | 4 | 37 | 69 | 26 | 21 | 16 | 2.27 | 181 | 1.85 | 83.1 | 1 | 72 | 338 | 317 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0.218 | 0.260 | 0.268 | 0.528 | 47 | ||
39 | John Wetteland | 1993 | 26 | MON | NL | 9 | 3 | 43 | 58 | 17 | 13 | 28 | 1.37 | 305 | 1.85 | 85.1 | 3 | 113 | 344 | 308 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.188 | 0.260 | 0.276 | 0.536 | 45 | ||
40 | Sean Marshall | 2011 | 28 | CHC | NL | 6 | 6 | 5 | 66 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 2.26 | 173 | 1.86 | 75.2 | 1 | 79 | 307 | 282 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.234 | 0.282 | 0.284 | 0.566 | 59 | 1188 | 794 |
41 | Danny Farquhar | 2013 | 26 | SEA | AL | 0 | 3 | 16 | 44 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 4.20 | 88 | 1.86 | 55.2 | 2 | 79 | 228 | 203 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.217 | 0.291 | 0.296 | 0.586 | 69 | 934 | 583 |
42 | Takashi Saito | 2006 | 36 | LAD | NL | 6 | 2 | 24 | 48 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 2.07 | 218 | 1.87 | 78.1 | 3 | 107 | 303 | 271 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.177 | 0.243 | 0.262 | 0.505 | 33 | 1309 | 844 |
43 | Mark Wohlers | 1995 | 25 | ATL | NL | 7 | 3 | 25 | 51 | 16 | 15 | 24 | 2.09 | 204 | 1.88 | 64.2 | 2 | 90 | 269 | 242 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.211 | 0.285 | 0.269 | 0.553 | 49 | ||
44 | Mariano Rivera | 1996 | 26 | NYY | AL | 8 | 3 | 5 | 73 | 25 | 25 | 34 | 2.09 | 240 | 1.88 | 107.2 | 1 | 130 | 425 | 386 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.189 | 0.258 | 0.228 | 0.486 | 24 | ||
45 | Bruce Sutter | 1979 | 26 | CHC | NL | 6 | 6 | 37 | 67 | 29 | 25 | 32 | 2.22 | 188 | 1.89 | 101.1 | 3 | 110 | 403 | 361 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.186 | 0.249 | 0.244 | 0.493 | 34 | ||
46 | Kenley Jansen | 2014 | 26 | LAD | NL | 2 | 3 | 44 | 55 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 2.76 | 127 | 1.91 | 65.1 | 5 | 101 | 268 | 246 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.224 | 0.277 | 0.333 | 0.610 | 79 | 1061 | 744 |
47 | Trevor Rosenthal | 2013 | 23 | STL | NL | 2 | 4 | 3 | 63 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 2.63 | 143 | 1.91 | 75.1 | 4 | 108 | 311 | 282 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.223 | 0.289 | 0.319 | 0.608 | 72 | 1287 | 874 |
48 | Craig Kimbrel | 2013 | 25 | ATL | NL | 4 | 3 | 50 | 39 | 10 | 9 | 20 | 1.21 | 311 | 1.93 | 67.0 | 4 | 98 | 258 | 235 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.166 | 0.240 | 0.247 | 0.487 | 39 | 1043 | 670 |
49 | Arthur Rhodes | 2002 | 32 | SEA | AL | 10 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 2.33 | 183 | 1.94 | 69.2 | 4 | 81 | 257 | 241 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.187 | 0.227 | 0.274 | 0.501 | 34 | 1043 | 705 |
50 | Larry Andersen | 1989 | 36 | HOU | NL | 4 | 4 | 3 | 63 | 19 | 15 | 24 | 1.54 | 222 | 1.94 | 87.2 | 2 | 85 | 351 | 318 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.198 | 0.251 | 0.245 | 0.496 | 48 | ||
51 | Jason Grilli | 2013 | 36 | PIT | NL | 0 | 2 | 33 | 40 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 2.70 | 133 | 1.97 | 50.0 | 4 | 74 | 202 | 187 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.214 | 0.269 | 0.326 | 0.595 | 73 | 836 | 572 |
52 | Robb Nen | 2002 | 32 | SFG | NL | 6 | 2 | 43 | 64 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 2.20 | 177 | 1.97 | 73.2 | 2 | 81 | 301 | 276 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.232 | 0.286 | 0.304 | 0.591 | 63 | 1102 | 760 |
53 | Bryan Harvey | 1991 | 28 | CAL | AL | 2 | 4 | 46 | 51 | 20 | 14 | 17 | 1.60 | 257 | 1.97 | 78.2 | 6 | 101 | 309 | 286 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.178 | 0.225 | 0.266 | 0.491 | 36 | ||
54 | Jonathan Broxton | 2009 | 25 | LAD | NL | 7 | 2 | 36 | 44 | 24 | 22 | 29 | 2.61 | 154 | 1.97 | 76.0 | 4 | 114 | 300 | 267 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.165 | 0.247 | 0.232 | 0.479 | 34 | 1225 | 813 |
55 | Brad Lidge | 2004 | 27 | HOU | NL | 6 | 5 | 29 | 57 | 21 | 20 | 30 | 1.90 | 228 | 1.97 | 94.2 | 8 | 157 | 369 | 328 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.174 | 0.254 | 0.290 | 0.544 | 44 | 1478 | 989 |
56 | Kenley Jansen | 2013 | 25 | LAD | NL | 4 | 3 | 28 | 48 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 1.88 | 190 | 1.99 | 76.2 | 6 | 111 | 292 | 271 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.177 | 0.236 | 0.273 | 0.509 | 48 | 1245 | 852 |
That's some mighty fine relief pitching there. Our boy Dutch checks in twice on that list, for his 2013 and 2014 seasons. He's been pretty good too. Kimbrel and Rob Dibble appear the most on the list, with 4 seasons each. Kenley Jansen has had 3, and Chapman, Gagne, Eckersley, Holland, Bruce Sutter, and Jake McGee are the others with 2 appearances. Ok, so now to the numbers. That list is ranked by FIP. Wade Davis recorded the fourth lowest FIP by a relief pitcher ever, at 1.19. So that's a good start.
How about Hits per 9? That actually wasn't a given category from this baseball-reference data export, but it's easy enough to figure out. Here's that same list, ranked by K/9:
Rk | Player | Year | H/9 |
1 | Aroldis Chapman | 2014 | 3.50 |
2 | Craig Kimbrel | 2012 | 3.91 |
3 | Koji Uehara | 2013 | 4.01 |
4 | Eric Gagne | 2003 | 4.06 |
5 | Billy Wagner | 1999 | 4.25 |
6 | Hung-Chih Kuo | 2010 | 4.35 |
7 | Craig Kimbrel | 2014 | 4.41 |
8 | Aroldis Chapman | 2012 | 4.42 |
9 | Dellin Betances | 2014 | 4.60 |
10 | Wade Davis | 2014 | 4.75 |
Ok, he checks in at a respectable 10th place. Chapman allowed 21 hits in 54 innings, and Kimbrel allowed 27 hits in 62.2 innings. Jeez... what's ERA+ look like?
Rk | Player | Year | ERA+ |
1 | Dennis Eckersley | 1990 | 603 |
2 | Craig Kimbrel | 2012 | 399 |
3 | Wade Davis | 2014 | 399 |
4 | David Robertson | 2011 | 399 |
5 | John Smoltz | 2003 | 385 |
6 | Koji Uehara | 2013 | 379 |
7 | Greg Holland | 2013 | 342 |
8 | Eric Gagne | 2003 | 337 |
9 | Bruce Sutter | 1977 | 328 |
10 | Hung-Chih Kuo | 2010 | 324 |
Wade checks in tied for 2nd with 399, which I find a little odd. I checked his ERA+ a few days ago for my Wade vs Mo post and it was 403. But now BBref is saying 399, which is also Kimbrel's and Robertson's. I'll have to investigate this more at a later date. Still though. It's basically 400. It's really really good.
Ok, so I've done a few specific rankings, but now it's time to do something that I like to do with big lists like this. I will rank all 56 seasons in important categories, and then assign point values based on the rankings. 56 points for a 1st place ranking, and 1 point for a 56th place ranking. Which means the worst score anyone could get is 9, because I'm ranking these 9 categories: ERA+, FIP, H/9, HR/9, K/9, AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS+. If anyone has a problem with my selection, you can go ahead and pick other categories to rank and do the leg work yourself, I won't mind :) You would be correct if you noticed that this system weighs all 9 categories evenly. It's coming off of the top of my head so by no means is this analysis perfect. But I think it's fun and it does give a good snapshot.
The highest anyone could rank is 9*56, or 504. So here's the payoff of this whole post. Let's see what those rankings look like:
Rk | Player | Year | Total | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
1 | Eric Gagne | 2003 | 466 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2 | Craig Kimbrel | 2012 | 465 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Wade Davis | 2014 | 446 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Aroldis Chapman | 2014 | 428 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
5 | Billy Wagner | 1999 | 399 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
6 | Dennis Eckersley | 1990 | 396 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
7 | Aroldis Chapman | 2012 | 391 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
8 | Hung-Chih Kuo | 2010 | 388 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
9 | Dellin Betances | 2014 | 385 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
10 | Koji Uehara | 2013 | 380 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
11 | Craig Kimbrel | 2014 | 364 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
12 | Andrew Miller | 2014 | 364 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
13 | Greg Holland | 2013 | 359 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
14 | Joe Nathan | 2006 | 357 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
15 | Francisco Rodriguez | 2004 | 339 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
16 | David Robertson | 2011 | 327 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
17 | Greg Holland | 2014 | 308 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
18 | Dave Smith | 1987 | 300 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
19 | Jake McGee | 2012 | 294 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
20 | Craig Kimbrel | 2011 | 285 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
21 | Rob Dibble | 1990 | 279 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
22 | Bruce Sutter | 1977 | 278 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
23 | Craig Kimbrel | 2013 | 278 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
24 | Mariano Rivera | 1996 | 268 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
25 | Kenley Jansen | 2011 | 268 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
26 | Sean Doolittle | 2014 | 266 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
27 | Jonathan Broxton | 2009 | 264 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
28 | John Smoltz | 2003 | 261 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
29 | Takashi Saito | 2006 | 259 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
30 | Jake McGee | 2014 | 252 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
31 | Rob Dibble | 1989 | 233 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
32 | Bryan Harvey | 1991 | 223 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
33 | Bruce Sutter | 1979 | 221 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
34 | Brad Lidge | 2004 | 217 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
35 | John Wetteland | 1993 | 216 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
36 | Mark Melancon | 2013 | 202 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
37 | Larry Andersen | 1989 | 196 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
38 | J.J. Putz | 2006 | 196 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
39 | Arthur Rhodes | 2002 | 196 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
40 | Rob Dibble | 1992 | 194 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
41 | Kenley Jansen | 2013 | 193 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
42 | Eric Gagne | 2002 | 189 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
43 | Jonathan Papelbon | 2011 | 186 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
44 | Duane Ward | 1991 | 184 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
45 | Mark Wohlers | 1995 | 170 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
46 | Terry Forster | 1972 | 160 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
47 | Doug Jones | 1988 | 159 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
48 | Dennis Eckersley | 1992 | 151 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
49 | Tom Henke | 1989 | 143 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
50 | Rob Dibble | 1991 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
51 | Sean Marshall | 2011 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
52 | Danny Farquhar | 2013 | 117 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
53 | Robb Nen | 2002 | 95 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
54 | Trevor Rosenthal | 2013 | 92 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
55 | Jason Grilli | 2013 | 86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
56 | Kenley Jansen | 2014 | 84 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
This shows the pitchers with their total score, as well as their count of all top 10 finishes. So for example, Gagne was never first in any of these categories, but he was 2nd twice, 3rd once, 4th twice, etc. Kimbrel finished first or second 7 different times, which is nuts. Both Gagne's 2003 and Kimbrel's 2012 rank about 20 points higher than Wade's 2014, and you could convince me that either of those seasons could be considered the best relief season in the history of the game. But like, damn dude, Wade's 2014 is pretty easily 3rd place on this list. Again, I know it's not an exact science, but this is still pretty freaking unbelievable to me. And it's worth pointing out that Holland checks in at 13th and 17th all-time as well. Our boys have been nasty, but last year Wade was on another level entirely. Crazy, right?