So Mariano Rivera is 1st..

[awz50]

Who is 2nd and 3rd on the top all time relievers?

[gmarutiak]

Eckersley is definitely second in my mind.

[Wrathofmarcos]

Would Smoltz be in the hunt?

Edit: Out of curiosity I looked at his career stats and he didn’t relieve as much as I thought he did.

[dodgerfanjohn]

Would Smoltz be in the hunt?

I don’t think he closed long enough.

I have a hard time getting too much past the older guys who threw a lot of innings…Hoyt Wilhelm, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers….I think unless you are remarkable in the regular season and post season over a number of years like Rivera, you can’t lay claim to being better than those older guys who threw a lot of innings. Of the next guys on the list after Rivera and Eckersly I think it’s all three of those old guys and then maybe Hoffman, Lee Smith, Billy Wagner, Bruce Sutter. Not too sure on order though.

If Jansen keeps reinventing himself he has a chance to enter this group, but he has a ways to go and his post seasons haven’t exactly been stellar.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Trevor Hoffman… ? Chapman? I dunno.

[waluwhute]

Trevor Hoffman. He did it with a changeup.

[awz50]

Trevor Hoffman. He did it with a changeup.

Billy Wagner, Goose and eck would get my votes before I think

[dodgerfanjohn]

Just by baseball reference WAR it’s

Eckersly
Rivera
Wilhelm
Gossage

And then a massive drop before we get to Lee Smith, Hoffman, Wagner, Joe Nathan, Rollie Fingers, Dan Quisenberry, and Bruce Sutter

[Burbot]

Rollie Fingers ruled his era and the Goose was pretty decent.....for a Yankee!

[Mahomescards777]

Kenley Jansen and will smith

[Stifle]

2. Eck and 3. Hoffman.

[Wrathofmarcos]

Kenley Jansen and will smith

Summertime is still one of my all time favorites. :)

[Skipscards]

Rivera and Wilhelm are at the top. #3 is distant. Maybe Goose or Fingers or Quiz.

[Skipscards]

Just by baseball reference WAR it’s

Eckersly
Rivera
Wilhelm
Gossage

And then a massive drop before we get to Lee Smith, Hoffman, Wagner, Joe Nathan, Rollie Fingers, Dan Quisenberry, and Bruce Sutter

It’s a little misleading because Eck started a lot.

[js0000001]

John Franco

[Randallk34]

Hoffman is a joke

[88horsepower]

Eckersley was super elite for a five year stretch but mostly padded his stats beyond that. His drop off from being the best closer in baseball from 1988-1992 is something a lot of people overlook. He went from being almost unhittable to being very shaky despite the high saves totals. From 1993-1995 his ERA was well over 4.00 and padded his stats. After he left Oakland he was serviceable but hardly elite anymore. Frankly, I think Dan Quisenberry's run from 1980-1985 was even more impressive and quite understated. Quiz was a top-3 Cy Young finisher four consecutive years.

Not sure how Hoffman can be considered a joke, as one member said. 601 Saves and a 2.81 ERA lifetime is remarkable. He was steady and had longevity despite not playing in a big market nor playing for a World Series contender almost every year of his career. That should not be held against him.

[AnthonyT]

John Franco


This is who comes to mind as one of the best relievers.

[coltsnsox07]

I remember K-Rod had 60 something damn saves in one year!

[dodgerfanjohn]

I mean, there’s legit argument that some of the relievers in the top ten don’t belong in the HOF. When you start bringing in sometime all stars, they really don’t make the cut or you are opening the floodgates and letting way too many from the hall of very good in. As it stands I don’t think Sutter and Lee Smith should be in, Fingers and Gossage are likely there because of their World Series wins (from an era when most games still were not broadcast nation wide) and with Franco, his FIP and WHIP are pretty terrible for a career long one and two inning guy

[D-Lite]

It’s a little misleading because Eck started a lot.

Yeah, well over 2/3 of Eck's WAR was as a starter. Was he dominant? Absolutely. But if I'm picking best relievers you'd better have more than 5 years that are considered elite.

Honestly, Doug Jones and Robb Nenn have arguments up there with Eckersley comparing years as relievers.

[corndog]

Some stats about Hoyt Wilhelm that I have known for years:

Hit a home run in his very first major league at bat and in a 20 year career never hit another.
Began his MLB career at 29 years old and pitched until he was 49.
When he retired he had the lowest career ERA in modern baseball.

Wilhelm is easily top 3.

[Koolfeather98T]

Eckersley, followed by Hoffman. Soft spot for the Goose!

[RedMike]

Mariano is so far a head of 2nd... I don't know when we will ever see a closer get to his status.

[AnthonyCorona]

Many are saying Phil Bickford… at least in Dodgers history


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[Wrathofmarcos]

Many are saying Phil Bickford… at least in Dodgers history


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Many 🤣.

Eric Gagne was the most dominant closer I’ve ever seen. Just not for very long at all.

[88horsepower]

John Franco

Most saves all-time for a lefty.

[Skipscards]

Some stats about Hoyt Wilhelm that I have known for years:

Hit a home run in his very first major league at bat and in a 20 year career never hit another.
Began his MLB career at 29 years old and pitched until he was 49.
When he retired he had the lowest career ERA in modern baseball.

Wilhelm is easily top 3.

He’s easily top 2. Here’s one you can add… Wilhelm is the only pitcher in baseball history to win an ERA title without starting a single game. And if that’s not enough he did it in his rookie season! And if THAT’s not enough he finished 2nd in th ROY voting to another reliever!! (The reliever was Joe Black who had a great season for the pennant winning Dodgers.)

Also, re: my list earlier while I still view 3 as a toss up between Goose and Quiz, I think Joe Nathan may also be in the conversation.

[AnthonyCorona]

Many [emoji1787].

Eric Gagne was the most dominant closer I’ve ever seen. Just not for very long at all.


Most iconic moment is Bonds drilling a home run off him [emoji1787]


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[CCPdro]

Does being awesome matter for this?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211127/1309d2c6dbba4d46e6cd17534dc14df2.jpg
Tekulve’s coolness factor was off the charts


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[camdendad4439]

Billy wagner

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[88horsepower]

Also, re: my list earlier while I still view 3 as a toss up between Goose and Quiz, I think Joe Nathan may also be in the conversation.

It's great to see someone else on here appreciating the greatness of Quisenberry. Man, he was a special human being and a tremendous closer for a 6-7 year stretch. I miss that guy.

[roush16racing]

Don Aase

[oplum29]

Rivera and Eckerlsey, and then everybody else.

[Bcwcardz]

Wagner is up there. If all these other guys are HOF he should be too.


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[GMRide27]

Goose.

[Wolverine]

2. Craig Kimbrel
3. Billy Wagner

[rats60]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/goose-egg-new-save-stat-relief-pitchers/

Nate Silver makes a strong case for Goose Gossage.

[hatchd]

Are we just completely discounting current day relievers? Kimbrel, Jansen and Chapman have numbers equal to or better than just about anyone mentioned. I feel like these three consistently get overlooked for some reason.

[88horsepower]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/goose-egg-new-save-stat-relief-pitchers/

Nate Silver makes a strong case for Goose Gossage.

677 "Goose Eggs" leading the way is rather impressive. Significantly more than Rivera had, as well. That's a very cool read. Thanks for sharing that.

[rogueriver]

Eckersley

[inaka]

1. Mariano Rivera
2. Dennis Eckersley
3. Fifty Feet of Crap
4. Everybody Else

[49ersSF]

Rollie Fingers should be mentioned.

Hall of Fame
Cy Young
MVP
7x All Star
3x WS winner
WS MVP

Outside of Mariano Rivera I do not think any receiver has a better resume with only Eck coming close.

[Skipscards]

Are we just completely discounting current day relievers? Kimbrel, Jansen and Chapman have numbers equal to or better than just about anyone mentioned. I feel like these three consistently get overlooked for some reason.

Depends on your definition of current. But if you mean guys still active, yeah, they don’t pitch nearly enough to be in the conversation of top 3 all-time.

[Skipscards]

It's great to see someone else on here appreciating the greatness of Quisenberry. Man, he was a special human being and a tremendous closer for a 6-7 year stretch. I miss that guy.

Yeah, me too. God Bless The Quiz. He and Nathan are easily the most underrated closers in history.

[hatchd]

Depends on your definition of current. But if you mean guys still active, yeah, they don’t pitch nearly enough to be in the conversation of top 3 all-time.


So if Hader had stayed a middle reliever he had a shot to be the best relief pitcher of all time but now that he's a closer he can't? This makes no sense.


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[dizzydolse]

Rollie Fingers should be mentioned.

Hall of Fame
Cy Young
MVP
7x All Star
3x WS winner
WS MVP

Outside of Mariano Rivera I do not think any receiver has a better resume with only Eck coming close.

Jerry Rice

[CCPdro]

Is this a legit ranking discussion, or are we all just naming guys now?


Because I am myself guilty, here’s another! Guillermo “Willie” Hernandez.
Willie took home a lotta hardware in ‘84 (MVP, Cy Young), but he didn’t win the big one.
Quiz did.

R-O-L-A-I-D-S

[UtleyIsTheMan]

It's hard to compare relievers across eras, but for me its Hoyt Wilhelm. He was so good for so long and pitched so many innings in relief. It just feels like any way you slice it, once you start digging into the numbers he's gotta be the guy.

[Tomi]

It's hard to compare relievers across eras, but for me its Hoyt Wilhelm. He was so good for so long and pitched so many innings in relief. It just feels like any way you slice it, once you start digging into the numbers he's gotta be the guy.

I agree completely. Rivera pitched 1283 innings with a 2.21 lifetime ERA.
Wilhelm pitched 2254 innings with a lifetime 2.52 ERA. I wonder what Rivera's numbers would have been with 1,000 more innings.

[Skipscards]

So if Hader had stayed a middle reliever he had a shot to be the best relief pitcher of all time but now that he's a closer he can't? This makes no sense.


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I reread my comment several times and can’t locate where I said anything about Hader or middle relievers. What you have done here is called a false equivalence.

But you are correct about one thing, what you have written makes no sense.