Top 25 CLOSERS In MLB HISTORY - ELITE Relief Pitchers!!
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Welcome to another HUMM BABY BASEBALL Countdown and today, it's all about CLOSERS!! We'll be counting down the TOP 25 CLOSERS in MLB HISTORY - put your thoughts in the comment section down below!
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Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn deserves a spot on this list. His 2nd half of the '89 season on the Indians is the stuff of legends.
Edit: Somehow the replies to my original comment have resulted in a debate on Neurodivergence.
You do realize that Ricky Vaughn is a fictional character and that what you're quoting is a character in a movie and not a real person
@@skull3941 You must be new to this whole "internet" thing huh?
Your the 6 year old who believes Ricky Vaughn is a real character and believes the Major League movie is real baseball
@@skull3941 Well, between him, Santa Claus, Batman and Hulk Hogan, that's a strong pitching staff.
My favorite pitch of his was the terminator
Three honorable mentions.
1) Firpo Marberry. Practically invented the role in the 1920s for the Washington Senators, he was the first pitcher to save 20 games in a season (though nobody knew it at the time), the first pitcher to make 50 relief appearances in a season and 300 in a career, and still the only pitcher to lead MLB in saves 6 times.
2) Tug McGraw. More a sentimental pick than anything, not the most consistent career, but was the heart and soul of two teams that made it to the World Series.
3) John Smoltz. Only did it for three years, but I'd put those three years up against anybody's.
Smoltz could've easily hit 300 saves had he stayed in the bullpen the rest of his post 1999 career.
Are you cracked? John Smoltz? Only one of the greatest Starting AND Closing pitchers EVER!
John Hiller
Loved seeing Tom "Terminator" Henke on this list. As a life long Jays fans, he was my absolute fave to save the game with his dynamite stuff.
The guy had an interesting career with how his final season went. I wonder if he could have pitched few more seasons and shoot for 400 saves.
@@Iamhungey The Cards wanted him back, but he decided to retire while he was still good. He said he also wanted to see his kids grow up
I came here to see where Dan Quisenberry ranks. He's a legend! I was able to see him pitch late in his career with the Cardinals.
I also saw Jeff Reardon pitch, and he was cool as well - especially when set up by Juan Berenguer!
Quiz and Sparky are among the old school closers I felt could have gotten better consideration for the HOF had it been opened up for closers like it did now. I mean guys like Mo were exceptions to the rule and closers like Goose and Sutter took forever to finally get there before things start to open up, for the better or for the worse.
@@Iamhungey And Lee Smith didn't make it to the Hall until one of the Era Committees voted him in.
Good list because it shows a lot of respect for the pioneers. I thought there would be room for Sparky Lyle (Cy Young as a closer in '77, W-L 99-76, ERA 2.88 SVS-OPP 238-274) but his peak wasn't high enough, then Gossage took over in '78 and became a legend.
Yeah the guy deserves a mention at least, I mean there are couple in the list I'd put Sparky over.
I definitely considered Sparky Lyle and had him at #25 at one point.. also thought about Steve Bedrosian and Red Beck.
@@HummBabyBaseball No offense but Sparky was better than these two as well.
@@Iamhungey it's all subjective; you could tell me the EXACT correct order and you would be happy then other people would still complain.
@@HummBabyBaseball Yeah but still I wouldn't put Bedrock over Sparky especially since he had one good year and the latter had better seasons than that.
No. 25 - Dave Righetti: I believe he even threw a no-hitter before he was converted to a closer.
No. 5 - Lee Smith: Smith was the closer for the first team I ever started following as a baseball fan: the Cubs. As such, Smith was the pitcher who called my attention to the closer role.
Hoyt Wilhelm, on this list, also threw a no-hitter.
@@kbuselmeier69 Yes, I believe he did. Good recall.
He did but Dennis Eckersley takes the cake, he threw a no-hitter , had 200 ks in a season, was a 20 game winner, 100 complete games with 40 shutouts and over 2,000 strikeouts in his career. He was a top notch starter before he became an elite reliever with the Oakland A's. Also want to point out that if it wasn't for that miserable waste of time baseball strike in 1981 he could had 200 career wins but instead he has to settle for 197.
@Robert-qm5so This subthread I started isn't a comparison, so there's no need for any one-upmanship here. Dennis Eckersley threw a no-hitter? In this context, that's all that matters. 😉
Righetti no-hit Boston in Boston and finished it by striking Wade Boggs out…on the 4th of July, I’m old enough to have watched that live when the TV cut over to that memorable game.
Glad you mentioned Hoyt Wilhelm, he is the template, more or less, for closing games.
An honorable mention: Dave Smith, had about 225 saves, mostly for Houston. A bit of a different closer, his best pitch was a changeup--given the Houston staff was full of fireball starters, the different look made him an effective closer
Rick aguilera...??? Kent tekulve??
@@winstonjames2583 I brainfarted, should have mentioned Tekulve
I would also put an honorable mention to people like Jesse Oroscco, Jason Isringhausen, and very short-lived, Don Asse
Gus Trianos had to catch for that dude, that’s gotta suck catching for a knuckleballer
@@denistuohy2535 LIke Geno Petralli of the Texas Rangers in 1987? As the personal catcher for knuckleballer Charlie Hough, Geno set a modern record for passed balls in a season with 35. 😲
If we are going to include players with impressive short stints as closers, John Smoltz deserves a mention. He set a record for most saves in a single season for the time, and tallied up 150+ saves in only 3 seasons, AFTER having a potentially career ending injury. He could have cleared 300+ saves if he remained a closer instead of returning to the rotation in 2005.
Smoltz is the only player ever with at least 200 wins and 150 saves
Smoltz was never the single season saves leader. Rodriguez set the record with 62 when he broke the record of 57 set by Bobby Thigpen in 1990. Smoltz's season high was 55.
@@blmjusa Correction: He set what was the NL record for most saves with 55 in 2002.
@@davidmatheny1993 ahhh.....gotcha!
Mo Rivera is the undisputed, no doubt about it GOAT of closers. He's the undeniable #1 closer of all time!! His postseason stats alone are mind boggling.
Mo really hit his own when he perfected his cutter. Threw it 70 percent of the time and guys still missed it. Wagner was a beast too, i could not imagine how talented he was. He was actually right handed but learned to throw left because he kept breaking his right arm.
@mrbreck1 Mo Rivera had a 0.70 ERA in 141 pressure packed postseason innings! These are his playoff and World Series stats! He's a big reason the Yankees won 5 World Series when he was there!
@@mrbreck1 I'm not sure batters missed Mo's cutter all that often. They more likely made contact with it but had their bats sawed in half by the pitch. Mo thrived on getting batters to make soft contact with his cutter.
@@philb.1502Would have been 6 WS but he’s only human.
his failure against Diamondhead in the world series is what i remember most
100% agree with this list. One legend after another. AND-- it's a real human, narrating a real script. Nice work, human.
I’ll always remember Dave Righetti as the pitching coach for the Giants in their World Series runs in the 2010’s!!!
Wow I did not realize until I looked at the reference page, how good Jonathan Paplebon was for the Phillies. Those early 2010’s Phillies were so weird.
The Halo's dynamic duo of Percy and K-Rod during the 2002 Postseason and especially in the 2002 World Series against the Giants was lethal just pure greatness by those 2 Halo's
Those two along with Brendan Donnelly had the postseason of a lifetime. Which was needed given how young/inexperienced the starters were.
A Disney dream come true, in 2002. Except for the thunder sticks.
As crucial as Percival's success was to the Angels' World Series title in 2002, it's funny that the one memory I have of him in that postseason run is Barry Bonds hitting off him the farthest ball Tim Salmon had ever seen a guy hit. Troy tried to sneak a 98-mph heater past Bonds, but Bonds hit it into the next county. 🤣 Yeah, I've never been an Angels fan, so I didn't see much of Percival's career with them.
@@10Peter25 He shook it off like it never happened and got the next guy for the save
@@DanielSong39 Yeah, he had to have known that Bonds often did that when pitchers tried to blow him away like that. It's not like Craig Counsell was the guy that took him deep.
Great list. One of my favorites was Rob Beck with the Giants in the 1990's, one of the best of that decade.
Wish that Rick Aguilera found a way on this list
84 consecutive saves!😮 Lord have mercy. That is an insane stat line.
Just found your channel. Everyone loves a good list. New sub 💪
Thank you!
Here's a more difficult list, top 10 best set up men.
Duane Ward with the jays back in the day was dynamite..he would go 2 or 3 innings and close as well
Duane Ward and Mike Stanton, especially during his time with the Yankees
Jesse Orosco
Sparky Lyle was the Yankee closer 1973 - 1978. In 77, Lyle won the CY Young award. The first American League relief pitcher to do that. Lead the League twice with saves. Deserves more credit.
Terrific list of closers but would have liked to have seen some love for the original Fireman, Dick "The Monster" Radatz. In his seven years of MLB pitching he developed the role of closer before anyone used the term. He was always a reliever (which at the time meant he was a failed big league pitcher) who started coming out of the bullpen late in games to relieve the previous reliever. Thus, the closer was born. He was 6'6" with a perpetual scowl and scared the crap out of the hitters. Nothing but heat and chin music. Yes, yes, the numbers don't equal most of the people on this list, but being the first (or one of the first) counts for something. I never saw him in person but remember watching him on a B&W TV play for the Red Sox with Curt Gowdy calling the games. Yeah, I'm old.
He also has the record for most strikeouts in a season for a relief pitcher like 180 something
Padres fan here. Hoffman is a legend here in SD.
The 95-99 Indians owned Troy Percival, and I loved watching it as a kid. He never stood a chance against us.
Imagine a player like Hoyt wilhelm in today’s game. A reliever who pitches 3-4 innings every other game with a knuckleball as his main pitch. He’d be must watch baseball
@@Mizoo1992 much like Tim Wakefield
@@davidbayliss4415 Tim Wakefield who gives up half as many runs
@@DanielSong39 I think you mean more runs - half as many as Hoyt Wilhelm would be amazing. That would be some next level HOF shit.
I really enjoyed watching Billy Koch close out games for the Jays in the late 90's-early 00's
Huge Randy Myers snub! Also honorable mention to Jesse Orosco for postseason close outs.
Jeff Reardon, Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Mariano Rivera=Hands Down! #20? At least he is on your list!
Hoffman might be a little high here, most advanced metrics have him behind Rivera, Wilhelm, Gossage, and Wagner
I’m surprised Randy Meyers wasn’t on here
Emmanuel Clase is next to go on this list
He's extremely good, but I wonder how the use of PED will affect his HOF career...
I mean, no one remembers since he was unknown at that time, but boldenone is an obvious bad subsitance.
Just a minor disagreement, you said Hoffman was the best reliever in baseball by the late 1990s. I would think Mariano Rivera was the best relief pitcher in the late 1990s. Not a big deal but Mariano was already imo the best at that time.
Jeff Reardon & Tom Henke both were Terminator
Eck did something no other closer has ever done: In the 1990 season, he had more saves than baserunners allowed.
Geezus! Nice stat!
Came here to see if John Smoltz got included. He was a closer for just 3 seasons and a coffee cup of another, and was only the 2nd best closer in the NL at the time because of Eric Gagne's peak, while Trevor Hoffman was just doing his thing in San Diego.
I'd have Wilhelm much higher (probably top 5), but that's a pretty small nitpick. Excellent list! Totally agreed about Rivera being a slam dunk for #1. Probably the easiest choice for the #1 all-time spot at any position.
Mike Marshall won the CY young as a closer
really good video! I love Ecker!!!
I've spent most of my life sleeping on Tom Henke. He spoke at our D.A.R.E. graduation in 1996, and he signed my shirt. But I had never heard of him. I thought he was just some random MLB player until now
Maybe have Kent Tekulve of Mike Marshall on here as well
And John Hiller 👌
Always more impressed by guys like Fingers who would sometimes go 2-3 innings to get the save
Was hoping to see Todd Worrell on this list, albeit i would expect him to come in low.
Maybe do a top 25 middle relievers list?
Im biased but was hoping for my guy Bobby Thigpen to be mentioned...
Jason Iserenhaussen. I know I botched the spelling. But I believe he should have been in the list. 23 maybe 24. Good video
Without a doubt I'd of had him top 20
Izzy to me is one of the most underrated closers of all time. Had 300 saves on the button and 217 of those with the Cards.
Fingers didn't have 20 post seasons games where as Rivera did. It does make a difference. Not to mention position players today getting hits when it was really an error. The players today are spoiled misfits .
Great video! Can you do top 25 Short Stops of the 90s ? We had so many good ones
My favorite was Tippy Martinez. ;)
Couple of people I feel were snubs
Tom Gordon
Keith Foulke
David Robertson
Josh Hader
Darren O’Day
Joakim Soria
Rafael Soriano
Randy Myers!
@@James_St._James I got him around 50
@@elizidele2916 No way. Add in John Rocker, Rob Dibble, and Mitch Williams too.
I'll take Smoltz's closer peak years over Gagne's any day.
And he did it clean
I wish you would have added a honorable mentions section just to see my favorite pitcher John Smoltz could have been included
Sad the Shooter Rod Beck didn't make the list. He was filthy with SF and solid with the cubs.
Wetteland should have been higher and you should have mentioned that he was the Yankee's closer in 96 and Mo replaced in 97 to start his historic run.
Joe Nathan could have been a bit lower on the list.
I think it’s safe to say if eckersley started his career as a closer he would easily be the all time saves leader and a few spots higher on the list
He was excellent as a starter, if not he would of never been a reliever 🤷
All 25 were nasty in their primes
Mariano Riviera should be on the cover of this video clip.
This is a very good list. It's too bad that Mike Marshall was a bit below those selected.
Excellent pick
Mike Marshall had an incredible year for the Dodgers in 1974 : 106 appearances (all in relief), a 15-12 record, 21 saves, a 2.42 ERA in 208.1 innings.
Too bad his peak was too short.
I agree also where is Jeff Montgomery!? He had over 300 saves in his career!
Nen at #19 is WRONG!!! And Rod Beck not being on this list is criminal in my opinion. He should have at least been #25
There are Yankee haters who would have issues with Mo at the top.
Not to mention those with fetish for strike/inning ratio.
Those "fans" are fair weather fans who never saw Mo pitch
@@bigrich6075 Exactly.
There's an idiot in Quora who wants to put Lee Smith and Wagner over Mo because of the stupid K/inning ratio. I wonder if he had taken a peek at their postseason numbers.
I'm a Red Sox fan and I give respect where it's due. I hate what he did against my team, but an amazing pitcher is an amazing pitcher.
Glad to see some love for Kimbrel. No doubt he’s not the elite pitcher he used to be. But dude is still a solid closer. Jansen too. I’m really interested to see where they both wind up. If they have a few more years left in them, they could grab a ton more saves
I’ve loved baseball since I was born and in 45 years I’ve never seen a closer with nastier stuff than Brad Lidge and Zach Britton. They are undeniably top 25 of all time and top 3 on pure stuff alone. And John Smoltz is also a top 25 closer.
Hot take: Joe Nathan deserves to be in the Hall Of Fame.
Hard to believe Zac Britton isn’t on there just cause of ‘16 when he got hosed out of the CY Young. 0.54 ERA and 47-47 in Saves. Only 38 hits in 67 innings. 7 Runs!!!! I would say one of the best single seasons for any pitcher in the modern era. Jose Mesa deserved it too over at least 10 guys on the list.
Zac Britton had the filthiest stuff of all time next to Brad Lidge. Making contact with those guys was considered an achievement.
Billy Wagner should be in the Hall of Fame his ERA is better then 7 of the 8 relievers that are and other than Rivera its the lowest of all pitchers after WW2 and of all pitchers ever with at least 800 innings his Kper9 K% of batters faced hits per 9 and batting average against are the best all time
No Jeff Montgomery 304 Saves 3.27 ERA All time Royals save leader. Wow
More than any other role, rating closers really depends on how you weigh peak vs career....
Excellent commentary and research.. difficult to argue with any of the 25.
I suppose Tug McGraw and Sparky Lyle were somewhat close, although I don’t know their stats.
Growing up I liked Dick Radatz “ The Monster “ !
@davidswift7776 Glad somebody mentioned Radatz. He was one of those guys who threw one pitch. Everybody knew what was coming. But the combination of velocity and movement on the ball made him a fearsome and highly successful reliever. Unfortunately, Johnny Pesky overworked him and in just a few years Radatz had lost the zip on his fastball. And that was pretty much it for the big man. Nevertheless, he continues to hold the single season MLB record for strikeouts in a season by a relief pitcher with 181Ks- set all the way back in 1964.
Great list 🎉!! Wow 🤯!!!
I am pleasantly surprised with the different people on your list.
More closers should be considered for the HOF.
What about willie hernandez
Let me take a wild guess number 1 is Mariano Rivera…
No isringhausen....
Agree with Listo Unfortunately there aren't any dominant closers anymore with metrics and pitch count
John Hiller
Bill Campbell
Mike Marshall
Bobby Thigpen
Eddie Guardado
Sparky Lyle
Wettland is also an Angie list participant. So there’s that.
John Smoltz? Next to Eckersley no one has done the starter/ closer role better.
Fernando Rodney Honorable Mention:
Uhhh, Jason Isringhausen needed to be on this list for sure??? :s
great vid
the reason Eric Gagne was a flash in the pan is he used steroids. When he was first got called up he stank and then all of a sudden he was unhittable. Then the league cracked down on steroids and he stank again.
I enjoy hearing that bro great job
How about this for a suggestion, MLB players who won the mvp but fell off after that or CY Young winners who had terrible season next season. Perhaps one season wonders
One season wonders sounds good! Thanks!!
Wonder if Ronald Acuná will be that? Two ACL tears in 4 seasons.
They say it usually takes 18 to 24 months to fully recover from such an injury. Which he proved in his first injury when they just threw him back out there. Doing it twice (coming completely back) would be special in it's own right. I think he can get close which would still be an awesome player. But we'll have to see what happens
@@patrickstrahm05
Willie McGee's 85 season was amazing. Then the injuries started.... What if...
@@slothkng I can see the Braves making him into a DH tbh.
Top 25 closers in MLB history and there is no picture of Mariano Rivera in the thumbnail.
Do you think Clase will make this list after he retires?
he's already made historical bests and he's leading a historical relieving unit. as a closer he the envy of the major leagues. i think he should be mentioned at least
Mariano is the goat
As a Dbacks fan, I'm overjoyed that Mariano Rivera couldn't get post-season save #43. 😂
He’s only human.
Gossage is right. It's not fair to compare him to the likes of Trevor and Mariano. In Gossage's day, closers often pitched 8th and 9th to preserve their teams win. Since Eck became the closer for the A's in the mid 1980's, the closers pitch only the last inning.
I honestly thought it said top 25 MLB Losers! 😂 that color scheme threw me off
Lol, that John wetland strike out was so far outside.
Gee I wonder who's gonna be #1
As a Reds fan I'm a little upset that they traded a few of these great closers
Definitely; that sucks!
@@HummBabyBaseball btw did you enjoy that Snell no hitter against us?
@arnoldcox9128 it was amazing of course!
@HummBabyBaseball I bet 😆...but he was on his game that night I have to respect a great performance 👏
Both Cincy and the Mets had Franco and Myers at some point
Tug McGraw??? No???
Where’s big bad Brad lidge. He went perfect in 2008 when he helped the Phillies win the World Series even striking out the final batter to win the game. Had one of the nastiest sliders ever in baseball history
Brad Lidge had the best shit in MLB history period. Zac Britton being the only guy with comparable stuff in my opinion. You couldn’t even make contact against Brad Lidge (besides Al Pujols)
Hell YEAH a CLOSER VID! BRIAN WILSON ALL DAY!!! SERGIO ROMO IS MY BOY!!!
SF GIANTS $eVr!!!
I love that RAGS made the LIST!
ROBB NEN!!!
What about Kenny Powers?
Trying to think if there’s a clearer cut GOAT than Mo in any American sport, at any position.
Jordan is clear to me but of course others will argue Wilt, Lebron, Kobe, Bird etc…
Brady, some will argue Montana and soon they’ll argue Mahomes.
Who’s out there that I may be forgetting, where there’s universally no debate?
Gretzky.
@@big8dog887 There you have it. Knew I was forgetting someone.
100% agree
Thanks
Clearly Billy Wagner is number 1, and it’s not even close.
Brad Lidge is probably number 3 just behind Rivera.
And lastly Ryan “oh god, here we go again/ get him out of the F ING game!!!” Pressly is probably number 7 in this list.
12:05 “Leaving the league in saves…”?
What about John Smoltz he was only a closer for 3 years Gagne is here and he was only good for 3 years Smoltz is the only player ever with both 200 wins and 150 saves
Smoltz is close for that brief peak as a closer.. just missed the list
John Smoltz?
Honorable mention for "Nasty Boy" Randy Myers ???
Perhaps Derek Turnbo could’ve been something if he wasn’t caught with PED’s
No Doug Jones? How 'bout those Cleveland INDIANS!
He doesn’t belong on this list certainly but no one brought me more thrills as a baseball fan then roller coaster Todd Jones