Didn't even have to click the link to know that Rollie Fingers was gonna be in there. Though his 'stache is more of the Snidely Whiplash, evil-chuckle-while-twisting-one-end type.

in other news, i love the phrase "porn 'stache"

Fingers is a no brainer...As was Quiz and Goose...but No Al Hrabosky?



I was trying to find a video of his routine before pitching but couldn't. Anyone?

submitter: Top 10 relief pitchers closers of all time

FTFY subby

This bodes well for Clay Zavada:


Career MLB ERA of Clay Zavada, with 'stache: 0.00
Career MLB ERA of Mariano Rivera, who has no 'stache: 2.30

Do the math.

All I care is that Henke made the list.

*leaves thread satisfied*

Hoffman gets insufficient love.

chimp_ninja: This bodes well for Clay Zavada:


Career MLB ERA of Clay Zavada, with 'stache: 0.00
Career MLB ERA of Mariano Rivera, who has no 'stache: 2.30

Do the math.

WhyteRaven74: submitter: Top 10 relief pitchers closers of all time

FTFY subby

Closers are relief pitchers, and there aren't any relief pitchers that aren't closers who would make that list (otherwise they'd be closers)

Eck still has the porn 'stashe. His mullett (AKA 'moss') has been trimmed a bit short, though.

Does anyone else hate the format of SI.com? I'm on an older PC laptop with a normal screen, and I have to scroll down to see most of the picture, then scroll up to click to the next one, rinse and repeat.

I'm sure it's not a problem for all you Mac users out there - the newest ones have screens bigger than most TVs 20 years ago.

WhyteRaven74: submitter: Top 10 relief pitchers closers of all time

FTFY subby

Setup men and middle relievers have been passe for awhile.

/subby

So they list Hoffman as #3, and tell us all the ways that he's better than Mariano Rivera....but then list Rivera as #1?

chimp_ninja:Career MLB ERA of Clay Zavada, with 'stache: 0.00

Apparently he lost the game today. I wonder if he shaved.

On another note, anyone know of an analysis of the "left handed specialist"? I'm constantly annoyed when a reliever is brought in, just to face a single lefty batter... and then promptly walks them or gives up a hit. Seems like it happens every single time.

dettigersnw22: So they list Hoffman as #3, and tell us all the ways that he's better than Mariano Rivera....but then list Rivera as #1?

Yes. Because saves and save percentage don't make him better.

I made the case for Hoffman's brilliant career recently (new window), but the fact remains: Rivera is in a class by himself. The debate is who gets to be #2, and Hoffman is very much a part of that debate.

dettigersnw22: So they list Hoffman as #3, and tell us all the ways that he's better than Mariano Rivera....but then list Rivera as #1?

They would have listed the ways Rivera is better than Hoffman, but lack the necessary bandwidth.

List is Fail without:



/I keed.

meh - prefer the closers of the 70s and 80s, when they called them firemen, because the came in and saved the day. Tony Larussa ruined thingy by turning Eck into a 45 inning a year guy.

He's also responsible for all the LOOGies (left handed one out guys) that make the games so damn long.

DipsomaniacDawg: List is Fail without:



/I keed.

That's painful. I'll always remember Ayala as the answer to this question: "How come those Seattle teams with Griffey, A-Rod, the Big Unit, Edgar, Buhner, Moyer, Wilson and plenty of useful spare parts never reached a World Series?"

I do remember the Terminator quite well, but this person was the man when I was growing up.




/link hotter than Wallach playing third.

Smoltz deserves to be there, somewhere around 8-10.

chimp_ninja: Career MLB ERA of Clay Zavada, with 'stache: 0.00

Until today.

Joey Votto FTW.

2. Eckersley
In 1990 he had more saves than base runners allowed. Think about that for a minute.

Now think about that broom the Reds showed up with that October.

Klippoklondike: Smoltz deserves to be there, somewhere around 8-10.

I would agree.

/And is Clay Zavada doing a Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday impression?

As a Red Sox Fan, I'd have to say that Riviera's place on the list is well deserved. Sox have got the better of him a few times this season, but the guy is a class-act and amazing on the mound.

gambit60: Does anyone else hate the format of SI.com? I'm on an older PC laptop with a normal screen, and I have to scroll down to see most of the picture, then scroll up to click to the next one, rinse and repeat.

I'm sure it's not a problem for all you Mac users out there - the newest ones have screens bigger than most TVs 20 years ago.

Well no since I don't have a girly man laptop, I gots me a big honking ass pc with a geforce 9800 with 512 megabytes dedicated to the card so's I can play my games and watch HD tv with my antennae.

Hey, I'm not saying Rivera isnt better than Hoffman....just pointing out how the author of this list didnt exactly present his cases very well.

Hey- what about John Rocker?

/ducks

John Franco feels left out. Really. Great career ERA+ and what, 4th all time in saves?

No K-Rod? Really? 229 career saves already. Single season record. I'm not saying that he should be 1 or 2, but at least in the top ten. Even if you deduct points for his finger pointing routine and screams.

Wow I remember watching The Quize in K.C. in the 80s, he was a trip, but yeah, the Mad Hungarian, talk about a lunatic.

/ Jeez now our crazy baseball players are just crazy, not pizazz crazy

#1 on Whodat?'s Top 10 Relief Pitchers of his Childhood

chapman: No K-Rod? Really? 229 career saves already. Single season record. I'm not saying that he should be 1 or 2, but at least in the top ten. Even if you deduct points for his finger pointing routine and screams.

I would say K-Rod (and Papelbon, and whatever other current closers you might name) don't have the longevity yet to be in the discussion. Rivera's the only one still playing (I think?) on the list, and he's just sick 95% of the time.
Happily for me as a Red Sox fan, game 4 of the 2004 ALCS was one of the other 5%.

List is worthless without this guy:



Just kidding.

But this guy!



(At least he was from '84-'86)



But seriously - 57 saves in 1990. The team won 94 games.

And in addition to 57 saves? Four wins.

So in 61 of the White Sox' 94 wins, Thigpen either got the win or the save. It was an amazing year for Thigpen... but it was all downhill from there.

Whodat?: #1 on Whodat?'s Top 10 Relief Pitchers of his Childhood

I was waiting for you to show up with Henneman.

I saw most of those guys (I was a little too young to appreciate Rollie) and IMHO in terms of sheer intimidation, nobody came close to Gossage. He damn near killed Ron Cey in I think '78. That guy was just flat out scary.

redmid17: Setup men and middle relievers have been passe for awhile.

Except they're used more now than any time before in baseball.

Mole Man: cache.deadspin.com

I miss those old Expos uniforms.

For three years, 1962 - 1964, Dick Radatz was better than any of those guys. Sadly, his success was also his undoing, as the Red Sox managers pitched him until his arm fell off. He once pitched 6 innings of relief, coming back the next day to pitch 9 more.

He still holds the record for strikeouts by a relief pitcher, with 181 Ks in 157 innings. In 1963 he was second on the team in wins with 15, and a 1.97 ERA. In fact, he won or saved more than half the team's victories. In one game against the Yankees that season he came in with the bases loaded and stuck out Mckey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Elston Howard on 10 pitches.

Quiz FTW.

Err, the best lefty closer is not on that list? 4th in career saves, and no respect at all.

Fail!



/Boobies

LoR75:

/Boobies

lol, you just got filterpwn3d.

Rivera. My favorite athlete of all time. Class act, best reliever to play the game.

chapman: No K-Rod? Really? 229 career saves already. Single season record. I'm not saying that he should be 1 or 2, but at least in the top ten. Even if you deduct points for his finger pointing routine and screams.

He dropped off the list for walking Mo last weekend.

chapman: No K-Rod? Really? 229 career saves already. Single season record. I'm not saying that he should be 1 or 2, but at least in the top ten. Even if you deduct points for his finger pointing routine and screams.

He lost his mystique when he lost the touch on his fastball. His array of sliders are devastating, but you need a fastball to keep hitters in check. Frankie could be up there with Hoffman and Rivera if he could locate his fastball more consistently. His changeup has developed pretty well over the years, but like a hard slider, it's dependent on the hitter chasing it believing it's a fastball because you don't put them in the zone very often on the risk of hanging one. Maybe he'll figure it out one day, but I don't know.

He's a quality relief pitcher, and benefited highly from tutelage by Troy Percival, but his growing walks and shrinking k:bb ratio will not be kind in the coming years if the trend continues. Hitters have stopped swinging at his junk and forced him to throw more pitches and thus walk more because he can't spot his fastball consistently, and it only gets worse from there.

oldweevil: Whodat?: #1 on Whodat?'s Top 10 Relief Pitchers of his Childhood

I was waiting for you to show up with Henneman.

I'm nothing if not predictable. ;)

LoR75: Err, the best lefty closer is not on that list? 4th in career saves, and no respect at all.

Fail!


/Boobies

This!

I'm happy Tom Henke. Would have loved to see Sparky Lyle and Steve Bedrosian on there.

LoR75: Err, the best lefty closer is not on that list? 4th in career saves, and no respect at all.

Fail!



/Boobies

The best lefty closer is on the list. He's #7.

The second best lefty closer is Sparky Lyle. Just missed, I guess.

LoR75: Err, the best lefty closer is not on that list? 4th in career saves, and no respect at all.

Fail!



/Boobies

This!!! I even had the same picture to post. PLUS!! He had an awesome 'stache. John Franco was one of my favorite players, let alone closer.

gambit60: LoR75:

/Boobies

lol, you just got filterpwn3d.

I know...ha, after a year of lurking, you think that I would ensure not to put the fact that it's my Boobies?

Still, my point about Franco remains.

filterpwn3d twice?

/self