Aroldis Chapman surpassed Hoyt Wilhelm’s long-standing mark for career strikeouts by a relief pitcher when he recorded his 1,364th K as a reliever, according to the article. Wilhelm accumulated his total over 1,872 1/3 innings after debuting in 1952 and pitching into his late 40s; Chapman reached the mark in under 850 innings. The two pitchers could not be more different — Wilhelm’s fluttering knuckleball versus Chapman’s triple-digit heat, including a 105.8 mph pitch in 2010 — and Chapman still averaged a 97.3 mph fastball more recently in his 17th season with a noted resurgence over the past two years with the Boston Red Sox.
The piece examined where Chapman fits among modern closers by taking the top 12 relievers on the all-time saves leaderboard and ranking them across 10 categories, according to the article. Those categories were: saves, innings pitched, WAR, strikeouts per nine, ERA+, save percentage, win probability added, OPS allowed, win-loss percentage and postseason WPA. Scoring awarded one point for first in a category down to 12 for last, with a lower total indicating a higher overall ranking. The author excluded Hoyt Wilhelm, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers and Bruce Sutter because those pitchers largely predated modern closer usage patterns and focused on the past 40 years.
At the bottom of the 12-man list was Dennis Eckersley in 12th with 96 points, according to the article. Eckersley, the 1992 American League Cy Young and MVP winner, totaled 390 saves (ninth in MLB history) as a reliever. The article counted just his 12 seasons as a reliever, noting a dominant five-year stretch from 1988–92 with a 1.90 ERA, 220 saves and 26 unintentional walks in 359 innings, followed by another five years that produced about 150 saves but with a 4.06 ERA and a lower save percentage.
John Franco ranked 11th with 89 points, according to the article. The 5-foot-10 lefty with a screwball was a four-time All-Star who led his league in saves three times and finished with 424 saves (seventh all time). Franco posted a 2.89 career ERA, pitched until age 44 and remains third on the all-time games pitched list, but did not reach a second Hall of Fame ballot.
Lee Smith was listed 10th with 82 points and Francisco Rodriguez 9th with 76, according to the article. Smith, the big right-hander who was the all-time saves leader at retirement, recorded at least 29 saves for five different teams and finished with 478 saves (fourth); he is a Hall of Famer and bridged the change in closer usage, topping 100 innings three times early in his career and closing with 37 saves in 49 innings. Rodriguez earned notice as a playoff standout during the Angels’ 2002 World Series title run when he won five games in relief.
