Friday, February 15, 2008
Top Forty Pitching Seasons by a Yankee - Relievers
We finish our walk down memory lane with the best seasons by a Yankee reliever. I used the same methodology as I used for the starting pitchers in the last entry. The only difference is that the rate version of RSAA is computed over 100 innings instead of 200.The increase of specialization and the slavish devotion to the save rule have changed how relievers are used, which makes direct comparison pretty hard.
So with that in mind, here's the list of top 40 seasons by a Yankee reliever:
| Rank | Player | Year | Team | G | IP | RA | ERA | W | L | H | HR | R | ER | BB | K | RSAA | ERSAA | FRSAA | RSAA/100 |
| 1 | Wilcy Moore | 1927 | NYA | 50 | 213.0 | 2.87 | 2.28 | 19 | 7 | 185 | 3 | 68 | 54 | 59 | 75 | 41.7 | 38.0 | 14.4 | 19.6 |
| 2 | Mariano Rivera | 1996 | NYA | 61 | 107.7 | 2.09 | 2.09 | 8 | 3 | 73 | 1 | 25 | 25 | 34 | 130 | 35.6 | 30.2 | 31.4 | 33.1 |
| 3 | Johnny Murphy | 1934 | NYA | 40 | 207.7 | 3.42 | 3.12 | 14 | 10 | 193 | 11 | 79 | 72 | 76 | 70 | 30.6 | 22.4 | 0.0 | 14.8 |
| 4 | Joe Page | 1947 | NYA | 56 | 141.3 | 2.61 | 2.48 | 14 | 8 | 105 | 5 | 41 | 39 | 72 | 116 | 27.0 | 20.8 | 15.4 | 19.1 |
| 5 | Johnny Sain | 1953 | NYA | 40 | 189.0 | 3.24 | 3.00 | 14 | 7 | 189 | 16 | 68 | 63 | 45 | 84 | 26.6 | 20.9 | 10.7 | 14.1 |
| 6 | Rudy May | 1980 | NYA | 41 | 175.3 | 2.87 | 2.46 | 15 | 5 | 144 | 14 | 56 | 48 | 39 | 133 | 26.4 | 25.6 | 16.5 | 15.0 |
| 7 | Sparky Lyle | 1977 | NYA | 72 | 137.0 | 2.69 | 2.17 | 13 | 5 | 131 | 7 | 41 | 33 | 33 | 68 | 26.2 | 26.8 | 11.6 | 19.2 |
| 8 | Joe Page | 1949 | NYA | 60 | 135.3 | 2.93 | 2.59 | 13 | 8 | 103 | 8 | 44 | 39 | 75 | 99 | 25.1 | 22.0 | 7.2 | 18.6 |
| 9 | Mariano Rivera | 2004 | NYA | 74 | 78.7 | 1.94 | 1.94 | 4 | 2 | 65 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 66 | 24.7 | 21.4 | 13.3 | 31.5 |
| 10 | Mariano Rivera | 2006 | NYA | 63 | 75.0 | 1.92 | 1.80 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 55 | 24.7 | 22.5 | 13.0 | 32.9 |
| 11 | Tom Gordon | 2004 | NYA | 80 | 89.7 | 2.31 | 2.21 | 9 | 4 | 56 | 5 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 96 | 24.6 | 21.7 | 18.9 | 27.4 |
| 12 | Luis Arroyo | 1961 | NYA | 65 | 119.0 | 2.57 | 2.19 | 15 | 5 | 83 | 5 | 34 | 29 | 49 | 87 | 24.4 | 22.4 | 13.1 | 20.5 |
| 13 | Mariano Rivera | 1999 | NYA | 66 | 69.0 | 1.96 | 1.83 | 4 | 3 | 43 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 18 | 52 | 23.8 | 21.5 | 12.9 | 34.6 |
| 14 | Lindy McDaniel | 1970 | NYA | 62 | 111.7 | 2.34 | 2.01 | 9 | 5 | 88 | 7 | 29 | 25 | 23 | 81 | 23.7 | 22.0 | 14.8 | 21.3 |
| 15 | Tom Zachary | 1929 | NYA | 26 | 119.7 | 3.23 | 2.48 | 12 | 0 | 131 | 5 | 43 | 33 | 30 | 35 | 23.7 | 23.9 | 6.6 | 19.8 |
| 16 | Mariano Rivera | 2003 | NYA | 64 | 70.7 | 1.91 | 1.66 | 5 | 2 | 61 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 21.9 | 20.9 | 14.7 | 31.0 |
| 17 | Mariano Rivera | 2005 | NYA | 71 | 78.3 | 2.07 | 1.38 | 7 | 4 | 50 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 18 | 80 | 21.8 | 24.7 | 17.5 | 27.9 |
| 18 | Sparky Lyle | 1974 | NYA | 66 | 114.0 | 2.37 | 1.66 | 9 | 3 | 93 | 6 | 30 | 21 | 43 | 89 | 21.8 | 24.3 | 8.9 | 19.2 |
| 19 | Dave Righetti | 1986 | NYA | 74 | 106.7 | 2.62 | 2.45 | 8 | 8 | 88 | 4 | 31 | 29 | 35 | 83 | 21.0 | 17.4 | 13.8 | 19.7 |
| 20 | Mariano Rivera | 1997 | NYA | 66 | 71.7 | 2.13 | 1.88 | 6 | 4 | 65 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 68 | 20.9 | 19.6 | 10.6 | 29.2 |
| 21 | Fred Beene | 1973 | NYA | 19 | 91.0 | 2.08 | 1.68 | 6 | 0 | 67 | 5 | 21 | 17 | 27 | 49 | 20.9 | 20.0 | 5.6 | 22.9 |
| 22 | Rich Gossage | 1982 | NYA | 56 | 93.0 | 2.23 | 2.23 | 4 | 5 | 63 | 5 | 23 | 23 | 28 | 102 | 20.8 | 16.2 | 17.4 | 22.4 |
| 23 | Steve Sundra | 1939 | NYA | 24 | 120.7 | 3.21 | 2.76 | 11 | 1 | 110 | 7 | 43 | 37 | 56 | 27 | 20.7 | 18.5 | -6.1 | 17.2 |
| 24 | Lindy McDaniel | 1973 | NYA | 47 | 160.3 | 3.03 | 2.86 | 12 | 6 | 148 | 11 | 54 | 51 | 49 | 93 | 19.8 | 14.3 | 8.0 | 12.3 |
| 25 | Rich Gossage | 1978 | NYA | 63 | 134.3 | 2.75 | 2.01 | 10 | 11 | 87 | 9 | 41 | 30 | 59 | 122 | 19.6 | 23.8 | 9.3 | 14.6 |
| 26 | Mariano Rivera | 2001 | NYA | 71 | 80.7 | 2.68 | 2.34 | 4 | 6 | 61 | 5 | 24 | 21 | 12 | 83 | 19.2 | 18.6 | 18.0 | 23.8 |
| 27 | Mariano Rivera | 1998 | NYA | 54 | 61.3 | 1.91 | 1.91 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 36 | 19.1 | 16.4 | 5.7 | 31.1 |
| 28 | George Mogridge | 1918 | NYA | 45 | 239.3 | 2.93 | 2.18 | 16 | 13 | 232 | 6 | 78 | 58 | 43 | 62 | 19.1 | 16.4 | 0.4 | 8.0 |
| 29 | Ryne Duren | 1959 | NYA | 41 | 76.7 | 2.11 | 1.88 | 3 | 6 | 49 | 6 | 18 | 16 | 43 | 96 | 18.5 | 16.2 | 8.4 | 24.2 |
| 30 | Charles Hudson | 1987 | NYA | 35 | 154.7 | 3.67 | 3.61 | 11 | 7 | 137 | 19 | 63 | 62 | 57 | 100 | 18.5 | 11.2 | -1.9 | 11.9 |
| 31 | Sparky Lyle | 1972 | NYA | 59 | 107.7 | 2.09 | 1.92 | 9 | 5 | 84 | 3 | 25 | 23 | 29 | 75 | 18.2 | 15.2 | 12.2 | 16.9 |
| 32 | Ramiro Mendoza | 1998 | NYA | 41 | 130.3 | 3.45 | 3.25 | 10 | 2 | 131 | 9 | 50 | 47 | 30 | 56 | 18.2 | 15.5 | 3.6 | 13.9 |
| 33 | Mike Stanton | 2001 | NYA | 76 | 80.3 | 2.80 | 2.58 | 9 | 4 | 80 | 4 | 25 | 23 | 29 | 78 | 18.1 | 16.3 | 11.6 | 22.5 |
| 34 | Johnny Murphy | 1941 | NYA | 35 | 77.3 | 2.33 | 1.98 | 8 | 3 | 68 | 1 | 20 | 17 | 40 | 29 | 17.9 | 15.6 | 1.9 | 23.2 |
| 35 | Bob Shirley | 1985 | NYA | 48 | 109.0 | 2.81 | 2.64 | 5 | 5 | 103 | 5 | 34 | 32 | 26 | 55 | 17.9 | 14.4 | 10.3 | 16.5 |
| 36 | Rich Gossage | 1980 | NYA | 64 | 99.0 | 2.64 | 2.27 | 6 | 2 | 74 | 5 | 29 | 25 | 37 | 103 | 17.5 | 16.6 | 14.4 | 17.7 |
| 37 | Mariano Rivera | 2000 | NYA | 66 | 75.7 | 3.09 | 2.85 | 7 | 4 | 58 | 4 | 26 | 24 | 25 | 58 | 17.3 | 15.7 | 11.6 | 22.8 |
| 38 | Dick Tidrow | 1977 | NYA | 49 | 151.0 | 3.40 | 3.16 | 11 | 4 | 143 | 20 | 57 | 53 | 41 | 83 | 17.1 | 12.9 | -4.7 | 11.3 |
| 39 | Clark Griffith | 1905 | NYA | 25 | 101.7 | 2.66 | 1.68 | 9 | 6 | 82 | 1 | 30 | 19 | 15 | 46 | 16.8 | 14.5 | 5.5 | 16.6 |
| 40 | Lee Guetterman | 1989 | NYA | 70 | 103.0 | 2.71 | 2.45 | 5 | 5 | 98 | 6 | 31 | 28 | 26 | 51 | 16.3 | 14.1 | 4.1 | 15.8 |
Wilcy Moore - 1927
As a 30 year old rookie, Wilcy Moore had a monster season. He did start 12 games this season so it may be a little unfair to consider him as a reliever, but he did relieve in 38 games and racked up 13 saves. He did not technically lead the league in ERA because a pitcher had to have 10 complete games to qualify.
Mariano Rivera - 1996
Take arguably the single best pitcher in preventing runs ever and have him pitch 107.7 innings and what do you have? Probably the best season by a Yankee reliever ever. Moore may have been more valuable, but Mo was more dominant. With Rivera setting up John Wetteland, the Yankees won the World Series after what seemed like an interminable 18 year drought.
Johnny Murphy - 1934
I'm not sure if this season should count as a relief season since Murphy started 20 games and relieved in 20. Either way, he was quite good this season.
Joe Page - 1947
Page saved 17 ga es and finished 44 of them in what would be the best season of his career.
Johnny Sain - 1953
Sain made his name as a starter for the Boston Braves from 1942 through 1951 until he was acquired by the Yankees. The Yankees used him a swingman/reliever for the rest of his time there.
Rudy May - 1980
May was a lefty swingman who was basically league average (career ERA+ of 102) but something clicked in 1980 as he alternated between the rotation and bullpen and pitched 175.3 innings with an ERA+ of 159 during his second tour of duty with the Yankees.
Sparky Lyle - 1977
Sparky won the Cy Young in 1977, going 13-5 and saving 26 games with a 2.17 ERA. His reward was a demotion when the Yankees signed Goose Gossage for the following season. As Graig Nettles put in The Bronx Zoo he went from Cy Young to Sayanora.
Joe Page - 1949
Turn the page.
Mariano Rivera - 2004
Mo's best closer season was 2004. Although he had seasons with lower ERAs, he didn't allow a single unearned run while saving 53 games, which is his career high.
Mariano Rivera - 2006
In 2006, Rivera started off shakily and had a 4.91 ERA on April 26 after six games. From April 27th on, he held opposing hitters to a .209/.248/279 line and had an ERA of 1.46.
Tom Gordon - 2004
Flash Gordon may have disappointed in the postseason but he put up two huge seasons setting up Rivera in 2004 and 2005.
Luis Arroyo - 1961
Luis Arroyo was the closer for the famous 1961 Yankees, racking up 15 wins and 29 saves and leading the league in games pitched.
Mariano Rivera - 1999
One of Rivera's seven seasons with an ERA under 2. Think about what an achievement that is.
Lindy McDaniel - 1970
McDaniel came over to the Yankees in 1968 and for the most part had pretty good success over the next six seasons. McDaniel played for 21 seasons.
Tom Zachary - 1929
Zachary was only a Yankee for one full season, which was this one. He was hittable but prevented runs somehow.
Mariano Rivera - 2003
Rivera has been so good that even though he only pitches 70-80 innings a season he owns this list.
Mariano Rivera - 2005
2005 started off with Rivera blowing saves in his first two games against Boston and his ERA stood at 10.80 after two games. From that point on, he held opposing hitters to a .165/.219/.210 line. That's a .429 OPS and it's just sick.
Sparky Lyle - 1974
Lyle had a monster season in 1974, with an ERA of 1.66. He didn't pitch as much as he did in 1977 so his season was less valuable, but on a pure pitch by pitch basis this was his best season.
Dave Righetti - 1986
Rags was a prospect acquired from Texas when the Yankees traded Sparky Lyle. Righetti once fanned 21 hitters in a game when he was on the Tulsa Drillers.
He is also known for throwing a no-hitter against the Red Sox on July 4, 1983..
The Yankees moved him to the pen in 1985 Righetti set the major league record for saves in 1986 with 46, beating Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter's 45. He held the record until 1990 when Bobby Thigpen saved 57 which is still the record today.
Mariano Rivera - 1997
Mo's first season as the closer when John Wetteland left for Texas was a smashing success, although I remember a homer that Mark McGwire hit off him early in the season into the black in center feild.
That's the top 20. I was surprised to see that Goose Gossage didn't have any of the top 20 seasons, although I think we can probably take away Moore, Murphy, and May since they started a significant amount of games.
Same deal as with the starters, I'm just going to comment on some of the remaining seasons.
Fred Beene - 1973
Before Beene wrote Moneyball he was had a great relief season for the Yanks.
Rich Gossage - 1982
Goose finally cracks the list with his 1982.
Steve Sundra - 1939
Who?
Rich Gossage - 1978
Goose's first year as a Yankee and he was a workhorse.
Mariano Rivera - 2001
There's not really much you can say about Rivera that hasn't already been said. Simply awesome.
George Mogridge - 1918
Who?
Ryne Duren - 1959
Duren was famous for his big fastball, his bad vision, his coke bottle glasses and his shaky command.
Charles Hudson - 1987
Hudson started 16 games this season, and began the year 6-0. I still remember thinking he was going to go undefeated.
Ramiro Mendoza - 1998
Mendoza was a key component on the best team of all time.
Mike Stanton - 2001
Before his fastball went bye-bye Stanton was a rock setting up Mariano.
Bob Shirley - 1985
Surely this can't be serious? Shirley had his career year in 1985.
Rich Gossage - 1980
Goose was third in both MVP balloting and Cy Young balloting in 1980.
Mariano Rivera - 2000
I don't think Rivera's consistent excellence can be emphasized enough. As a reliever, his career worst ERA+ in a season is 142. Think about that.
Dick Tidrow - 1977
You have to love a guy whose nickname was Dirt.
Lee Guetterman - 1989
A huge lefty who threw slop and junk, Guetterman had three solid seasons in the Yankee pen from 1989-991.
Here's the breakdown of top forty appearances by pitcher.
Mariano Rivera : 10
Rich Gossage : 3
Sparky Lyle : 3
Joe Page : 2
Johnny Murphy : 2
Lindy McDaniel : 2
Bob Shirley : 1
Charles Hudson : 1
Clark Griffith : 1
Dave Righetti : 1
Dick Tidrow : 1
Fred Beene : 1
George Mogridge : 1
Johnny Sain : 1
Lee Guetterman : 1
Luis Arroyo : 1
Mike Stanton : 1
Ramiro Mendoza : 1
Rudy May : 1
Ryne Duren : 1
Steve Sundra : 1
Tom Gordon : 1
Tom Zachary : 1
Wilcy Moore : 1
Mariano reigns supreme, which isn't exactly a news flash. To more clearly illustrate that, here's how the list of relievers looks if we sort by RSAA per 100 innings.
| Rank | Player | Year | Team | RSAA/100 |
| 1 | Mariano Rivera | 1999 | NYA | 34.6 |
| 2 | Mariano Rivera | 1996 | NYA | 33.1 |
| 3 | Mariano Rivera | 2006 | NYA | 32.9 |
| 4 | Mariano Rivera | 2004 | NYA | 31.5 |
| 5 | Mariano Rivera | 1998 | NYA | 31.1 |
| 6 | Mariano Rivera | 2003 | NYA | 31.0 |
| 7 | Mariano Rivera | 1997 | NYA | 29.2 |
| 8 | Mariano Rivera | 2005 | NYA | 27.9 |
| 9 | Tom Gordon | 2004 | NYA | 27.4 |
| 10 | Ryne Duren | 1959 | NYA | 24.2 |
| 11 | Mariano Rivera | 2001 | NYA | 23.8 |
| 12 | Johnny Murphy | 1941 | NYA | 23.2 |
| 13 | Fred Beene | 1973 | NYA | 22.9 |
| 14 | Mariano Rivera | 2000 | NYA | 22.8 |
| 15 | Mike Stanton | 2001 | NYA | 22.5 |
| 16 | Rich Gossage | 1982 | NYA | 22.4 |
| 17 | Lindy McDaniel | 1970 | NYA | 21.3 |
| 18 | Luis Arroyo | 1961 | NYA | 20.5 |
| 19 | Tom Zachary | 1929 | NYA | 19.8 |
| 20 | Dave Righetti | 1986 | NYA | 19.7 |
| 21 | Wilcy Moore | 1927 | NYA | 19.6 |
| 22 | Sparky Lyle | 1977 | NYA | 19.2 |
| 23 | Sparky Lyle | 1974 | NYA | 19.2 |
| 24 | Joe Page | 1947 | NYA | 19.1 |
| 25 | Joe Page | 1949 | NYA | 18.6 |
| 26 | Rich Gossage | 1980 | NYA | 17.7 |
| 27 | Steve Sundra | 1939 | NYA | 17.2 |
| 28 | Sparky Lyle | 1972 | NYA | 16.9 |
| 29 | Clark Griffith | 1905 | NYA | 16.6 |
| 30 | Bob Shirley | 1985 | NYA | 16.5 |
| 31 | Lee Guetterman | 1989 | NYA | 15.8 |
| 32 | Rudy May | 1980 | NYA | 15.0 |
| 33 | Johnny Murphy | 1934 | NYA | 14.8 |
| 34 | Rich Gossage | 1978 | NYA | 14.6 |
| 35 | Johnny Sain | 1953 | NYA | 14.1 |
| 36 | Ramiro Mendoza | 1998 | NYA | 13.9 |
| 37 | Lindy McDaniel | 1973 | NYA | 12.3 |
| 38 | Charles Hudson | 1987 | NYA | 11.9 |
| 39 | Dick Tidrow | 1977 | NYA | 11.3 |
| 40 | George Mogridge | 1918 | NYA | 8.0 |
Mo doesn't quite Gehrig the list, but he takes the first eight slots.
That wraps up my look back at the best Yankee seasons. I'll be starting my player previews/projections next week as spring training begins to gear up. Thanks to Brian Cronin for the suggestion to look at these past seasons.
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