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Who were the best
relief pitchers in 2005?
John Dewan's Stat of
the Week™
November 16, 2005
Mariano Rivera stood head and
shoulders above eveyone else, but looking at the top ten
pitchers in relief ERA you find three pitchers from the
World Champion Chicago White Sox.
|
Name |
Team |
ERA |
Saves |
Holds |
|
Rivera, Mariano |
NYY |
1.38 |
43 |
0 |
|
Wagner, Billy |
Phi |
1.51 |
38 |
0 |
|
Street, Huston |
Oak |
1.72 |
23 |
0 |
|
Turnbow, Derrick |
Mil |
1.74 |
39 |
2 |
|
Cordero, Chad |
Was |
1.82 |
47 |
0 |
|
Linebrink, Scott |
SD |
1.83 |
1 |
26 |
|
Dempster, Ryan |
ChC |
1.85 |
33 |
0 |
|
Cotts, Neal |
CWS |
1.94 |
0 |
13 |
|
Politte, Cliff |
CWS |
2.00 |
1 |
23 |
|
Hermanson, Dustin |
CWS |
2.04 |
34 |
5 |
|
*Note: Pitchers with
50+ innings in relief in 2005 |
The first chart was ranked by
ERA, but what if we look at opponent on-base plus slugging
percentage (OPS)? Here's the ranking by OPS:
|
Name |
Team |
ERA |
Saves |
Holds |
OPS |
|
Rivera, Mariano |
NYY |
1.38 |
43 |
0 |
0.465 |
|
Wagner, Billy |
Phi |
1.51 |
38 |
0 |
0.494 |
|
Howry, Bob |
Cle |
2.47 |
3 |
29 |
0.515 |
|
Cotts, Neal |
CWS |
1.94 |
0 |
13 |
0.527 |
|
Wise, Matt |
Mil |
3.36 |
1 |
10 |
0.530 |
|
Nathan, Joe |
Min |
2.70 |
43 |
0 |
0.534 |
|
Street, Huston |
Oak |
1.72 |
23 |
0 |
0.535 |
|
Heilman, Aaron |
NYM |
2.18 |
5 |
5 |
0.542 |
|
Farnsworth, Kyle |
Atl |
2.19 |
16 |
19 |
0.544 |
|
Reyes, Al |
StL |
2.15 |
3 |
16 |
0.550 |
It's still Mariano Rivera, with
Billy Wagner number two again. Bobby Howry's superb season
comes to light in this chart. His 29 holds were third in the
American League (behind the 33 turned in by Tom Gordon with
the Yankees and Scot Shields with the Angels).
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