The Great Mo Rivera

[Angelsjunky]

Lost in all the kerfuffle about the postseason, at least for me, is the fact that Mariano Rivera has pitched his last ball. I was looking over his career stats and was reminded of something amazing which is exemplified by this web page.

 

If you're link-o-phobic, here's the gist of it. Here are the top 10 all-time leaders in career ERA+, which is Baseball Reference's translation of ERA to a context-neutral number. 100 is average at any time (so about 4.00 now, 5.00 in the late 90s), 120 is very good, and 140 is great - for single seasons. For career numbers, adjust down a bit.

 

1. Mariano Rivera 205

2. Pedro Martinez 154

3. Joe Devlin 150

4. Lefty Grove 148

5t. Walter Johnson 147

5t. Hoyt Wilhelm 147

5t. Smoky Joe Wood 147

8t. Clayton Kershaw 146

8t. Dan Quisenberry 146

10. Ed Walsh 145

 

Now granted, Mo was a reliever and relievers tend to have much lower ERAs than starters...but that's a ridiculous gap. And it only includes pitchers with 1,000+ innings (there may be other relievers with similar Adjusted ERAs, but none who pitched anywhere close to as much as Mo)

 

That list also points to how great Pedro Martinez was, and how great Clayton Kershaw has been so far; his ERA+ will almost certainly go quite a bit down before he's through; by comparison, recent greats like Roger Clemens (143), Randy Johnson (136), Greg Maddux (132), and Roy Halladay (131) are more likely comps for Kershaw...if he has a long, strong career.

 

By comparison, Babe Ruth had a career OPS+ of 206 - very similar to Mo's ERA+. But Williams wasn't far off at 190, Bonds at 182, and a bunch of guys in the 160s and 170s. To find someone at 155 - which is the same difference as Mo is from Pedro - you have to go to #22 on the all-time list for hitters, which includes Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Mel Ott, and Joey Votto - all great hitters, but nowhere close to Babe Ruth.

 

So this is just me "tipping the cap" to Mariano Rivera - the greatest relief pitcher in the history of major league baseball.

 

p.s. Mo's best single season ERA+ was 316 in 2008, when he had a 1.40 ERA, just above his career best 1.38 ERA in 2005 (306 ERA+). By comparison, Eric Gagne's amazing Cy Young 2003 was at 337, and Craig Kimbrel was at 399 last year (!); Kimbrel's career ERA+ is 282 in 227 innings.

 

Among Angels closers, Troy Percival's best was his rookie year when he as the set-up man to Lee Smith in 1995, with a 241 ERA+ (1.95 ERA). His best ERA+ as a closer was, fittingly enough, in 2002 with a 232 (1.92 ERA). Francisco Rodriguez's best year, at least according to ERA+, was 2006 when he had a 263 (1.73 ERA). 2004 was also very good - 245 (1.82 ERA) - and all his others were below 200. Bryan Harvey's 1991 was also great - a 257 ERA+ (1.60 ERA).

Edited October 9, 2013 by Angelsjunky

[happybat4]

What was Rodney's era plus last year

[Angel Oracle]

Rodney's was 94 in 2010, 85 in 2011, 113 in 2013, and ......641 in 2012.

[Mark68]

What was Babe Ruth's ERA+ as a pitcher?

[Angelsjunky]

Rodney's was 94 in 2010, 85 in 2011, 113 in 2013, and ......641 in 2012.

 

That just goes to show you that A} one year is a small sample size for a reliever, and B} ERA (or ERA+) isn't enough to go on, unless we're talking about a whole career or at least a few years.

 

What was Babe Ruth's ERA+ as a pitcher?

 

122. He did lead the league once, in 1916, with a 158 ERA+ and a 1.75 ERA, but he was probably a bit overrated as a pitcher - very good but not great.

 

All else being equal, 100 is average, 110 good, 120 very good, 140 excellent, and 150+ Cy Young caliber.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Angelsjunky

[sneaky_flute]

I wouldn't even compare him to Pedro Martinez. He's a damn reliever.

[ten ocho recon scout]

I wouldn't even compare him to Pedro Martinez. He's a damn reliever.

I think its because they're both dominican.

[Angelsjunky]

I wouldn't even compare him to Pedro Martinez. He's a damn reliever.

 

I'm not comparing him to Pedro, dufus, except to say that if Pedro was the best starter of the Roid Era (at least if we're talking per game he pitched; a Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens might have had greater total value), then Mo Rivera was the best reliever.

 

Mo was with the Yankees for their entire era of greatness, from their resurgence in 1995 until now. Both he and Jeter made their first appearances in the majors in 1995, although Jeter was ROY in 1996 when they won the World Series for the first time since the 70s. He and Jeter really exemplified the 90s-00s great Yankee run. There was a rotating cast of characters, but those two were always there.

[m0nkey]

Where does he rank among career leaders in class?

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Now granted, Mo was a reliever and relievers tend to have much lower ERAs than starters...but that's a ridiculous gap. And it only includes pitchers with 1,000+ innings (there may be other relievers with similar Adjusted ERAs, but none who pitched anywhere close to as much as Mo)

 

As a closer he generally wasn't coming in with men on base, which means that he also wasn't allowing runs to score that were charged to someone else. That makes it more impressive.

Edited October 10, 2013 by Vegas Halo Fan