PLOP, PLOP, FIZZ, FIZZ: OH, WHAT A RELIEVER AIN’T

Goose (Gossage) and Bruce (Sutter) came up short once again in their bid for the Hall of Fame, but the case for the closers should heat up next year when Dennis Eckersley becomes eligible for consideration. Here is Tom Verducci’s take, in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated:

In traditionally closing the door to the relievers who specialize in closing the door, the Baseball Hall of Fame is no different from the Football Hall of Fame or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Most specialists get in only with a ticket…

Two relief pitchers [have] already made it into the Hall: Hoyt Wilhelm, an all-purpose reliever who might pitch for one inning or six, and Rollie Fingers, the fireman-type, who pitched in times of trouble. But no closer—that is, one who only pitches late and with a lead—[has] ever been enshrined in Cooperstown.

The closer evolved in 1979 with Sutter, and since then he, Goose Gossage, Jeff Reardon, Tom Henke and the rest of the genus have recieved tepid Hall support. Considering the heavier lifting done by starting pitchers and position players, that’s only right. [Lee] Smith, for instance, typically napped for the first half of games and in 1994 had 33 saves in less than 39 innings of labor. (Kickers are the closers of football, enjoying stretches of tedium and disuse interrupted by the occasional emergency. No suprise, then, that no pure punter and only one pure placekicker, Jan Stenerud, can be found in Canton.)

Specialists should be held to a much higher standard than other players when it comes to Hall membership, but some have met that standard and deserve enshrinement. In that category is Dennis Eckersley, who’ll be on next year’s ballot. In 1988 Eckersley further refined the Sutter role, typically entering at the start of the ninth with a slim lead. Over the next decade Eckersley’s ratio of innings-to-saves was 1.71, about half that of Sutter’s 3.5 and not close to Fingers’s 5.0. Yet no closer has ever been so dominant. In 1990 Eckersley actually had more saves (48) than base runners allowed (45). Eckersley was also effective over the long haul—from ’88 to ’97 he averaged 37 saves per year. It’s true that with 149 career wins as a starter, he may bear more resemblance to quarterback-kicker Hall of Famer George Blanda than to Stenerud, but it’s Eckersley’s work as a specialist that makes him, well, special enough for the Hall.

For those who are interested, there is a wonderfully thorough series of articles on the history of relief pitching over at Mike’s Baseball Rants, which are written with skill and care. Well worth purusing.

My cousin Gabe gave his take on this subject in a letter I printed earlier in the week.

I’M SO GLAD WE’VE HAD THIS TIME TOGETHER…

Here are Rob Neyer’s pick of the top 10 players not in the Hall of Fame:

1. Ryne Sandberg
2. Ron Santo
3. Bert Blyleven
4. Goose Gossage
5. Minnie Minoso
6. Ted Simmons
7. Alan Trammell
8. Dale Murphy
9. Darrell Evans
10. Bobby Grich

Minnie Minoso is a player who isn’t talked about much, which is a disappointment considering his achievements, and the fact that he was the first black Latino to play in the Majors. Allen Barra wrote an appreciation of Minoso in his book “Clearing the Bases”. I’ve loaned my copy out, but when I get it back, I will post excerpts of the article.
There are a few more Hall of Fame-related articles of interest: Jim Caple writes a sympathy card for Ryne Sandburg; Jason Stark throws in his two-cents, and mlb.com reports that it’s only going to get tougher to get into the Hall for the Dave Parker’s of the world.

ROCKET FUEL

Here is a belated, breakdown of Roger Clemens’ new contract with the Yankees. Rob Neyer addressed Rocket’s staus with the Yankees in his latest column:

There’s no doubt that Clemens can still get people out. Last year, during a season in which he turned 40, Clemens went 13-6 and struck out 192 hitters in 180 innings. Last season, Pedro Martinez (10.8) led the American League in strikeouts per nine innings, he was followed by Clemens (9.6) … and then way behind Clemens were a bunch of other guys.

As you probably know, strikeout rate is a good indicator of both current and future success, so there’s good reason to think that Clemens still has plenty left.

When he can actually pitch, that is. And considering how many niggling injuries Clemens discovered in 2002, doesn’t it seem likely that in 2003 he’ll be in and out of the rotation? Everyone seems to be wondering why the Yankees would want eight starters, but isn’t the answer fairly obvious?

One of those eight starters is Sterling Hitchcock, who pitched poorly in 39 innings last season. Another is Orlando Hernandez, who’s God-knows-how-old and has started only 38 games over the last two seasons. And two others are 40-year-old Clemens and 39-year-old David Wells.

Yes, having eight starters is a luxury. It’s also a luxury the Yankees can afford — they can afford anything — and while they might not need eight starting pitchers, I’ll bet they wind up using nearly all of them.