Monday, March 11, 2013

The All-Time J.S. Team - Part Two

Last week I created an all-time team comprised solely of players that share my initials of J.S. 




L/R
bWAR OPS+/ERA+
C R Jim Sundberg 37.3 90
C R John Stearns 18.5 102





1B L JT Snow 8.4 105
1B R Jake Stahl 14.3 120





2B R Juan Samuel 14.5 101
IF R Junior Spivey 7.7 101





SS L Joe Sewell 49.2 108





3B R Joe Stripp 12.1 96





LF L Jimmy Sheckard 46.7 121
CF L Jimmy Slagle 13.7 97
RF R Jake Stenzel 20 134
OF S John Shelby 1.7 79
OF L John Stone 23 116





SP R John Smoltz 62.6 125
SP L Johan Santana 48.6 138
SP R Jason Schmidt 29.3 110
SP R James Shields 17 107
SP R Johnny Sain 22.9 107
RP R Jim Scott 26.1 121
RP L Johnny Schmitz 22.3 107
RP R Justin Speier 6.8 116
RP R Joe Smith 5 132
RP L Joe Sambito 7.6 116
RP R Jeff Shaw 13 119
CL R Joakim Soria 12.3 181


Part one looked at the position players and today I'll focus on the excellent pitching staff.

John Smoltz

Future Hall of Famer John Smoltz anchors an excellent rotation. Sometimes overshadowed by teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, the eight-time All-Star and 1996 Cy Young winner was the one the earned the reputation as Atlanta's big-game pitcher. In 209 postseason innings (about a full season's worth) he posted a 15-4 record and 2.67 ERA with 172 hits, 67 walks and 199 strikeouts.

He pitched a complete game six-hit shutout in Game Seven of the 1991 NLCS in Pittsburgh to win the Braves the pennant. But they lost the World Series in The Jack Morris Game Seven, despite Smoltz's 7.1 scoreless frames. He went 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA against the Pirates in the 1992 NLCS to take home MVP honors. In two of his four playoff losses, he didn't allow an earned run, including the fifth game of the 1996 World Series, when Andy Pettitte outdueled him 1-0 in the final game at Fulton County Stadium.

Smoltz missed the entire 2000 season after Tommy John surgery, but upon his return he became one of baseball's top relief aces, setting a National League record with 55 saves in 2002.

The right-hander is a member of the 3,000 strikeout club, which is more exclusive than some of the other milestone groups like the 300-win club (24 members), the 500-home run club (25) and the 3,000-hit club (28). Here's the group sorted by ERA+ and Smoltz ranks in the middle:



Rk Player ERA+ SO From To Age W L W-L% SV IP H BB ERA Tm
1 Pedro Martinez 154 3154 1992 2009 20-37 219 100 .687 3 2827.1 2221 760 2.93 LAD-MON-BOS-NYM-PHI
2 Walter Johnson 147 3509 1907 1927 19-39 417 279 .599 34 5914.1 4913 1363 2.17 WSH
3 Roger Clemens 143 4672 1984 2007 21-44 354 184 .658 0 4916.2 4185 1580 3.12 BOS-TOR-NYY-HOU
4 Randy Johnson 135 4875 1988 2009 24-45 303 166 .646 2 4135.1 3346 1497 3.29 MON-TOT-SEA-ARI-NYY-SFG
5 Greg Maddux 132 3371 1986 2008 20-42 355 227 .610 0 5008.1 4726 999 3.16 CHC-ATL-TOT-SDP
6 Curt Schilling 127 3116 1988 2007 21-40 216 146 .597 22 3261.0 2998 711 3.46 BAL-HOU-PHI-TOT-ARI-BOS
7 Tom Seaver 127 3640 1967 1986 22-41 311 205 .603 1 4783.0 3971 1390 2.86 NYM-TOT-CIN-CHW
8 Bob Gibson 127 3117 1959 1975 23-39 251 174 .591 6 3884.1 3279 1336 2.91 STL
9 John Smoltz 125 3084 1988 2009 21-42 213 155 .579 154 3473.0 3074 1010 3.33 ATL-TOT
10 Bert Blyleven 118 3701 1970 1992 19-41 287 250 .534 0 4970.0 4632 1322 3.31 MIN-TOT-TEX-PIT-CLE-CAL
11 Gaylord Perry 117 3534 1962 1983 23-44 314 265 .542 11 5350.0 4938 1379 3.11 SFG-CLE-TOT-TEX-SDP-ATL-SEA
12 Steve Carlton 115 4136 1965 1988 20-43 329 244 .574 2 5217.2 4672 1833 3.22 STL-PHI-TOT-MIN
13 Phil Niekro 115 3342 1964 1987 25-48 318 274 .537 29 5404.0 5044 1809 3.35 MLN-ATL-NYY-CLE-TOT
14 Fergie Jenkins 115 3192 1965 1983 22-40 284 226 .557 7 4500.2 4142 997 3.34 PHI-TOT-CHC-BOS-TEX
15 Nolan Ryan 112 5714 1966 1993 19-46 324 292 .526 3 5386.0 3923 2795 3.19 NYM-CAL-HOU-TEX
16 Don Sutton 108 3574 1966 1988 21-43 324 256 .559 5 5282.1 4692 1343 3.26 LAD-HOU-TOT-MIL-CAL
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/11/2013.

His bullpen stint helped limit his career win total to 213, but his 62.6 bWAR still ranks 39th among pitchers and helps him meet the Hall of Famer standard. Throw in his unique success as a closer and his October resume and I think he's a slam dunk for Cooperstown (or as much as one can be nowadays).

Johan Santana 


Johan and Smoltz make a pretty formidable 1-2 left-right punch atop the rotation.

Santana pitched very well for the Twins in 2002 and 2003, going 20-9 with a 3.04 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 266.2 innings while splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen.

He got even better after moving into a starting role in 2004. From 2004-2006, the southpaw won two ERA titles and led the league in ERA+, strikeouts, WHIP, BB/9 and K/9 in all three seasons. He won both the 2004 and 2006 AL Cy Young Awards by unanimous vote, and I think you've heard of the other four pitchers that have done it more than once: Sandy Koufax (3x), Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez.

In the second award winning season of 2006, Santana won the Pitching Triple Crown with 19 wins, a 2.77 ERA and 245 strikeouts. Not only did that net him the Triple Crown those totals led all of the major leagues, something that hadn't been done since Dwight Gooden's legendary 1985 season.

Santana was traded to the Mets in 2008 and the first three years of his seven-year contract extension went swimmingly. In exactly 600 innings he registered 14.5 bWAR and a 143 ERA+. The last two years and counting have been marred by injuries, but last summer he did provide one of the greatest moments in New York Mets history.




On June 1, 2012, Santana twirled the franchise's first no-hitter. Even though he got some help earlier in the game on a missed call and his 134 pitches might have contributed to his future health problems, it remains a magical night not only in Mets history but in New York sports history.

Once he comes back this year, Santana should move into eighth place on the club's bWAR list, racking up nearly 15 in relatively few innings.



Rk Player WAR From To Age G GS CG SHO W L W-L% IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF IBB HBP BK WP
1 Tom Seaver 72.9 1967 1983 22-38 401 395 171 44 198 124 .615 3045.2 2431 953 870 847 2541 2.57 136 212 12191 70 52 7 81
2 Dwight Gooden 39.3 1984 1994 19-29 305 303 67 23 157 85 .649 2169.2 1898 823 747 651 1875 3.10 116 123 8898 31 41 32 47
3 Jerry Koosman 37.0 1967 1978 24-35 376 346 108 26 140 137 .505 2544.2 2281 994 875 820 1799 3.09 113 187 10517 92 49 20 66
4 Al Leiter 26.4 1998 2004 32-38 213 213 10 7 95 67 .586 1360.0 1222 574 517 546 1106 3.42 124 118 5774 38 63 8 24
5 Sid Fernandez 26.0 1984 1993 21-30 255 250 23 9 98 78 .557 1584.2 1167 601 553 596 1449 3.14 113 138 6456 27 36 18 20
6 Jon Matlack 25.1 1971 1977 21-27 203 199 65 26 82 81 .503 1448.0 1312 557 488 419 1023 3.03 115 92 5953 57 15 8 42
7 David Cone 18.2 1987 2003 24-40 187 169 34 15 81 51 .614 1209.1 1011 472 421 431 1172 3.13 112 91 5008 23 28 24 62
8 Rick Reed 15.5 1997 2001 32-36 140 138 8 3 59 36 .621 888.2 868 380 361 158 590 3.66 117 116 3605 14 18 1 6
9 Johan Santana 14.6 2008 2012 29-33 109 109 9 6 46 34 .575 717.0 658 273 253 203 607 3.18 127 76 2981 11 9 4 13
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/8/2013.

Jason Schmidt

Originally a Braves farmhand, the righty was traded to Pittsburgh for Denny Neagle in 1996. He put together a few average seasons for the Buccos, but he really took off after being dealt to the Giants at the 2001 deadline. He went 7-1 down the stretch, but the team fell two games short of the Diamondbacks in the chase for the NL West.

The move wasn't just a rental, as Schmidt signed a five-year deal to stay in San Francisco. There were immediate returns as he helped pitch the Giants to the World Series in 2002. Over the next two seasons he put up 13.9 bWAR and finished second and fourth in the Cy Young voting.

That 2003 season was outstanding. He won the NL ERA title with a 2.34 mark and with a WHIP under 1 and an ERA+ of 180, he's in good company in Giants history:



Rk Player Year WHIP ERA+ Age Tm G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA HR BF
1 Christy Mathewson 1905 0.933 230 24 NYG 43 37 32 8 6 31 9 .775 3 338.2 252 85 48 64 206 1.28 4 1294
2 Christy Mathewson 1909 0.828 222 28 NYG 37 33 26 8 4 25 6 .806 2 275.1 192 57 35 36 149 1.14 2 998
3 Carl Hubbell 1933 0.982 193 30 NYG 45 33 22 10 11 23 12 .657 5 308.2 256 69 57 47 156 1.66 6 1206
4 Jason Schmidt 2003 0.953 180 30 SFG 29 29 5 3 0 17 5 .773 0 207.2 152 56 54 46 208 2.34 14 819
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/8/2013.

He was a big reason that San Francisco won 100 games and he opened the postseason with a three-hit shutout against Florida. Unfortunately for the Giants, the Marlins won the next three games for a major upset.

Schmidt made his third All-Star team in 2006 before signing a three-year, $47 million contract with the Dodgers. His career was quickly derailed by shoulder injuries as he was limited to only ten starts in Dodger Blue before retiring.


James Shields

"Big Game James*" moves to Kansas City in 2013 after the Rays traded him for quite a haul in December.

* With a name like Big Game I'm surprised his playoff numbers are 2-2, 4.98.

Shields is now on the wrong side of 30, but he's been very durable. Over the last five seasons only CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez have worked more innings than his 1,330.

2011 was his best season. He posted a 2.82 ERA (134 ERA+) in 249.1 innings (2nd-most in the league) to finish third in the Cy Young voting. In a throwback effort, he pitched 11 complete games, the most in the major leagues since Randy Johnson's 12 in 1999.

If you look up "tough-luck loss" in the dictionary, right below the Harvey Haddix Game, you might see this October 2, 2012 start by Shields as the second entry... 9 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 15 K aaaaaaand a loss. He gave up a fourth-inning homer to Chris Davis and lost 1-0. His Game Score of 94 is the best by a losing pitcher in a nine-inning start.

* I know tough-luck loss isn't in the dictionary, but maybe we should get it on one of those "new words" lists. Sure beats "sexting," "man cave" or "vajazzle."

Shields trails some of the other pitchers on the staff in counting stats like bWAR, but I'm banking on him pitching a few more years and slotting him fourth on the staff.


Johnny Sain

No need to pray for rain here as Sain is at the back end of this stellar group of starters.

The right-hander was one of baseball's best pitchers in the years right after World War II. His 136 ERA+ for the Boston Braves from 1946-48 was the third-best in the majors behind Hal Newhouser and Harry Brecheen (min. 500 IP).

Here's a neat stat about Sain before we get to his famed '48 campaign. He notched a hit in 13 straight games in 1947, running up the second-longest hitting streak by a pitcher since at least 1916 (Baseball-Reference Play Index only goes back that far). Wilbur Cooper (winningest Pirates pitcher of all time) had a record-long 16-gamer and Carlos Zambrano equaled Sain with 13 in 2008. The list of ten-game pitcher hitting streaks:


Rk Strk Start End Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Tm
1 Wilbur Cooper 1924-06-23 1924-09-03 16 58 9 23 2 2 0 10 4 3 0 2 .397 .426 .500 .926 PIT
2 Carlos Zambrano 2008-06-02 2008-08-26 13 34 4 15 2 1 3 10 6 0 0 0 .441 .441 .824 1.265 CHC
3 Johnny Sain 1947-06-26 1947-08-21 13 40 8 20 5 0 0 6 1 0 0 0 .500 .500 .625 1.125 BSN
4 Walter Johnson 1925-06-30 1925-09-07 12 36 7 21 4 0 1 7 1 0 0 0 .583 .583 .778 1.361 WSH
5 Carl Mays 1921-08-18 1922-04-13 12 45 11 20 2 1 0 10 2 1 0 0 .444 .457 .533 .990 NYY
6 Rick Rhoden 1984-07-20 1984-09-11 11 32 6 16 4 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 .500 .500 .625 1.125 PIT
7 Gary Peters 1966-05-10 1966-07-17 11 33 6 12 1 1 0 4 6 0 0 0 .364 .364 .455 .818 CHW
8 Jerry Walker 1961-09-27 1962-05-31 11 34 7 14 1 0 3 4 8 0 0 0 .412 .412 .706 1.118 KCA
9 Clint Hartung 1947-05-15 1947-07-14 11 38 6 14 2 2 2 9 8 0 0 0 .368 .368 .684 1.053 NYG
10 Oscar Judd 1945-08-04 1946-06-06 11 27 6 12 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 0 .444 .483 .630 1.112 PHI
11 Babe Ruth 1917-09-29 1918-06-07 11 36 11 19 7 2 2 9 7 4 1 .528 .575 1.000 1.575 BOS
12 Bob Lemon 1947-09-08 1948-05-07 10 37 7 20 4 1 2 4 4 2 0 1 .541 .564 .865 1.429 CLE
13 Red Lucas 1933-08-13 1933-10-01 10 31 4 12 3 1 0 5 2 1 0 0 .387 .406 .548 .955 CIN
14 Jack Scott 1925-08-30 1926-05-09 10 28 2 11 1 1 0 3 1 2 0 0 .393 .433 .500 .933 NYG
15 Walter Johnson 1925-04-18 1925-06-01 10 32 1 15 0 1 0 5 2 1 0 1 .469 .485 .531 1.016 WSH
16 Burleigh Grimes 1924-06-16 1924-07-21 10 32 6 14 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 .438 .455 .469 .923 BRO
17 Bullet Joe Bush 1922-05-27 1922-07-11 10 33 6 14 3 1 0 3 2 0 0 1 .424 .424 .576 1.000 NYY
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/18/2013.


1948 was a great year for Sain and the Braves. He went 24-15, leading the NL in wins, starts, complete games and innings pitched as he finished second in the MVP vote and Boston won the pennant. The team surged to the NL crown with a 14-1 stretch in September in which Sain and Warren Spahn combined to go 9-0. This inspired Gerald V. Hern of the Boston Post to write the poem that eventually became the phrase "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain."

Sain pitched a four-hitter to beat Bob Feller and the Indians 1-0 in the opening game of the World Series. The Tribe won the next two games, then beat Sain 2-1 in Game Four en route to a six-game victory for the title (still Cleveland's last).

After a couple of subpar seasons, Sain was traded to the Yankees in 1951 for Lew Burdette, who replaced Sain as Spahn's partner in crime for the next era of Braves baseball in Milwaukee.

Sain won three titles from 1951-53 while splitting time between New York's bullpen and rotation. He was a full-time reliever in 1954 and led the AL in saves with 22, becoming the second pitcher to have led the league in both wins and saves during their career. Ellis Kinder was the first and Wilbur Wood, Dennis Eckersley, JS teammate John Smoltz and Derek Lowe have done it since.

That 1954 Yankees team went 103-51, but their string of five straight championships came to an end when the Indians won the pennant with a then-AL-record 111 wins. Oddly enough, that '54 squad was the only one of Casey Stengel's teams that ever won 100 games, and that was the one Yanks team in a ten-year span that didn't go to the World Series.

The following year would be his last on the mound as he posted a 5.58 ERA in 50 innings for the Yankees and the Kansas City A's.

Sain wasn't finished in baseball, however, becoming a pitching coach for the A's (1959), Yankees (1961-63), Twins (1965-66), Tigers (1967-69), White Sox (1971-75) and Braves (1977, 1985-86). He coaxed career years out of Whitey Ford, Ralph Terry, Jim Bouton, Mudcat Grant, Jim Kaat, Denny McLain, Wilbur Wood, among others. His pitching staffs won five pennants and three championships in the 1960s.

He passed away in 2006 at the age of 89. Sain's SABR bio ends very nicely:

"The last pitcher to face Babe Ruth and the first to face Jackie Robinson, Sain started the first night game in Boston and the first game televised in New England, and unleashed the potential of pitchers like Mudcat Grant, Jim Kaat, Earl Wilson, and Mickey Lolich -- not to mention starring in a famous poem, appearing in one of the great baseball songs (Dave Frishberg’s “Van Lingle Mungo”), and coaching probably the last 30-game winner. In the words of Maxwell Kates “a veritable Forrest Gump in baseball history,” Johnny Sain left a rich legacy."

Jim Scott

Hailing from Deadwood, South Dakota, Dead Ball-Era White Sox righty Jim Scott makes the team as a sixth starter/long relief swingman.

Scott's 128 ERA+ from 1911 to 1917 was the seventh-best in baseball during that stretch.

1913 was his finest season, despite losing more games than he won. His 20 wins were the fifth-most in the league and his 1.90 ERA was the third-lowest, but he led the league in losses with 21. Scott was in the AL's top five in bWAR, WHIP, innings, strikeouts and shutouts. His 7.3 bWAR are the tenth-most by a pitcher with a .500 record or worse:


Rk Player WAR W-L% Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF
1 Ed Walsh 10.5 .474 1910 29 CHW AL 45 36 33 7 7 18 20 5 369.2 242 87 52 61 258 1.27 189 5 1359
2 Jon Matlack 8.8 .464 1974 24 NYM NL 34 34 14 7 0 13 15 0 265.1 221 82 71 76 195 2.41 149 8 1076
3 Irv Young 8.8 .488 1905 27 BSN NL 43 42 41 7 1 20 21 0 378.0 337 146 122 71 156 2.90 106 6 1475
4 Phil Niekro 8.6 .444 1977 38 ATL NL 44 43 20 2 1 16 20 0 330.1 315 166 148 164 262 4.03 111 26 1428
5 Nap Rucker 7.9 .462 1912 27 BRO NL 45 34 23 6 11 18 21 4 297.2 272 101 73 72 151 2.21 151 6 1201
6 Bert Blyleven 7.5 .500 1974 23 MIN AL 37 37 19 3 0 17 17 0 281.0 244 99 83 77 249 2.66 142 14 1149
7 Nap Rucker 7.5 .406 1909 24 BRO NL 38 33 28 6 5 13 19 1 309.1 245 95 77 101 201 2.24 116 6 1188
8 Roger Clemens 7.4 .435 1996 33 BOS AL 34 34 6 2 0 10 13 0 242.2 216 106 98 106 257 3.63 139 19 1032
9 Gaylord Perry 7.4 .500 1973 34 CLE AL 41 41 29 7 0 19 19 0 344.0 315 143 129 115 238 3.38 117 34 1410
10 Jim Scott 7.3 .488 1913 25 CHW AL 48 38 25 4 6 20 21 1 312.1 252 96 66 86 158 1.90 154 2 1225
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/8/2013.

On May 14, 1914 he no-hit the Senators for nine innings, but lost it (and the game) in the tenth. It is one of 13 nine-inning no-nos that were broken up in extras. 1915 brought 24 wins and a league-leading total of seven shutouts, but it would be his last stellar full season. After a step back in 1916, Scott left the White Sox in August of 1917 to enlist in the military. The Pale Hose went on to win the World Series without him.

He served in France during World War I before returning home and pitching in the minor leagues for the San Francisco Seals and New Orleans Pelicans. Scott moved into umpiring after leaving the mound, spending two years as a National League ump.

Today, his 2.30 ERA ranks 19th on the all-time list.


Johnny Schmitz

"Bear Tracks" excelled in the late 1940s for the Cubs. I mentioned earlier that Johnny Sain was third in MLB in ERA+ from 1946-48, but Schmitz was near him as well, as his 132 mark ranked fifth.

The lefty made the All-Star team in 1946 and 1948, leading the loop in strikeouts in '46 and in hits per 9 IP in '48.

He was an average pitcher for the rest of his career from 1949-56, bouncing between the Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees (twice), Reds, Senators, Red Sox and Orioles.

1954 was a bit of a comeback season for him. He put up a 2.91 ERA and 3.9 bWAR to rank in the AL's top ten in both categories.

Schmitz lived to be 90, passing away in October 2011.

He wore #53 in his days as a Cub and his 20.2 bWAR are the third-most by a player that wore that number for more than three seasons.


Player Yrs WAR ▾ Team (click to sort by first year)
Don Drysdale 14 63.1 Brooklyn Dodgers (56, 57)
Los Angeles Dodgers (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
Bobby Abreu 16 57.2 Houston Astros (97)
Philadelphia Phillies (98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06)
New York Yankees (06, 07, 08)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (09, 10, 11, 12)
Johnny Schmitz 6 20.2 Chicago Cubs (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
Arthur Rhodes 19 13.8 Baltimore Orioles (91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99)
Seattle Mariners (00, 01, 02, 03, 08)
Oakland Athletics (04)
Cleveland Indians (05)
Florida Marlins (08)
Cincinnati Reds (09, 10)
St. Louis Cardinals (11)
Texas Rangers (11)
Dennis Lamp 6 13.1 Chicago White Sox (81, 82, 83)
Toronto Blue Jays (84, 85, 86)
Melky Cabrera 4 12.8 New York Yankees (09)
Atlanta Braves (10)
Kansas City Royals (11)
San Francisco Giants (12)
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/8/2013.

Justin Speier

This son of former big leaguer Chris Speier is one of five good short-relief men on this staff.

Justin was on his fourth big league organization when he broke out with the Indians in 2000. He put up a 150 ERA+ and more than a strikeout per inning before moving on to a trio of three-year stints with the Rockies, Blue Jays and Angels.

With a quality 125 ERA+ in Colorado from 2001-03, Speier developed into a dependable setup man.

For the Blue Jays from 2004-06, his 146 ERA+ ranked tenth among non-closer relievers. He had a WHIP under 1.00 in 2005 and as Was Watching points out, his 174 ERA+ is the tenth-best non-closing relief season of all time.

After registering another sub-3.00 ERA in 2006, Speier signed with the Angels. With a 2.88 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, he was one of the Halos' top setup men leading to Francisco Rodriguez. In his only postseason, Speier took the loss in Game Two of the ALDS against the Red Sox when he allowed a ninth-inning single to Julio Lugo and K-Rod served up this walk-off homer to Manny Ramirez:




That was the beginning of the end for Speier, who was shelled in a mop-up appearance late in the clincher two nights later. He had ERA's over five for the next two seasons and that would be it.

Joe Smith

We've got a sidearming right-hander coming out of the bullpen with Indians' reliever Joe Smith. He is an Ohio native and Wright State alum that pitched in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (where I cut my teeth in play-by-play) for the North Adams Steeplecats. 

Joe came up with the Mets in 2005 and didn't allow a run in his first 17 games as a big leaguer (spanning 15.1 innings).

After two seasons in Flushing, Smith was traded to his home state in December 2008 and has pitched well for the Tribe. He's pitched to a 2.90 ERA and has only allowed 165 hits in 208 innings.

Smith has yet to record a save in the majors, and his 369 career relief appearances are the most ever by a pitcher with 0 saves.

With righties only hitting .214/.297/.309 against him in his six-year career, he is a dangerous relief weapon.

Joe Sambito

Brooklyn's own Joe Sambito is the only southpaw out of the five JS short-relief guys.

A year and a half after debuting with the Astros in 1976, Sambito became Houston's closer in 1978. He made his only All-Star team in 1979 and pitched in a big spot in the game. With the AL having just taken a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning against Gaylord Perry, Sambito entered with runners on the corners and nobody out. He retired Reggie Jackson and George Brett before Mike LaCoss came in and set down Don Baylor to escape trouble. The NL came back to win the game 7-6 in 10 innings.

As Sambito recounts in this interview with Astros Daily, he gave up a game-winning grand slam in May then began a streak in which he didn't allow an earned run for 40.2 innings (27 games).

He finished the season with 22 saves and a 1.77 ERA. The next year he saved 17 games with a 0.96 WHIP for the NL West champion Astros, and even snagged a third-place vote in the Cy Young balloting.

From 1978-81, only Bruce Sutter, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage and Kent Tekulve saved more games than Sambito's 60. Of that group, only Gossage topped Sambito's 2.24 ERA and 150 ERA+. Tommy John surgery limited Joe to only 12.2 innings in 1982 and knocked him out for all of 1983. Although there were two short-lived comeback attempts, it would be two more years until Sambito could make it all the way back.

He returned with the Red Sox in 1986 and saved 12 games as Boston made it to the playoffs.

Dave Henderson hit his famous go-ahead home run in Game Five of the ALCS against the Angels, but Sambito couldn't close it out in the ninth as he allowed an RBI single to Rob Wilfong that forced extra innings. The Sox eventually won and came back from 3-1 down to win the series. He only retired one of the five batters he faced in two World Series appearances against the Mets.

Sambito got into 47 games in 1987, but a 6.93 ERA soon brought his career to an end. His post-playing career has included work for noted sports agents Randy and Alan Hendricks. Sambito's clients have included Andy Pettitte, Ryan Klesko, Jeff D'Amico and Morgan Ensberg.


Jeff Shaw

Shaw was a bit of a late bloomer, putting up a 4.50 ERA in his first six seasons as he went from the Indians to the Expos to the White Sox. He was on the great what-could-have-been 1994 Expos team, but he didn't really break out until 1996 when he was Jeff Brantley's setup man in Cincinnati.

Brantley got hurt early in the '97 season and the closer's job now belonged to Shaw. He made the most of his opportunity, leading the National League with 42 saves. 1998 was another standout season. He pitched to a 1.81 ERA and saved 23 games in the first half to earn his first All-Star nod.

The weekend before the Midsummer Classic, he was traded to the Dodgers. His represented L.A. in the All-Star Game before his first regular-season appearance as a Dodger. He allowed one run in one inning of relief during a very Coors Field 13-8 American League victory.

He saved 25 games for the Dodgers in the second half and saved 104 more games from 1999-2001, making a second All-Star team in his final season. He briefly held the franchise saves record with 129, but his successor Eric Gagne blew past that total in two and a half seasons.

His career was a tale of two halves. The latter one was superb, reflected by his 150 ERA+ from 1996-2001, the eighth-best among relievers with at least 300 IP during that span.


Rk Player ERA+ IP From To Age G GF W L W-L% SV H R ER BB SO ERA HR BF HBP WP Tm BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ SH SF 2B 3B GDP SB CS PO
1 Mariano Rivera 217 466.0 1996 2001 26-31 384 309 32 20 .615 215 348 120 112 126 427 2.16 20 1861 7 8 NYY .205 .261 .277 .537 39 16 13 54 4 27 19 6 2
2 John Wetteland 169 316.2 1996 2000 29-33 310 291 22 15 .595 193 278 123 103 99 317 2.93 39 1323 2 3 NYY-TEX .232 .288 .387 .675 69 9 14 49 10 14 20 6 0
3 Trevor Hoffman 165 442.1 1996 2001 28-33 402 350 28 25 .528 258 307 137 121 123 529 2.46 39 1746 4 28 SDP .193 .250 .311 .561 54 13 13 51 10 27 23 8 2
4 Billy Wagner 158 343.0 1996 2001 24-29 315 251 21 23 .477 146 230 110 104 146 501 2.73 33 1402 13 18 HOU .189 .281 .306 .587 57 19 5 42 1 18 20 5 2
5 Robb Nen 158 461.2 1996 2001 26-31 445 396 32 27 .542 233 372 156 134 154 545 2.61 31 1903 5 24 FLA-SFG .217 .282 .314 .596 62 17 13 62 6 32 56 4 0
6 Roberto Hernandez 155 451.0 1996 2001 31-36 416 348 29 30 .492 198 400 172 154 199 398 3.07 31 1928 14 21 CHW-TOT-TBD-KCR .237 .321 .328 .650 69 18 9 49 6 39 44 13 1
7 Armando Benitez 152 386.1 1996 2001 23-28 386 262 24 22 .522 141 242 130 125 207 540 2.91 45 1588 6 9 BAL-NYM .178 .288 .313 .601 60 9 9 34 7 21 62 6 1
8 Jeff Shaw 150 484.1 1996 2001 29-34 430 328 23 29 .442 198 441 168 152 109 338 2.82 46 1976 8 2 CIN-TOT-LAD .242 .285 .368 .653 75 19 14 81 6 39 29 4 2
9 Troy Percival 144 357.1 1996 2001 26-31 355 303 20 27 .426 207 242 141 132 160 437 3.32 38 1483 16 16 CAL-ANA .188 .284 .319 .603 55 10 8 51 2 9 60 8 0
10 Jeff Nelson 141 358.2 1996 2001 29-34 376 99 26 22 .542 12 273 147 131 206 401 3.29 21 1555 25 18 NYY-SEA .211 .329 .316 .644 68 21 10 58 7 25 49 7 1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/8/2013.


Joakim Soria


Shaw and Soria make a strong tandem for the game's final innings.

For a few years, the Mexican right-hander was baseball's best closer this side of Mariano Rivera. Now he's trying to come back from Tommy John surgery with the Rangers.

He was a Rule V pick in December 2006 and came up to KC the following spring. He had an excellent debut season with a 2.48 ERA, 75 K's in 69 innings and a 0.94 WHIP. But he was just getting started.

This was Soria's line for his first 17 appearances of 2008: 16.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 18 K

He finished his first All-Star season with 42 saves and a 1.60 ERA. A 270 ERA+ gave him the first of three straight seasons in which he was at least twice as good as the league average.

Soria is impressive company among relievers that have topped a 200 ERA+ three times:


Rk Yrs From To Age
1 Mariano Rivera 12 1996 2011 26-41 Ind. Seasons
2 Joe Nathan 5 2004 2009 29-34 Ind. Seasons
3 Billy Wagner 4 1999 2010 27-38 Ind. Seasons
4 Joakim Soria 3 2008 2010 24-26 Ind. Seasons
5 Scott Downs 3 2007 2011 31-35 Ind. Seasons
6 Jonathan Papelbon 3 2006 2009 25-28 Ind. Seasons
7 Keith Foulke 3 1999 2004 26-31 Ind. Seasons
8 Robb Nen 3 1996 2000 26-30 Ind. Seasons
9 Troy Percival 3 1995 2002 25-32 Ind. Seasons
10 John Wetteland 3 1993 1998 26-31 Ind. Seasons
11 Mark Eichhorn 3 1986 1994 25-33 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/8/2013.

Rivera has TWELVE (12). Soria, Nathan and Rivera are the only ones to notch three consecutive seasons of 200 ERA+. Nathan had a four-year run from 2006-09. Rivera has had three different four-year streaks (1996-99, 2003-06, 2008-11).


A month-long injury kept his 2009 innings total down to just 53, but he still struck out 69 hitters and saved 30 games. He returned to All-Star form in 2010 with a 1.78 ERA and K/BB ratio of 71/16 in 65.2 IP.

2011 didn't get off to a good start as he blew five saves early in the season, including three in one week. His final numbers didn't measure up to the 2008-10 run, but he still had an above-average ERA and posted K/9 and H/9 of 9.0.

A damaged UCL forced him to miss all of last season. He signed a two-year deal with Texas this winter to start his comeback bid. We'll see if he's got anything left in the tank, but either way it was a four-year stretch as one of the best relievers in the game.


Manager

So who's gonna' manage this squad? Eight JS's have managed in the major leagues, though most have done it in a brief interim role (like JS second baseman Juan Samuel). With apologies to Seattle Pilots skipper Joe Schultz, we'll go with JS first baseman Jake Stahl as a player-manager. Stahl served in that role for three and a half seasons with the Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox and won a championship in 1912.

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