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

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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

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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

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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.