Circle of Greats Round 40 Results: The Cy of Relief

If Cy Young is the eponymous epitome of pitching primacy, then surely Mariano Rivera is the equivalent role model of relief royalty.  Mo ultimately triumphed in a thrilling three-way battle among memorable hurlers, and becomes the 40th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats.  More on Mariano and the voting after the jump.  

Most Career Pitching Wins Above Replacement (baseball-reference version) in Yankees franchise history:
1. Mariano Rivera 56.5
2. Whitey Ford 53.9
3. Andy Pettitte 51.6
4. Ron Guidry 47.9
5. Red Ruffing 46.8

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Most Career Pitching Wins Above Replacement (baseball-reference version) by a player who spent his entire career with one franchise:
1. Walter Johnson 152.6
2. Bob Gibson 81.9
3. Red Faber 68.3
4. Jim Palmer 67.9
5. Carl Hubbell 67.8
6. Ted Lyons 67.2
7. Bob Feller 65.2
8. Don Drysdale 61.3
9. Mariano Rivera 56.5
10. Whitey Ford 53.9
11. Sandy Koufax 53.2

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Most Career Regular Season Plus Post-Season Win Probability Added (WPA), by a Relief Pitcher*, 1945-Current:
1. Mariano Rivera 68.3
2. Trevor Hoffman 33.4
3. Rich Gossage 33.3
4. Hoyt Wilhelm 31.2
5. Joe Nathan 30.6

*”Relief Pitcher” is defined here as a pitcher at least 80% of whose career appearances were in relief.

Based on the list above, Rivera produced more WPA than the number 2 and number 3 relief pitchers on this list combined.

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— During the first few days of voting in this round, Mariano was generally running second or third in the vote count.  But as balloting went on, Mo gained on both Gaylord Perry and Juan Marichal and then held on to a slim lead, despite concerns about the overall value of relief pitchers in comparison to other players, especially starting pitchers.

— Mariano Rivera is our first player born in a Latin American country’s territory to be inducted into the Circle of Greats. Rod Carew was born of Panamanian parents and his family did not emigrate to the U.S. mainland until he was a teenager, but Carew was actually born in the Canal Zone, which was then legally a U.S. territory.

— After appearing on the ballot for every one of our 40 induction rounds to date, Roberto Alomar fell just one vote short of the 10% level needed to remain on the ballot going forward. Our next round will be our first without Robbie on the ballot. You’ll have a chance to bring him back in the next redemption round, scheduled for when we complete the 1930s birth years.

— Dave Winfield also fell short of the needed 10% vote level, so both of the guys who gained a return to the ballot in the most recent redemption round (Winfield and Reuschel) have fallen off again.

— Willie McCovey was our third holdover falling below the 10% threshold this round, but Stretch had one spare round of eligibility, so he lands on the bubble rather than off the ballot.

— All told, our holdover list is reduced from 15 players this round to 13 next round (the newcomer Marichal replaces the inducted Rivera, and Alomar and Winfield drop off).  The number of guys on the bubble drops from seven to six, with McCovey added but Alomar and Winfield gone.

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Here’s the Circle of Greats membership thus far, currently in order of date of birth, from earlier to later:
Phil Niekro
Carl Yastrzemski
Pete Rose
Ferguson Jenkins
Joe Morgan
Tom Seaver
Steve Carlton
Rod Carew
Jim Palmer
Reggie Jackson
Nolan Ryan
Johnny Bench
Carlton Fisk
Mike Schmidt
Bert Blyleven
George Brett
Gary Carter
Ozzie Smith
Robin Yount
Paul Molitor
Alan Trammell
Wade Boggs
Rickey Henderson
Tim Raines
Tony Gwynn
Cal Ripken
Roger Clemens
Randy Johnson
Barry Larkin
Barry Bonds
Tom Glavine
Greg Maddux
Curt Schilling
Larry Walker
Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas
Mike Piazza
Mike Mussina
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Mariano Rivera

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Chris C
Chris C
10 years ago

A thought for the redemption rounds. Rather than add 2 players every 10 years should we add 1 player every five years? Adding 2 players crowds the regular ballot and it is hard enough to devote a vote to keep one guy on the ballot, never mind two.

Chris C
Chris C
10 years ago

Also, I know some people didn’t love Rivera getting in the COG but you have to admit – if you put a full roster together you love penciling him in at the back of your bullpen.

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
10 years ago

I didn’t vote for Rivera. I wouldn’t have, because I’m just not sure he was one of the three most valuable players on the ballot.

That being said, I’m very happy for Rivera. Outstanding pitcher and human being. I’m proud he’s a member of the COG.

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
10 years ago

Also, we’ll miss you, Robbie Alomar. It’s been fun having one name on the ballot the entire time. I don’t think I ever voted for you, but you were a great player, and a true HOFer, even if you weren’t quite COG material. Perhaps we’ll see you again after a redemption round. But until then, adieu, and it was fun while it lasted!

MikeD
MikeD
10 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

I’ve voted for Alomar every round that I’ve voted. (I missed a number of rounds while traveling, but was happy to see he survived each time I returned.) I guess I’ll have to come up with a new player for one of my three votes.

RJ
RJ
10 years ago

“Cy of Relief.”

birtelcom, am I safe in assuming this largely refers to your feelings at not having to oversee a three-way run-off over New Years? 🙂

birtelcom
birtelcom
10 years ago
Reply to  RJ

Actually a runoff is much simpler to set up and administer than a regular round. With the current plan being a short runoff vote followed by the next regular round (instead of the two being simultaneous, the way we did it last time), a tie would almost be a short vacation for the COG administrator. Speaking of which, I’ll be mostly off the grid, traveling in remote climes, the first three weeks of February, so after the next several January rounds, the COG will be on a brief hiatus for most of February. (Unless of course one or more of… Read more »

Hartvig
Hartvig
10 years ago
Reply to  birtelcom

I certainly don’t want to begrudge you a brief hiatus from your wonderful project that has provided myself and so many others with so much enjoyment and great stuff to talk about but…

http://youtu.be/8Wah7MqEHFg

Seriously, if all else fails- and I’m certain that any of the current HHS writers would do a FAR better job than I in every imaginable way- and it’s OK with you and Andy and everyone else to have a technical klutz try to do this- I would be willing to give it a try.

MikeD
MikeD
10 years ago

I view it as a “Cy of relief” for myself. I’m not sure if on any ballot I could say for sure there wasn’t at least one more player more deserving than Rivera, someone with more WAR, a fulltime position player or a starting pitcher. Yet I am convinced that Rivera is a clear HOFer (and, of course, COG) so I’m happy I don’t have to face the decision in future rounds. I’m not sure any other reliever is a clear COG/HOFer, with the exception being Rivera. It will be great when he has a calling to return to MLB… Read more »