Quote:
Originally Posted by pgellis
I don't think anyone is questioning Rivera being a HOFer. People are questioning two things (one opinion and one fact) with him though.
Fact that he is the first unanimously elected HOFer is very surprising for many reasons. Rivera never won a Cy Young or an MVP, and that is the guy that becomes the first unanimously elected HOFer? Very surprising. I mean he was never voted the best pitcher in the American League (never mind all of MLB) in any season.
Second, the opinion that he is the greatest pitcher of all-time is a joke. Again, he never won a Cy Young award or an MVP. I don't know why people today are so quick to label everybody the "greatest of all time".
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Yankees fans became ingrained with the idea that Rivera was "otherworldly" or "an alien dominating mere mortals." Statistics like WAR or ERA + just aren't as reliable with relievers as they are with everyday players. If you look at players in terms of peak value and career value, other relievers over the years matched Rivera in terms of peak value. What no reliever has done is match Rivera in career value - he held his peak performance level over a longer period of time than any other closer. But also consider that he pitched in the era of one inning saves. The game has changed and Rivera didn't have to come in for a six or nine out save the way Rollie Fingers or Bruce Sutter or Goose Gossage did. Had some of those relievers been way more limited in their usage, the way Rivera was, maybe they would have held their peak performance level longer, too.