Quote:
Originally Posted by toppcat
Wagner was Mr. Meltdown in the post-season, just horrendous appearance-after-appearance. To me, that tilts him off the ballot.
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This is a very good point.
Wagner was one of the best regular season relievers ever.
He ranks #1 for any LHP in the live-ball era in WHIP (.998) and ERA (2.31) with a minimum or 900 innings pitches (he pitched only 903).
He ranks #1 for opponent batting average at .187 (no one else is even below .200). He could give up 100 consecutive straight hits and still have a lower opponent BA than Mariano Rivera.
And his K/9 inning of 11.92 is the best ever.
But he was dreadful in the postseason. ERA over 10. He appeared in the postseason in 7 seasons, and lost 7 of 8 series, never making it to a World Series. Other relievers in the Hall of Fame: Fingers, Eckersley, Rivera, Lee Smith, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Gossage have all pitched well in the postseason (with the exception of Lee Smith and to a lesser extent Hoffman), and Fingers, Eckersley, Wilhelm, Gossage, and Rivera all won World Series.
With Wagner, I think it comes down to how much you value postseason play. If you place a premium on postseason play, he's a hard sell. Otherwise, I think he belongs.