Poll: is Mariano Rivera one of the top 10 pitchers of all time?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

Opinion:

The save is a stupid stat. But so is the win. Both depend on your team creating a circumstance that has nothing to do with you.

I also think comparing Rivera to a starting pitcher and saying the starting pitcher is better because he has to pitch longer is irrelevant.

Point being: starting pitchers aren't asked to appear in 60 or 70 games in a season like closers are. Starting pitchers aren't asked to repeatedly pitch with the game on the line, in "close and late" situations. Starting pitchers aren't asked to appear in NINETY-SIX postseason games over the course of their career. But you won't catch me using any of those facts to denigrate a starting pitcher.

What's great is that we have statistics that can measure all pitchers and level the playing field. Stuff like ERA, WHIP, SO/W, etc. And in all those fields, Mariano Rivera has numbers that stack up with the greats of the game. A postseason ERA of 0.70 in 141 innings, with a WHIP of 0.759, against the top competition is a world-class achievement. It's greatness under extreme pressure, over 16 years. No other player has even come close.

Saying "If you had to win one game, who would you pitch: Sandy Koufax, or Mariano Rivera" is no different that saying "If you had to win one game, who would you pitch: Sandy Koufax, or Ted Williams?" Mariano Rivera was not a starting pitcher. He also was not a shortstop, a left fielder, or a manager. So why compare him to something he wasn't?

If you changed the question to "If you had to choose a single pitcher to get all the important outs for his team, for an entire season, who would it be?" change your answer? Because I don't see Sandy Koufax excelling in that situation. Nobody dominated like Koufax, but no way he could pitch at that level two or three days in a row, no way he could pitch on one day's rest. His arm would fall off by June.

If I had to win one game, I might have a handful of pitchers I'd chose. If I had to get a big stolen base in a tough situation, I might bring in Jackie Robinson, Rickey Henderson, Vince Coleman. If I needed a three-run home run, I might bring up Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays. If I needed a single to drive in the game-winning run, maybe I'd pick Rose, Cobb, Boggs, Gwynn, Keeler, or some other contact hitter.

But if I needed to close out a game, there's only one guy I'd pick. One guy. And I'd pick him every time, under every circumstance, and I think most would agree. And that makes him the greatest ever.

When we're answering the question "who was the greatest hitter ever?" we don't factor Ty Cobb out of the equation because he didn't hit home runs. We don't factor Ted Williams out of the equation because his defense was suspect. We're just asking who was the greatest HITTER.

Similarly, we're asking here, "who was the greatest pitcher?" And if Mo's career numbers: 2.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, plus the aforementioned postseason numbers - don't clearly position him among the greatest pitchers of all-time, I'm not sure what does.

-Al

If picking the greatest hitter ever, would you include someone who exclusively pinch hit but had a .400 lifetime average in 25 percent as many at bats as an everyday player? That's the better analogy, and I am guessing the answer is no.