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

Not in the top 40.

****as a side note, Mussina getting in is nearly as much of a disgrace as Baines/Trammel/Morris. Very disheartening trend for the sanctity of the HOF.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by sfh24

Not in the top 40.

****as a side note, Mussina getting in is nearly as much of a disgrace as Baines/Trammel/Morris. Very disheartening trend for the sanctity of the HOF.

Never dis an inductee who wore a Yankee uniform on this forum.

Too many objective Yankee fans lurking here.

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Never dis an inductee who wore a Yankee uniform on this forum.

Too many objective Yankee fans lurking here.

You make a good point. I may have made a catastrophic mistake of diminishing (2) Yankees in one post!

[oldjudge]

People keep saying that batters only saw Mariano once a game. That is true, but they often saw him multiple times a series and he basically threw one pitch. They knew what was coming—they just couldn’t hit it.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

People keep saying that batters only saw Mariano once a game. That is true, but they often saw him multiple times a series and he basically threw one pitch. They knew what was coming—they just couldn’t hit it.

So what.

Are you telling me that if you had one of the 10 best pitchers of all time on your team you would only let him pitch 70 innings a season, most (if not all) coming in when you had a lead?

Seriously?

He was really really good, probably the best, at the job he was asked to do, I'll acknowledge that, but top 10 of all pitchers all time?

Come on.

Doug "Roy Gleason has a lifetime batting average of 1.000, slugging percentage of 2.000 and OPS of 3.000" Goodman

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

So what.

Are you telling me that if you had one of the 10 best pitchers of all time on your team you would only let him pitch 70 innings a season, most (if not all) coming in when you had a lead?

Seriously?

He was really really good, probably the best, at the job he was asked to do, I'll acknowledge that, but top 10 of all pitchers all time?

Come on.

Doug "Roy Gleason has a lifetime batting average of 1.000, slugging percentage of 2.000 and OPS of 3.000" Goodman

agree with this!

[alywa]

Off the top of my head...

Johnson, Mathewson, Alexander, Grove, Koufax, Gibson, Ryan, Carlton, Seaver, Clemens, Maddux, Johnson, Martinez, Kershaw

Best reliever of all time though

[oldjudge]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

So what.

Are you telling me that if you had one of the 10 best pitchers of all time on your team you would only let him pitch 70 innings a season, most (if not all) coming in when you had a lead?

Seriously?

He was really really good, probably the best, at the job he was asked to do, I'll acknowledge that, but top 10 of all pitchers all time?

Come on.

Doug "Roy Gleason has a lifetime batting average of 1.000, slugging percentage of 2.000 and OPS of 3.000" Goodman

What I am telling you is that if I had one batter to get out and I could choose any pitcher to do it I would choose Mariano.

[alywa]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

What I am telling you is that if I had one batter to get out and I could choose any pitcher to do it I would choose Mariano.

So long as it wasn't Edgar Martinez

Martinez vs. Rivera (includes postseason): .579 / .652 / .1.053 in 23 plate appearances

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by alywa

So long as it wasn't Edgar Martinez

Martinez vs. Rivera (includes postseason): .579 / .652 / .1.053 in 23 plate appearances

You beat me to that one...

Nolan was the "Edgar killer", he was 1-19, with a walk

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

What I am telling you is that if I had one batter to get out and I could choose any pitcher to do it I would choose Mariano.

What I am telling you is that if YOU had a GAME you needed to win, and you could choose any pitcher, you WOULD NOT choose Mariano to be anywhere near the mound until after your team had played 8 innings AND given him a lead.

[packs]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

What I am telling you is that if YOU had a GAME you needed to win, and you could choose any pitcher, you WOULD NOT choose Mariano to be anywhere near the mound until after your team had played 8 innings AND given him a lead.

Let me ask you something: do you win the game in the 9th inning or not?

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

People keep saying that batters only saw Mariano once a game. That is true, but they often saw him multiple times a series and he basically threw one pitch. They knew what was coming—they just couldn’t hit it.

…for a few years, Sutter had that effect, but he was never considered the GOAT or even in the pasture.


Rivera added longevity, but he was still just a one-inning master, perhaps the best one-inning pitcher ever.

================================================== ================================================== ====

Some of the best starters could be just as dominant the first time through the lineup...even so-so pitchers could even be that dominant early in the game on in a while.


True that Rivera did it time and time again, but...

How many times did any one hitter get to face Rivera more than once in the same game?

I'll bet the answer is very few.

Hitting at the big league level requires one to adjust from at-bat to at-bat.

Starting pitchers also have to adjust from at-bat to at-bat.

One-Inning pitchers, even their GOAT, never have to make that adjustment.

=

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

How many times did any one hitter get to face Rivera more than once in the same game? =

According to Baseball Reference, as a reliever he faced 68 batters a second time in a game and 2 batters a third time.