Comments on: 2007: The Year of the Middle Reliever

By: Johnny Twisto

Johnny Twisto — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:08:30 +0000

That's a mistake. Good pick up. I checked Retrosheet, where B-R gets most of its game data from, and they don't have a blown save in their boxscore. Doesn't look like they list BS in any of their boxes. So it must be some tool Sean Forman wrote to search for BS, and it has an error in it. You should email him and let him know.

Incidentally, here are the (hopefully mostly accurate) all-time postseason leaders in BS and Holds.

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/hkKe
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/2sXZ

By: kingturtle

kingturtle — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:01:58 +0000

I see instances in B-R in which a pitcher is credited with a Blown Save even though it is not a Save Opportunity. For example, in Game One of the 1923 World Series, Rosy Ryan is given a Blown Save - but I don’t think it was a Save Situation. He replaced the starting pitcher in the 3rd inning. The starting pitcher was not qualified to get a Win. If Ryan pitched perfectly to the end of the game, Ryan would have gotten the Win, not the Save. Can someone please explain how and why one can get a blown save in a situation that a save is not possible?

By: Raphy

Raphy — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:24:51 +0000

Of course those blown save numbers are all relative. The leaders are clearly reflective of the change in role that closers have had. Here's a quick example:
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/h5k9

By: Johnny Twisto

Johnny Twisto — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:04:16 +0000

Career Holds:
M. Stanton 267
J. Orosco 188
P. Quantrill 185
D. Plesac 183
Mi. Jackson 182

Singe Season Holds:
S. Linebrink 36 (2006)
T. Gordon 36 (2004)
B. Lyon 35 (2007)
A. Otsuka 34 (2004)
Mi. Jackson 34 (1993)
H. Bell 34 (2007)

Career Blown Saves:
R. Gossage 119
R. Fingers 110
J. Reardon 107
L. Smith 105
B. Sutter 101
J. Franco 101

Single Season Blown Saves:
B. Sutter 14 (1978)
B. Stanley 14 (1983)
J. Staley 14 (1960)
M. Marshall 14 (1973)
R. Fingers 14 (1973)
R. Davis 14 (1984)

These are all just since 1957, but it's pretty sure no one before then would have made these lists.

By: kingturtle

kingturtle — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:06:32 +0000

Speaking of middle relievers, I see Holds and Blown Saves appearing in box scores, but I've never seen any results for single-season and lifetime leaders on these stats. What are the benchmarks? Is 15 holds in a season good? What's the record for most blown saves in a season? A career?

By: mlbfan30

mlbfan30 — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:13:16 +0000

This blog seems to be running out of topics. Baseball needs to start.

By: vonhayes

vonhayes — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:49:36 +0000

Nevermind. I didn't click the first report.

By: vonhayes

vonhayes — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:48:44 +0000

What relievers have done it the most often, Raphy?

I would guess one of them would be Mo.