Major League Baseball’s greatest relief pitcher of all-time

By Michael Pallas | Jan 25, 2018

Plaques in the main hallway identify inductee classes in the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum July 25, 2004 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

Mariano Rivera is undoubtedly the best closer Major League Baseball has ever seen, but when it comes to relief pitchers, no one tops Hoyt Wilhelm.

Now that the role of closer is defined in baseball, we see the impact of relief pitchers in the game. There was a time when a relief pitcher’s impact was either merely to stop the bleeding or if a starter couldn’t go anymore, and that was a manager’s discretion. Now we have defined roles for all relief pitchers. The Baseball Hall of Fame will enshrine its sixth relief pitcher, but who is the best among them. One James Hoyt Wilhelm is the best of the best in the history of Major League Baseball.

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In 1985, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America elected two players to the Hall of Fame, Lou Brock, and knuckleball relief pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm. In that year Wilhelm became the first primary relief pitcher selected. He was followed by Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006), Goose Gossage (2008), and Hoffman this year. Next year will likely belong to the greatest closer of all-time Mariano Rivera.

When it comes to closers the list is simple, Mariano Rivera and everyone else is far away. That said, when it comes to relief pitchers, there’s one name that stands above them all, James Hoyt Wilhelm.

Unlike the others, being a knuckleballer, he didn’t throw hard. In addition, he holds the record for appearances (1018) and wins (126) by a reliever, and he even pitched a no-hitter. He’s also recorded 228 saves in his career which ranks him 40th all-time, and 651 games finished (11th all-time).

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Most closers come in when they have a lead. Of his 126 wins, 26 of Wilhelm’s wins came when his team was either tied or trailing. So Wilhelm was not only called upon to preserve leads, but he was called on to stop the bleeding, and he did it well.