17. John Wetteland, RHP
Career Stats: 618 G (17 GS), 330 SV, 765 IP, 2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 8.01 BB%, 25.56 K%
Pedro Martinez isn’t the only pitcher who went from the Dodgers to the Expos in the early- to mid-90s and suddenly became a star on the mound. Wetteland went from LA to Montreal via Cincinnati.
The moment he arrived in Montreal, Wetteland was inserted as the team’s closer and took to the role with complete dominance. He saved 105 games with a 2.32 ERA over three seasons, anchoring the bullpen on Expos teams that worked their way to the top of the NL before the Expos started tearing apart the team following the 1994 player’s strike when he was traded to the Yankees.
There are few people who could keep the man who will end up at the top of this list (seriously, that’s not in question, is it?) from the closer role, but Wetteland was that guy for a pair of seasons with the Yankees, leading the league in saves in 1996 with 43 as the Yankees won the World Series.
He then signed as a free agent in 1997 with the Texas Rangers, and he simply kept up his dominant ways, until an injury led to him going unsigned when his contract was up after the 2000 season. He was only 34 at the time.
Wetteland was awarded the Rolaids Relief Man of the decade for the 1990s, though he only won one Rolaids Relief award for a single season in the decade, 1996. He was selected to 3 All-Star games, appeared on one Cy Young Award ballot, garnered votes 4 times for MVP, and he was the 1996 World Series MVP.
When he came due for the Hall of Fame, his quick and abrupt end to his career cost him, as he could only get 0.8% of the vote and left the ballot in his first year on the ballot.
Next: 16. Astros Relief Ace