Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 17. Aroldis Chapman
- 905 strikeouts
- 276 saves
- 2.25 career ERA
We are starting to get into some relievers with the best group of left-handed relievers all ranked relatively close together compared to their starting counterparts. Closers are important and while they don’t get the accumulative numbers such as WAR or strikeouts, their impact is widely felt.
And when you really break it down, Chapman is right up there with Kenley Jansen as the best closer of this generation. He has been consistently really good for a decade now, something that is really hard for pitchers to do as closers typically have such a short shelf life.
Chapman has toned his velocity down a tad but he still pumps gas and is one of the most intimidating pitchers to face in MLB. He has been an all-star six times, even receiving Cy Young and MVP votes one time in his career.
From 2012 until 2019 Chapman had just one season in which he did not record 30 saves and in that same timeframe the worst ERA that he finished with after the season was 3.22. He had an ERA below 2.00 three times in that stretch.
Nobody compares to the duo of Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman that we were spoiled, who also subsequently raised the bar, but Chapman deserves credit as the best left-handed reliever of this generation and one of the best left-handed relievers of all-time.