Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 16. John Franco
- 975 strikeouts
- 424 saves
- 2.89 career ERA
Another reliever makes the cut and spoiler alert: by my estimations, he is the second-greatest left-handed relief pitcher of all-time. He edges out Aroldis Chapman for the 16th spot on this list and it certainly is well-deserved.
Franco has the most saves of any left-handed reliever in baseball history and has impressive career numbers to go with it. He currently has more strikeouts than Chapman, albeit Chapman should pass that at some point in his career. His 2.89 ERA is also impressive, although not as good as Chapman’s.
The big number is the saves and that is the most important. Franco has 148 more saves than Chapman does in his career and while Chapman should eventually pass him, that is enough to give Franco the edge for the time being.
Franco was an all-star four times in his career and was named the Rolaids Reliever of the year twice. He led the league in saves three times in his career and finished with eight seasons with 30 or more.
He had some seasons later in his career that hurt his overall numbers but from 1986 to 1997 he was the best closer in baseball. In that span, Franco had a 2.61 ERA with 343 saves.