One and done: Jeff Reardon
Hall voters notoriously underappreciate closers. But even recognizing that trait, Reardon gets little respect. Of the top seven eligible inductees in saves all-time, he is the only one who qualifies as a one-and-done candidate.
If you’re going to consider short-inning guys for enshrinement, then Reardon deserves consideration. He accumulated 367 saves over 16 seasons, topping 30 saves seven times and topping 40 saves three times. That included a league-leading 41 saves with Montreal in 1985.
But Reardon was not purely a short-inning guy. Over the span of his 880 appearances, he piled up 1,132 innings, nine times working 50 games or more. His career 73-77 record is not unusual for closers, and his 3.16 ERA is solid.
Part of Reardon’s problem may flow from his modest postseason resume. He pitched in the 1981, 1987, 1990 and 1992 postseasons, including as closer for the 1987 World Series champion Minnesota Twins.
Reardon’s October record was undistinguished: a 2-3 record, six saves, and a 4.57 ERA across 22 innings of work. That, plus the fact that he lacked the glamour of contemporary closers such as Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, and Lee Smith may have factored into Hall voters sense of ennui concerning Reardon.
He made the ballot in 2000, but fell off when he collected only 24 votes, 4.8 percent. The result must have been gut-wrenching; had one more voter cast a ballot for Reardon, he would at least have surpassed the 5 percent threshold for a second shot at consideration.