by Lupine

Created on: February 07, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

When looking for the best closer of all time one pitcher stands out above the rest in almost every category. That pitcher is Mariano Rivera. You can rank the closers in almost any way you'd like, and he is still going to be number one no matter. Have any doubts? I'm going to list a number of key stats and the top five closers in each category (minimum 150 saves).

Percentage of the League ERA (LERA) - probably the most critical stat for evaluating any pitcher. Derived by dividing a pitchers ERA into the League average ERA. The lower the number, the better the pitcher. The lower the number, the better chance the pitcher is giving his team to win games.

1) MARIANO RIVERA - has pitched to just 50% of LERA in career.

2) BILLY WAGNER - excellent at 55%.

3) TREVOR HOFFMAN - 67%

3) TROY PERCIVAL - 67%

5) DAN QUISENBERRY - 68%

5) JOHN WETTELAND - 68%

5) ARMANDO BENETIZ - 68%

CAREER WON-LOST RECORD - how can people ignore this stat when looking at closers? A Win is a Win and a Loss is a Loss. Closers should not be given any slack for losing games, and deserve credit for winning them.

1) MARIANO RIVERA - 59-40 (.596)

2) DAN QUISENBERRY - 56-46 (.549)

3) ERIC GAGNE - 25-21 (.544)

4) HOYT WILHELM - 143-122 (.540)

5) GOOSE GOSSAGE - 124-107 (.537)

[Notably bad closers include, Troy Percival 30-41 (.423), Randy Myers, 44-63 (.411), Lee Smith, 71-92 (.436), Jose Mesa, 78-106 (.424).]

BB RATE PER 9 INNINGS - critical stat for any pitcher, but especially a closer who must keep runners off base.

1) DAN QUISENBERRY - 1.4

2) DENNIS ECKERSLEY - 2.0

3) MARIANO RIVERA - 2.3

4) TREVOR HOFFMAN - 2.5

5) ROLLIE FINGERS - 2.6

K TO BB RATIO - a critical stat for a closer, who not only needs to keep runners off base, but also must have the ability to over-power hitters at critical times.

1) TREVOR HOFFMAN - 3.92

2) BILLY WAGNER - 3.90

3) MARIANO RIVERA - 3.5

4) ERIC GAGNE - 3.46

5) DENNIS ECKERSLEY - 3.3

BROKEN BATS - obviously nobody keeps this stat, but RIVERA's total must be in the hundreds. However he spins his cut fastball, it must have a wicked rotation that just saws off bats. His percentage of the LERA is no fluke, as his pitched ball is very difficult to hit as evidenced by the incredible number of bats that are broken by his pitches.

MARIANO RIVERA is the Greatest Closer of all-time, and one of the Greatest Pitchers in MLB history. His 50% of the LERA is the lowest number I have ever seen for any pitcher, period. He has the best winning percentage of all time for a Closer, and ranks third in both BB per 9 innings and K to BB ratio. He has also been an incredible post-season pitcher.

(For the three years 2002-2004, ERIC GAGNE was more dominant than any reliever in baseball history. Over the three years he went 13-7 (.650), with 152 saves in 158 chances (96%), while pitching to just 45% of the LERA, with an unbelievable K to BB ratio of 6.33. Unparalleled pitching, but three years does not make a career.)

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