Last season, Baltimore closer Kevin Gregg turned in a season unique in the annals of relief pitching:

With 22 saves and 48 games finished, Gregg became the first pitcher to log 20+ saves and/or 25+ games finished without inheriting a single runner all year. (Inherited runners have been tallied only since 1950, but I’ll personally guarantee that this never happened before that, either.)

There were 28 pitchers with at least 20 saves in 2011. As a group, they averaged 34 saves and 12 inherited runners; 16 of them inherited 10 runners or less. John Axford, the NL Saves co-leader, inherited just 1 runner all year, and that was in a non-save situation. (He stranded the runner, but lost the game in the next inning.)

Among 30-save men last year, the high in inherited runners was 17, shared by Mariano Rivera, Juan Oviedo (f/k/a/ Leo Nunez) and Carlos Marmol. Rivera inherited at least one runner in 6 of 49 save tries, Oviedo 9 of 42, and Marmol 7 of 44 save chances, for a combined rate of 16% of their save tries.

As shown in the following charts, the rate of inherited runners for closers has been declining since the mid-’70s. The rates are shown in two forms, Per 30 Saves and Per 60 IP (the average workload of a modern closer). Since closers of past eras tended to pitch more innings and record fewer saves than their modern counterparts, the rates Per 30 Saves tend to be much higher than Per 60 IP until the ’90s.

Each chart covers a different set of pitchers from 1961-2011 — pitchers with 10+ saves, pitchers with 20+ saves, and the yearly MLB saves leaders.

Chart 1:  Pitchers with 10+ Saves

Chart 2:  Pitchers with 20+ Saves
(Note that 1961 and ’67 saw just one pitcher with 20+ saves)

Chart 3:  MLB Saves Leaders

In Chart 3, the 1989 spike is Mark Davis, who inherited 75 runners (stranding 79%) en route to 44 saves and the NL Cy Young Award (followed by one of the most unproductive free-agent contracts ever seen). Four other closers that year had between 54 and 65 inherited runners; no closer since then has had more than 49.

Other landmarks in saves and inherited runners:

• Ted Abernathy notched the first 30-save season in 1965. He inherited at least one baserunner in 26 of his 38 save chances. Over all (including non-save outings), he inherited 59 runners, of whom 18 scored.
• In 1969, Cincinnati’s Wayne Granger, working for Dave Bristol, set the all-time mark by inheriting 112 runners over 90 games. In 62 of those 90 games, Granger came on with at least 1 man base; 11 times he entered with the bases full. Granger finished 55 of 90 games and logged a hefty 145 relief IP in ’69, with 27 saves.
• In 1972, Rollie Fingers pitched in 9 of the 12 postseason games, inheriting at least one runner in every game but one. Fingers inherited 12 runners in all, stranding 11; the only one he let in was already on 3rd base with no outs when Rollie entered. During the regular year, Fingers stranded 38 of 44 inherited runners (86%).
• John Hiller had 38 saves in 1973, a new record that would stand for a decade, with just 4 blown saves. Hiller inherited at least one runner in 35 of his 42 save chances, and 52 of his 65 games. In all, he inherited 84 runners — equal to the combined total for last year’s Top 10 in Saves — and stranded 85% of them. Hiller inherited 2 or 3 runners 29 times.
• Bruce Sutter won the 1979 NL Cy Young Award with 37 saves. Sutter inherited one or more runners in 29 of 47 save tries, and 36 of 62 games. He inherited 55 total runners, and 13 scored.
• The following year, Dan Quisenberry helped the Royals to their first pennant, with 33 saves (just 4 blown) and 12 wins. Quis inherited a runner in 29 of 37 save chances, and 54 of 75 games (and 2 or 3 runners in 30 games). His 89 inherited runners in 1980 remains the record for a 30-save season (shared by Mike Marshall in ’73).
• In 1992, Tom Henke logged the first 30-save season while inheriting less than 10 runners. In 37 save chances, Henke inherited just 5 runners (7 all year).
• In ’93, Jeff Russell was the first to log 30 saves while tossing less than 50 innings. Russell’s total of 46.2 IP was 90 less than Abernathy worked in the first 30-save season.
• In 2002, Eddie Guardado had 45 saves (AL high) while inheriting runners just once — with a 3-run lead, 2 men on and 1 out to get.
• En route to 46 saves and the career saves record in 2006, Trevor Hoffman dealt with just 1 leftover runner — with a 3-run lead and 1 out to get.
• On September 18, 2008, five days after breaking the season saves mark, Francisco Rodriguez entered with 1 out in the 9th, a 5-run lead and the bases loaded (the only time all year that he entered with the sacks full). He let in all 3 runners, but got the 2 outs for (ahem) “save” #59. K-Rod’s career strand rate of 32% is exactly the same as the MLB average during his career.

P.S. Although this topic cries out for data on percentages of all saves that featured inherited runners, the Play Index cannot search for inherited runners in a game.