2010s All-Decade Team: Pitchers, Catchers and the Rest

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This post concludes our voting to select the best 25 man team of this decade. We started with infielders in the first post, chose outfielders and a DH in the second post, and will choose pitchers, catchers and the rest in this final installment. More after the jump.

These are the players already elected to our All-Decade team.

For this election, we’ll complete our 25 man roster by selecting five starting pitchers, five relievers, two catchers, one utility player and one pinch-hitter. For starting and relief pitchers, the selection will be the top right-hander and top left-hander, and the next highest voting points leaders. The catchers will be the two top voting points leaders, and the utility player and pinch-hitter will be the voting points leader in those categories. Voting is open until 23:59 EST on Sunday, January 12th.

Qualifications for ballot eligibility are based only for play in the 2010-19 decade. Eligible players must meet all of these criteria:

Pitchers

  • 1000 IP (Starting Pitchers) or 300 IP (Relief Pitchers)
  • 60% of Games Started (Starting Pitchers) or 80% of Games in Relief (Relief Pitchers)
  • 20 WAR (Starting Pitchers) or 10 WAR (Relief Pitchers) or Top 25 in WAR for either group

Catchers

  • 3000 PA
  • 50% of Games as Catcher
  • 20 WAR or Top 10 in WAR for Position

Utility Player

  • 2000 PA
  • 15% of Games at:
    • three IF positions (incl. catcher); OR
    • three OF positions; OR
    • one infield (incl. catcher) and one outfield position
  • 10 WAR or Top 10 in WAR among qualifying players

Pinch-Hitter

  • 1000 PA
  • 200 PA as Pinch-Hitter
  • 10 WAR or Top 10 in WAR among qualifying players

Here are the candidates.

Starting Pitcher

Rk Player WAR WHIP BB9 SO9 HR9 OPS+ IP From To Age G GS CG SHO W L W-L% BB SO ERA FIP K% BB% ERA+ BAbip Tm
1 Clayton Kershaw 59.3 0.962 1.96 9.83 0.70 60 1996.0 2010 2019 22-31 294 293 25 15 156 61 .719 434 2179 2.31 2.64 28.0% 5.6% 164 .271 LAD
2 Justin Verlander 56.2 1.077 2.39 9.50 0.96 71 2142.0 2010 2019 27-36 321 321 20 6 160 86 .650 568 2260 3.10 3.26 26.2% 6.6% 136 .275 DET-HOU
3 Max Scherzer 56.1 1.068 2.33 10.69 1.00 73 2063.2 2010 2019 25-34 319 319 10 5 161 74 .685 534 2452 3.12 3.06 29.5% 6.4% 134 .290 DET-WSN
4 Cole Hamels 46.2 1.185 2.66 8.60 0.98 85 1958.0 2010 2019 26-35 306 305 11 3 115 87 .569 579 1872 3.33 3.64 23.2% 7.2% 124 .290 PHI-TEX-CHC
5 Chris Sale 45.4 1.035 2.07 11.08 0.95 69 1629.2 2010 2019 21-30 312 232 16 3 109 73 .599 374 2007 3.03 2.90 30.7% 5.7% 140 .294 CHW-BOS
6 Zack Greinke 44.0 1.109 2.01 8.49 0.90 79 1984.0 2010 2019 26-35 311 311 7 2 155 70 .689 442 1872 3.18 3.26 23.4% 5.5% 128 .290 KCR-MIL-LAA-LAD-ARI-HOU
7 David Price 38.6 1.141 2.24 8.90 0.90 81 1887.1 2010 2019 24-33 293 287 17 3 140 73 .657 469 1867 3.24 3.27 24.3% 6.1% 125 .294 TBR-DET-TOR-BOS
8 Corey Kluber 33.2 1.086 1.96 9.80 0.89 74 1341.2 2011 2019 25-33 208 203 17 7 98 58 .628 292 1461 3.16 2.99 27.1% 5.4% 135 .300 CLE
9 Jacob deGrom 32.7 1.053 2.17 10.25 0.78 70 1101.2 2014 2019 26-31 171 171 3 1 66 49 .574 266 1255 2.62 2.78 28.6% 6.1% 147 .294 NYM
10 Stephen Strasburg 32.6 1.086 2.36 10.60 0.89 72 1438.2 2010 2019 21-30 239 239 2 2 112 58 .659 377 1695 3.17 2.96 29.1% 6.5% 130 .296 WSN
11 Gio Gonzalez 32.3 1.286 3.64 8.56 0.72 84 1768.2 2010 2019 24-33 302 300 4 2 123 88 .583 715 1683 3.49 3.54 22.5% 9.6% 117 .293 OAK-WSN-MIL
12 Felix Hernandez 32.3 1.174 2.55 8.45 0.91 88 1824.2 2010 2019 24-33 281 280 18 8 111 95 .539 518 1714 3.40 3.52 22.9% 6.9% 114 .290 SEA
13 Madison Bumgarner 32.2 1.111 2.08 8.75 0.93 86 1836.0 2010 2019 20-29 285 285 15 6 119 92 .564 425 1784 3.14 3.32 23.9% 5.7% 120 .288 SFG
14 Johnny Cueto 32.1 1.146 2.39 7.54 0.83 83 1511.0 2010 2019 24-33 235 235 17 8 106 62 .631 401 1266 3.06 3.59 20.5% 6.5% 131 .281 CIN-KCR-SFG
15 Jon Lester 31.2 1.244 2.80 8.49 0.94 89 1979.2 2010 2019 26-35 320 320 11 2 148 92 .617 616 1868 3.54 3.62 22.7% 7.5% 118 .302 BOS-OAK-CHC
16 Jose Quintana 25.9 1.265 2.54 7.87 0.93 94 1485.0 2012 2019 23-30 250 246 2 2 83 77 .519 419 1298 3.72 3.65 20.9% 6.8% 111 .307 CHW-CHC
17 Jake Arrieta 24.0 1.211 3.13 8.07 0.92 84 1469.1 2010 2019 24-33 252 246 6 5 106 75 .586 511 1318 3.72 3.83 21.6% 8.4% 111 .277 BAL-CHC-PHI
18 CC Sabathia 23.9 1.289 2.71 8.01 1.14 93 1688.0 2010 2019 29-38 273 272 10 1 115 80 .590 509 1503 3.87 3.99 21.0% 7.1% 110 .301 NYY
19 Gerrit Cole 23.4 1.129 2.37 10.06 0.87 80 1195.0 2013 2019 22-28 192 192 2 1 94 52 .644 315 1336 3.22 3.06 27.6% 6.5% 127 .306 PIT-HOU
20 Adam Wainwright 23.2 1.219 2.36 7.80 0.73 90 1459.2 2010 2019 28-37 234 230 19 10 116 71 .620 383 1265 3.48 3.31 21.0% 6.4% 112 .308 STL
21 Lance Lynn 23.1 1.305 3.38 8.89 0.81 92 1342.2 2011 2019 24-32 247 223 2 1 98 68 .590 504 1326 3.59 3.58 23.3% 8.8% 115 .308 STL-NYY-MIN-TEX
22 Anibal Sanchez 23.1 1.277 2.77 8.23 1.03 93 1613.1 2010 2019 26-35 289 267 7 6 90 91 .497 497 1476 4.00 3.77 21.6% 7.3% 104 .302 FLA-MIA-DET-ATL-WSN
23 R.A. Dickey 22.5 1.226 2.68 6.65 1.08 96 1631.0 2010 2017 35-42 256 252 14 5 98 90 .521 486 1206 3.66 4.20 17.7% 7.2% 109 .275 NYM-TOR-ATL
24 Yu Darvish 22.1 1.174 3.29 11.12 1.13 78 1051.0 2012 2019 25-32 170 170 2 1 63 53 .543 384 1299 3.57 3.51 29.8% 8.8% 122 .289 TEX-LAD-CHC
25 Carlos Carrasco 21.3 1.174 2.21 9.47 1.02 86 1152.0 2010 2019 23-32 225 178 11 4 85 65 .567 283 1212 3.72 3.33 25.7% 6.0% 115 .308 CLE
26 Jered Weaver 21.3 1.164 2.28 6.93 1.19 93 1395.2 2010 2017 27-34 221 221 10 6 99 71 .582 353 1075 3.58 4.11 18.8% 6.2% 107 .269 LAA-SDP
27 Dallas Keuchel 20.5 1.260 2.64 7.16 0.91 92 1302.0 2012 2019 24-31 211 202 12 4 84 71 .542 382 1036 3.67 3.80 19.1% 7.0% 110 .296 HOU-ATL
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/4/2020.

Relief Pitcher

Rk Player WAR WHIP BB9 SO9 HR9 OPS+ IP From To Age G GS GF W L W-L% SV ERA FIP K% BB% ERA+ BAbip Tm
1 Craig Kimbrel 19.6 0.945 3.53 14.61 0.72 41 553.1 2010 2019 22-31 565 0 466 31 23 .574 346 2.08 2.19 41.1% 9.9% 195 .263 ATL-SDP-BOS-CHC
2 Aroldis Chapman 17.5 1.023 4.17 14.84 0.45 41 535.2 2010 2019 22-31 550 0 411 33 26 .559 273 2.23 2.01 41.1% 11.5% 185 .283 CIN-CHC-NYY
3 Kenley Jansen 15.8 0.906 2.34 13.29 0.84 51 611.2 2010 2019 22-31 605 0 443 30 21 .588 301 2.35 2.26 37.6% 6.6% 163 .270 LAD
4 David Robertson 15.2 1.124 3.48 11.92 0.76 64 589.2 2010 2019 25-34 591 0 248 47 32 .595 136 2.75 2.79 32.4% 9.5% 152 .291 NYY-CHW-PHI
5 Darren O’Day 14.1 0.988 2.38 9.68 1.04 65 458.1 2010 2019 27-36 487 0 118 34 17 .667 19 2.45 3.49 27.0% 6.6% 173 .250 TEX-BAL-ATL
6 Zack Britton 13.7 1.249 3.54 7.45 0.55 74 603.0 2011 2019 23-31 397 46 236 34 23 .596 145 3.07 3.48 20.1% 9.5% 137 .284 BAL-NYY
7 Tyler Clippard 13.6 1.072 3.37 10.17 1.12 70 718.1 2010 2019 25-34 702 4 185 45 42 .517 68 3.04 3.69 27.8% 9.2% 134 .242 WSN-NYM-OAK-ARI-NYY-HOU-CHW-TOR-CLE
8 Steve Cishek 12.5 1.151 3.42 9.45 0.60 71 556.0 2010 2019 24-33 572 0 283 32 37 .464 132 2.69 3.22 25.3% 9.2% 151 .276 FLA-MIA-STL-SEA-TBR-CHC
9 Koji Uehara 12.4 0.833 1.43 11.39 1.15 49 414.0 2010 2017 35-42 424 0 207 20 22 .476 95 2.43 2.74 33.1% 4.2% 175 .244 BAL-TEX-BOS-CHC
10 Joaquin Benoit 12.1 1.010 2.92 9.80 0.98 62 477.1 2010 2017 32-39 491 0 137 28 23 .549 45 2.64 3.37 27.6% 8.2% 153 .242 TBR-DET-SDP-TOR-SEA-PIT-PHI
11 Tony Watson 11.9 1.096 2.40 8.03 0.88 79 573.0 2011 2019 26-34 606 0 101 39 25 .609 30 2.81 3.58 22.0% 6.6% 138 .272 PIT-LAD-SFG
12 Joe Smith 11.8 1.113 2.80 7.93 0.70 71 553.2 2010 2019 26-35 609 0 130 41 24 .631 30 2.84 3.43 21.8% 7.7% 140 .268 CLE-LAA-CHC-TOR-HOU
13 Dellin Betances 11.6 1.043 4.01 14.64 0.61 47 381.2 2011 2019 23-31 358 1 84 21 22 .488 36 2.36 2.31 40.1% 11.0% 178 .289 NYY
14 Greg Holland 11.5 1.196 4.06 11.53 0.59 65 459.0 2010 2019 24-33 466 0 320 24 22 .522 206 2.96 2.77 31.0% 10.9% 144 .295 KCR-COL-WSN-STL-ARI
15 Wade Davis 11.3 1.282 3.51 8.45 0.90 88 907.0 2010 2019 24-33 506 82 243 61 49 .555 137 3.73 3.79 22.2% 9.2% 110 .288 TBR-KCR-CHC-COL
16 Adam Ottavino 10.8 1.302 4.02 10.36 0.86 79 479.1 2010 2019 24-33 439 3 85 23 25 .479 19 3.44 3.55 27.2% 10.5% 133 .307 STL-COL-NYY
17 Mark Melancon 10.7 1.118 2.05 8.33 0.54 71 567.0 2010 2019 25-34 570 0 330 28 25 .528 194 2.83 2.82 22.8% 5.6% 140 .296 HOU-NYY-BOS-PIT-WSN-SFG-ATL
18 Andrew Miller 10.3 1.177 3.72 12.38 0.92 70 518.1 2010 2019 25-34 486 19 131 40 33 .548 59 3.26 3.16 32.7% 9.8% 131 .299 FLA-BOS-BAL-NYY-CLE-STL
19 Kelvin Herrera 9.7 1.201 2.80 8.92 0.84 80 511.1 2011 2019 21-29 520 0 165 27 32 .458 61 3.15 3.40 23.8% 7.5% 135 .294 KCR-WSN-CHW
20 Sergio Romo 9.7 1.023 2.04 10.02 1.01 74 555.0 2010 2019 27-36 634 5 254 32 29 .525 127 2.90 3.12 27.8% 5.7% 133 .275 SFG-LAD-TBR-MIA-MIN
21 Tommy Hunter 9.4 1.217 1.91 6.20 1.26 95 715.2 2010 2019 23-32 426 53 98 47 36 .566 21 3.89 4.26 16.7% 5.1% 109 .284 TEX-BAL-CHC-CLE-TBR-PHI
22 Pedro Strop 9.4 1.155 4.01 9.81 0.62 66 494.1 2010 2019 25-34 548 0 138 28 30 .483 32 3.15 3.40 26.2% 10.7% 132 .262 TEX-BAL-CHC
23 Sean Doolittle 9.3 0.954 1.76 10.60 0.88 58 388.0 2012 2019 25-32 390 0 202 23 21 .523 111 3.02 2.69 30.0% 5.0% 136 .274 OAK-WSN
24 Santiago Casilla 9.3 1.188 3.66 8.26 0.71 81 485.0 2010 2018 29-37 503 0 257 36 27 .571 140 2.69 3.70 22.1% 9.8% 140 .266 SFG-OAK
25 Alexi Ogando 9.2 1.245 3.32 7.28 0.95 82 504.1 2010 2018 26-34 284 48 62 33 19 .635 4 3.50 4.04 19.3% 8.8% 123 .272 TEX-BOS-ATL-CLE
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/4/2020.

Catcher

Rk Player WAR/pos OPS+ PA From To Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Pos Tm
1 Buster Posey 42.2 128 5136 2010 2019 23-32 1251 4558 594 1378 270 9 140 673 484 630 23 9 .302 .371 .458 .828 *23/HD SFG
2 Yadier Molina 31.9 106 5197 2010 2019 27-36 1314 4755 512 1367 276 5 121 653 329 580 53 25 .287 .336 .424 .760 *2/3HD5 STL
3 Russell Martin 23.9 99 4322 2010 2019 27-36 1123 3688 501 860 153 2 142 497 521 902 41 25 .233 .339 .391 .730 *2/H5D14679 NYY-PIT-TOR-LAD
4 Salvador Perez 22.3 98 3737 2011 2018 21-28 942 3537 381 942 177 10 141 503 131 599 4 1 .266 .297 .442 .739 *2/DH3 KCR
5 Jonathan Lucroy 18.0 102 4568 2010 2019 24-33 1202 4121 481 1128 216 24 108 545 366 658 30 9 .274 .335 .416 .751 *2/H3D MIL-TEX-COL-OAK-CHC-LAA
6 Brian McCann 17.6 104 4478 2010 2019 26-35 1144 3944 479 967 138 3 191 629 440 753 13 6 .245 .327 .427 .754 *2/HD3 ATL-NYY-HOU
7 Matt Wieters 17.1 93 4002 2010 2019 24-33 1052 3605 402 887 174 4 137 503 337 751 9 4 .246 .311 .411 .721 *2/HD3 BAL-WSN-STL
8 Yasmani Grandal 16.1 115 3292 2012 2019 23-30 879 2793 374 673 136 7 141 416 457 773 11 7 .241 .348 .446 .794 *2H/3D SDP-LAD-MIL
9 Alex Avila 15.3 101 3393 2010 2019 23-32 966 2861 332 671 140 8 98 372 488 991 8 8 .235 .347 .392 .739 *2/H3D15 DET-CHW-CHC-ARI
10 Wilson Ramos 15.2 104 3468 2010 2019 22-31 901 3199 334 881 140 2 123 499 226 571 1 3 .275 .322 .436 .758 *2/HD MIN-WSN-TBR-PHI-NYM
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/4/2020.

Utility Player

Rk Player WAR OPS+ PA From To Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Pos Tm
1 Ben Zobrist 37.3 114 5707 2010 2019 29-38 1354 4901 743 1311 303 33 125 620 703 806 92 40 .267 .359 .419 .778 *4976/HD3851 TBR-OAK-KCR-CHC
2 Bryce Harper 31.5 137 4639 2012 2019 19-26 1084 3879 708 1071 219 19 219 635 684 1012 90 34 .276 .385 .512 .897 *978/HD3 WSN-PHI
3 Matt Carpenter 26.7 126 4807 2011 2019 25-33 1149 4056 712 1092 284 27 148 531 641 947 25 17 .269 .372 .462 .835 *534/H9D7 STL
4 Curtis Granderson 26.1 113 5410 2010 2019 29-38 1383 4657 782 1098 221 38 242 638 650 1298 86 33 .236 .334 .455 .789 897H/D NYY-NYM-LAD-TOR-MIL-MIA
5 Kris Bryant 25.1 136 3105 2015 2019 23-27 706 2643 486 751 167 16 138 403 369 733 34 18 .284 .385 .516 .901 *57/938HD6 CHC
6 Martin Prado 24.2 101 4993 2010 2019 26-35 1200 4594 556 1303 256 22 86 516 320 575 36 24 .284 .331 .405 .736 *574/H369D ATL-ARI-NYY-MIA
7 Howie Kendrick 23.9 112 4924 2010 2019 26-35 1239 4540 597 1324 258 30 103 543 292 851 93 35 .292 .339 .430 .768 *47/3H5D98 LAA-LAD-PHI-WSN
8 Asdrubal Cabrera 19.3 106 5651 2010 2019 24-33 1370 5099 670 1349 300 19 165 659 427 1015 69 24 .265 .326 .428 .754 *645/HD3 CLE-TBR-NYM-PHI-WSN-TEX
9 Javier Baez 16.6 105 2473 2014 2019 21-26 665 2316 344 626 133 16 110 354 121 694 60 25 .270 .310 .484 .794 645/H37D9 CHC
10 Whit Merrifield 15.1 110 2404 2016 2019 27-30 546 2211 317 655 138 22 49 241 154 400 107 31 .296 .344 .445 .789 *4/987D3H5 KCR
11 Melky Cabrera 14.8 109 5379 2010 2019 25-34 1318 4955 645 1444 293 33 108 626 339 645 57 23 .291 .335 .429 .765 *798/HD ATL-SFG-TOR-CHW-KCR-CLE-PIT
12 Ketel Marte 13.9 108 2176 2015 2019 21-25 546 1968 275 555 108 28 54 219 178 329 38 13 .282 .342 .448 .790 *64/8H5 SEA-ARI
13 Marwin Gonzalez 13.3 101 3169 2012 2019 23-30 909 2891 355 762 158 8 91 347 210 639 38 26 .264 .319 .418 .737 63754H/9D8 HOU-MIN
14 Jon Jay 13.1 98 4244 2010 2019 25-34 1178 3774 525 1074 184 25 36 336 282 702 55 33 .285 .350 .375 .725 *897H/D1 STL-SDP-CHC-ARI-KCR-CHW
15 Michael Conforto 12.8 126 2268 2015 2019 22-26 578 1943 308 491 109 4 109 310 278 549 14 8 .253 .353 .481 .834 798/HD NYM
16 Gerardo Parra 11.1 92 4692 2010 2019 23-32 1346 4306 561 1180 243 34 83 462 287 801 91 47 .274 .323 .404 .727 79H8/314D5 ARI-MIL-BAL-COL-SFG-WSN
17 Nick Swisher 11.1 112 3189 2010 2015 29-34 766 2757 368 699 155 5 112 397 378 708 6 7 .254 .345 .435 .781 *93D/H78 NYY-CLE-ATL
18 Matt Kemp 10.9 123 5050 2010 2019 25-34 1243 4590 665 1285 253 19 220 768 380 1189 98 39 .280 .334 .487 .821 897/HD LAD-SDP-ATL-CIN
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/4/2020.

Pinch-Hitter

Here are the batting records, as pinch-hitters, for the qualifying players.

Rk Player Split From To G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS HBP SH SF
1 Daniel Descalso as PH 2010 2019 322 322 279 36 56 9 1 6 34 30 81 .201 .286 .305 .590 4 6 2
2 Matthew Joyce as PH 2010 2019 320 320 263 39 56 15 0 8 38 54 80 .213 .347 .361 .708 1 0 2
3 Ichiro Suzuki as PH 2012 2018 258 258 231 19 62 6 1 2 22 20 40 .268 .332 .329 .661 3 2 2
4 Reed Johnson as PH 2010 2015 237 237 210 21 60 10 0 4 30 5 50 .286 .338 .390 .728 14 3 5
5 Matt Adams as PH 2012 2019 231 231 217 21 55 10 0 11 49 11 75 .253 .290 .452 .742 1 0 2
6 Greg Garcia as PH 2014 2019 227 227 183 27 47 7 0 2 15 33 54 .257 .387 .328 .715 7 2 2
7 Chris Heisey as PH 2010 2017 222 222 200 30 48 10 2 14 40 15 61 .240 .297 .520 .817 3 0 4
8 Greg Dobbs as PH 2010 2014 215 215 193 12 40 6 0 4 27 16 39 .207 .265 .301 .566 1 0 5
9 Gerardo Parra as PH 2010 2019 201 201 186 29 46 9 1 2 27 11 42 .247 .296 .339 .635 2 2 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/4/2020.

And, here are the overall batting records for these qualifying players.

Rk Player WAR PA From To Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS Pos Tm
1 Matthew Joyce 13.5 3824 2010 2019 25-34 1208 3262 472 794 184 12 130 442 493 806 33 21 .243 .344 .427 .771 97HD/8 TBR-LAA-PIT-OAK-ATL
2 Gerardo Parra 11.1 4692 2010 2019 23-32 1346 4306 561 1180 243 34 83 462 287 801 91 47 .274 .323 .404 .727 79H8/314D5 ARI-MIL-BAL-COL-WSN-SFG
3 Ichiro Suzuki 8.4 4127 2010 2019 36-45 1227 3835 447 1059 134 28 33 265 235 483 168 38 .276 .318 .351 .670 *9H7/8D1 NYY-MIA-SEA
4 Matt Adams 5.6 2523 2012 2019 23-30 818 2336 290 609 127 6 116 388 159 616 4 4 .261 .309 .469 .778 *3H/7D9 STL-ATL-WSN
5 Greg Garcia 4.7 1232 2014 2019 24-29 543 1036 136 257 45 6 14 88 159 252 6 5 .248 .359 .344 .702 H45/6371D STL-SDP
6 Chris Heisey 3.9 1758 2010 2017 25-32 697 1594 218 380 69 12 62 178 110 414 25 10 .238 .296 .413 .710 *7H89/D CIN-LAD-WSN
7 Daniel Descalso 0.6 2893 2010 2019 23-32 1079 2519 326 593 126 25 48 294 303 600 26 15 .235 .320 .362 .683 H456/37D19 STL-COL-ARI-CHC
8 Reed Johnson 0.2 1130 2010 2015 33-38 536 1049 124 286 70 7 13 102 30 249 6 6 .273 .313 .390 .703 H79/8D LAD-CHC-ATL-MIA-WSN
9 Greg Dobbs -4.2 1267 2010 2014 31-35 492 1171 98 297 55 2 20 127 71 223 6 4 .254 .297 .355 .653 H5/379D PHI-FLA-MIA-WSN
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/4/2020.

Voting Rules

You must submit five ranked ballots, for Starting Pitcher, Relief Pitcher, Catcher, Utility Player and Pinch-Hitter. For Starting Pitcher and Relief Pitcher, your ballots must contain exactly 10 names, and for Catcher, Utility Player and Pinch-Hitter, your ballots must contain exactly 3 names. For the 10 player ballots, scoring will be 14-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, and for the 3 player ballots, scoring will be 5-3-1. Please use a new comment (not a reply to another comment) for your vote, and please refrain from “strategic” voting. Happy voting!

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John
John
4 years ago

SP: Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer, Strasberg, Hernandez, Hamel, Sale, Greinke, Lester, Bumgarner. RP: Chapman, Jansen, Strop, Kimbrel, Cishek, Clippard, W Davis, A Miller, O’Day, Robertson C: Molina, Posey, R Martin Ut: Zobrist, Harper, Granderson PH: R Johnson, Suzuki, Adams SP top 5 was easy. If I could have them as my starting rotation, I could play left field & still have a helluva shot at the pennant. Especially if this was my bullpen. As a Cubs fan, it pains me to put Yadi 1st at catcher, but … 1st round HoF is awfully tough to argue with. Buster Posey may be… Read more »

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago

SP:Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels, David Price, Jacob deGrom, Corey Kluber, Felix Hernandez It’s a shame to leave Strasburg off this list… but it would’ve been a shame to leave off Hernandez, too. I kind of viewed this in groups of three: Kershaw-Verlander-Scherzer; Sale-Greinke-Hamels, Price-deGrom-Kluber. Group 1 was easy; group 2 was challenging; group 3 was easy. Group two, Hamels is seen as best by Baseball-Reference, but Fangraphs dislikes him strongly. Sale and Greinke are viewed much more evenly by the two systems, and Hamels zipped to the bottom of that group (but… Read more »

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Kazzy
Kazzy
4 years ago

SP: Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer, Greinke, Sale, Price, Strasburg, Hernandez, Bumgarner, Hamels
RP: Chapman, Kimbrel, Britton, Jansen, Robertson, O’Day, Clippard, Uehara, Benoit, Betances
C: Molina, Posey, Martin
UTIL: Harper, Zobrist, Bryant
PH: Ichiro, Joyce, Johnson

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago

I looked at the pitchers on a WAR/162 IP basis. Here’s the top 15 (IP rounded) Kershaw: 4.82 (1996 IP) DeGrom: 4.81 (1102 IP) Sale: 4.49 (1630 IP) Scherzer: 4.40 (2064 IP) Verlander: 4.25 (2142 IP) Kubler: 4.01 (1342 IP) Hamels: 3.82 (1958 IP) Strassburg 3.67 (1439 IP) Greinke 3.59 (1984 IP) Cueto 3.44 (1511 IP) Darvish 3.41 (1051 IP) Price 3.31 (1887 IP) Cole 3.17 (1195 IP) Carrasco 3.00 (1152 IP) Gonzales 2.96 (1769 IP) everyone else below 2.96, 2 WAR is a big difference Some surprises….not in top 15 on WAR/162: Felix, Lester, Bumgarner, Lester And few observations:… Read more »

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

One way to do a discount would be to just take the top four seasons, for example. Every serious candidate has at least four seasons in the decade, so you could just compare on that level. What I did was take my own peak-adjusted WAR calculation, which is scaled to match WAR. Then, I took the players AVERAGE season, and multiplied by ten. I then took the geometric mean of the two numbers (the square root of the product; this helps bend the mean toward the lower number of the two). For example, Jacob deGrom had 32.8 WAR in the… Read more »

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Bumgarner is big surprise for me. Same WAR as Cueto in over 300 more IP. Cueto’s ERA+ is 10 points better, apparently based on park factors, as WHIP, BB and SO all favor Bumgarner. Still think I’d take Bumgarner, though.

Anyone know if park factors applied to a pitcher for his home park are adjusted to reflect only visiting team batting? If not, that may tend to hurt pitchers, like Bumgarner, who have played mainly for light-hitting teams (championships notwithstanding).

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Bumgarner is this generation’s Whitey Ford–perhaps his WAR doesn’t completely reflect his on-field performance (I had to get that in sometime in the 2020’s decade). Seriously, though, Cueto has an odd advantage–he’s either good, or he’s hurt. He’s pitched only 269 innings in the last three years and missed most of 2013.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Mike L
“Cueto has an odd advantage–he’s either good, or he’s hurt.”
Kind of like Tulowitzki, no ?

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

One could definitely make that argument.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago

SP: Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer, Greinke, deGrom, Sale, Hernandez, Bumgarner, Strasburg , Hamels
RP: Kimbrel, Chapman, Jansen, Uehara, Britton, Robertson, W Davis, A Miller, Betances, O’Day
C: Posey, Molina, Lucroy
UT: Bryant, Carpenter, Zobrist
PH: Heisey, Adams, R Johnson

Heisey Homers Thrice:
https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2011/B06222CIN2011.htm

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago

With two weeks to ago to reveal date, it’s a 5 horse race for the BBWAA HoF vote. With a little over one third of ballots known, the current results are:
Derek Jeter…….100.0%
Larry Walker……84.6%
Curt Schilling …..80.4%
Barry Bonds…….76.9%
Roger Clemens..75.5%

Nobody else is in the running, as the next man (Scott Rolen) is only at 50%. Final year of eligibility for Walker.

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

True that no one else has a shot… but that Rolen number is such a MASSIVE increase, that just may end up being the story of this election (unless Walker gets elected; I’d have Jeter’s unanimity third).

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Doom, “but that Rolen number is such a MASSIVE increase, that just may end up being the story of this election ” How about the two steroid guys, Bonds and Clemens, getting elected being the story of this election, no? I imagine Jeter being the first unanimously-elected position player is probably a bigger deal than the Rolen and Walker stories as well. Just a thought…. Will be great (and ironic) to see Schilling, who was so anti-steroid and outspoken on the issue (among many), share the stage with those two who never admitted they cheated. The question on Jeter is… Read more »

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

In regard to Bonds and Clemens getting in, there’s absolutely no chance. They might make 65% (more likely, I think, is 60%). If it’s up to 65% when it’s all said and done, that’s interesting, and sets out NEXT year’s storyline (which is a VERY weak ballot), but they’re not getting in this year, not a chance. I likewise don’t think Curt Schilling has a chance this year. He actually polled LOWER than Bonds or Clemens among private voters since Ryan Thibodaux started tracking (2014), so his number should be considered roughly equal to theirs, given the slim margin he… Read more »

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

While Jeter may very well make it in unanimously, if he does, it will mean we have redefined the voting to more of a binary choice, without the admixture of “should he be unanimous?” The problem with doing so, I suppose, is that Jeter is a HOF, but he’s not by any stretch an inner circle kind of guy. JAWS has him 12th among shortstops, and that seems about right. By contrast, Rivera is generally thought of as the best who has ever played at his position. JAWS has him ranked 2nd, but that’s only because he’s behind Eck, who… Read more »

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Re: “redefined the voting to more of a binary choice”: W… wasn’t it ALWAYS a binary choice? You point out that Jeter could be unanimous without being “inner circle,” but we’ve had THAT problem forever, too. Nolan Ryan was elected over 20 years ago with one of the highest percentages of all-time. In fact, it WAS the highest percentage for many years. That wasn’t deemed a problem, in spite of the fact that Ryan is no inner circle player. It’s just voters doing their jobs correctly when they identify deserving players and elect them. I guess maybe that’s why I… Read more »

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Not inclined to get into an extended debate with you. Just an observation that, previously, a cohort of writers had interposed an ad hoc first ballot filter. Aaron, 97.8, Mays 94.7, Mantle 88.2, Ted Williams, 93.4, Musial, 93.2, DiMaggio, 88.8, (third time on ballot). That cohort has thinned out in recent years as writers aged out.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Mike L , Doom,
I’m kind of curious as to how the “first ballot rejection” concept started. If I were to guess, it was way-back old school sportswriters who witnessed the initial five and realized what an honor it was to get in ahead of another 10 guys (Anson, Alexander, Heilman, Collins, Young, Lajoie, Speaker, McGraw, etc…) at that time, who possibly could have been part of that first group of five.
It seems like the current BBWAA members are more common sense and it is truly “yeah” or “nay”.

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Paul, I think that’s a good insight. Lefty Grove had a circuitous route to HOF, finally getting in with 76.4%. Lefty Grove…forget WAR, which didn’t exist, 9X leader in ERA, 5X wins, 7 times K’s. A quarter of the voters didn’t think he was good enough. I suspect that most of those early writers wouldn’t have conceived of a 200+ HOF.

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Mike and Paul, fair enough on those observations. Regarding Lefty (and DiMaggio, Yogi, etc.), I think there are really three eras of voting. There’s the pre-1960 era – irregular elections, wild inconsistency in voting patterns, overstuffed ballots (particularly in the 1930s). There’s what I suspect some folks would think of as the “regular” era, which I would bookend with the non-/empty classes of 1960 and 2013. Then there’s the modern era, which is still figuring itself out. That’s how I would see things, I guess. Those three eras have distinctive patterns that differentiate them from one another, and it’s hard… Read more »

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Doom, Mike L
FWIW, I believe that the new BBWAA writers will turn this into the “Hall of WAR”…..whenever that era commenced (2013 ?), I believe it is upon us already.

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John
John
4 years ago

Have you considered a vote for manager and gm/front office? I would nominate Joe Madden and Bruce Bochy For manager and Jeff Luhnow and Theo Epstein for front office

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  John

Doug, if you’re up for it, I agree with John that it would be fun to pick a manager and GM for our all-decade team! Maybe managers with 800+ games get on the ballot… ? I have no idea how you’d choose which GMs are eligible.

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John
John
4 years ago
Reply to  John

Um… Maybe we’d better rethink Luhnow.

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  John

Solid point….

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago

Almost forgot to vote.
SP: Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer, deGrom, Sale, Greinke, Price, Bumgarner, Strasburg, Hernandez
RP: Chapman, Kimbrel, Britton, Jansen, Robertson, Davis, Betances, Miller, Benoit, Uehara
C: Posey, Molina, Perez
U: Zobrist, Bryant, Carpenter
PH: Suzuki, Heisey, Joyce

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago

Here are the results, with elected players bolded:
SP: Kershaw 70, Verlander 45, Scherzer 40, Sale 28, Greinke 28, deGrom 16, Hernandez 15, Strasburg 15, Price 13, Hamels 12, Bumgarner 9, Lester 2, Kluber 2
RP: Chapman 60, Kimbrel 53, Jansen 39, Britton 27, Robertson 25, Uehara 14, O’Day 14, Davis 13, Clippard 11, Miller 9, Strop 8, Betances 8, Benoit 8, Cishek 6
C: Posey 21, Molina 19, Martin 2, Perez 2, Lucroy 1
U: Zobrist 19, Bryant 12, Harper 8, Carpenter 5, Granderson 1
PH: Suzuki 16, Heisey 8, Johnson 7, Joyce 5, Parra 5, Adams 4

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Surprisingly little controversy here. There was a lot of agreement at the top of each list. Doug, thanks so much for doing this! Now it’s on to the COG once we get the results from the BBWAA!

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Nice balance in the pitching staff too, with a pair of lefties among the starters and relievers.

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago

Was reading about the new three-batter minimum rule for relief pitchers, but was surprised at how small an impact it may have. According to the article, the Indians let MLB last year with 44 non-compliant relief appearances, or a bit more than one every fourth game. I would certainly have guessed a higher number (probably twice as high). My only worry with the new rule is the injury out, with a pitcher getting a sign to fake a muscle pull or something in order to allow the manager to bring in the guy he wants. Obviously, there needs to be… Read more »

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

I don’t think it would be that hard, honestly. Require a 5-day IL stint for a player who leaves with an injury exception. No one would risk it for that, I think.

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

I suppose that would do it, if it became necessary.

The one thing that bothers me is that every pitching change means the manager can’t respond to a PH move until the fourth batter or the next inning. But, I suppose that just means the manager has to accept that and choose his pitcher accordingly. But, it somehow seems wrong to have one manager free to make moves while the other can’t.

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

I don’t like the three batter minimum, and it’s not merely because I’m an old guy. I think the problem is less bringing in the situational lefty than the 12/13 pitcher bullpens.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Mike L
Yes, agreed. How about sticking with a 25 man roster and limiting the number of pitchers to 11?

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Paul–I think it’s a great idea. For virtually all of baseball history, teams have managed to get by without 13 pitchers. A quick eyeballing of the Dodgers tells me they used, on average, one more relief pitcher per game last year than they did in 2000, and more than twice as many as they did in 1980

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago

Just thought I’d take advantage of a lull in the action with an off-topic comment. I have created a spreadsheet which can count the number of times a particular pitcher and catcher formed a starting battery. For example Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan formed such a battery 324 times. If any of you are interested you can post here a particular battery and I can post the results.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

Richard
Thanks for the offer. How about Ford and Berra and Gibson and McCarver?

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Ford/Berra…..212 games
Gibson/McCarver…..197 games

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

thank you

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Here are the top 10 (1907-2019)

324…… Mickey Lolich/Bill Freehan
316 …… Warren Spahn/Del Crandall
306 …… Red Faber/Ray Schalk
283 …… Don Drysdale/John Roseboro
270 …… Steve Rogers/Gary Carter
267 …… Red Ruffing/Bill Dickey
265 …… Adam Wainwright/Yadier Molina
264 …… Bob Lemon/Jim Hegan
251 …… Pete Alexander/Bill Killefer
250 …… Early Wynn/Jim Hegan

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Doug
Doug
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

I’ll have to update my post on this subject of a few year ago …. I completely missed Alexander/Killifer.

http://www.highheatstats.com/2016/01/200-game-batteries/ (Wainwright/Molina had not reached 200 games together when this was posted).

Richard’s totals agree with mine, except for Ruffing/Dickey, for which I counted 15 more starts together.

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

I had completely forgotten that you had did the same search that I just did.

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Doug’s Ruffing/Dickey number (282) is the correct one.

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Voomo
Voomo
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

Denton True Young and Jack O’Conner
Warren Spahn and Del Crandell
Pud Galvin and Jack Rowe
Don Sutton and Steve Yeager
__________

In researching Mathewson’s Catchers, found this fascinating bio on Chief Meyers:

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/d090eef4

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Voomo

Spahn/Crandall….316 games
Sutton/Yeager…..157 games
Mathewson/Meyers…..186 games
For Young/O’Connor and Galvin/Rowe: My spreadsheet only goes back to 1901.

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Doug
Author
Doug
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

Richard, where did you get the starting lineups for 1901 to 1907?

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Doug: I just saw your comment now. Actually I have the starting lineups from 1907-2019 extracted from retrosheet.

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Voomo

It was a really interesting bio about Meyers. And no, those vaudeville acts are not counted as part of the 186 games started by Mathewson/Meyers.

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Gary Bateman
Gary Bateman
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

How about Andy Petitte/Jorge Posada; Mort & Walker Cooper; Madison Bumgarner/Buster Posey?

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Gary Bateman

Pettitte/Posada….191
Cooper/Cooper…..91
Bumgarner/Posey…..226

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Gary Bateman
Gary Bateman
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

Thanks. I think it might be interesting to see the leaders by franchise. It looks like we already have Tigers, Braves, White Sox, Dodgers, Nationals, Yankees, Cardinals, Indians and Phillies.

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Gary Bateman

Here are franchise leaders for most of the remaining teams:

A’s ……. Lefty Grove/Mickey Cochrane……224
Orioles …… Mike Flanagan/Rick Dempsey……208
Blue Jays…… Dave Stieb/Ernie Whitt……202
Reds …… Gary Nolan/Johnny Bench……198
Reds …… Paul Derringer/Ernie Lombardi……198
Astros …… Roy Oswalt/Brad Ausmus……193
Mariners…… Jamie Moyer/Dan Wilson……191
Cubs …… Fergie Jenkins/Randy Hundley……190
Giants …… Christy Mathewson/Chief Meyers……186
Twins …… Jim Kaat /Earl Battey……184
Angels …… Mike Witt/Bob Boone……180
Rangers …… Kenny Rogers/Ivan Rodriguez…..177
Red Sox …… Luis Tiant/Carlton Fisk……164
Red Sox …… Pedro Martinez/Jason Varitek……164
Pirates……. Dock Ellis/Manny Sanguillen…… 161

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

The Derringer/Lombardi stat needs correction. It will be higher.

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Richard Chester
Richard Chester
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

Derringer/Lombardi should be 221 games.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Richard Chester

Richard
the Gary Nolan/Johnny Bench stat would be higher, too, if it wasn’t for Larry Shepherd 🙁

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Voomo
Voomo
4 years ago

By decade,
Minimum 2000 PA,
OPS+ over 100,
More Strikeouts than Hits:

1900-1909 … Nobody
1910-1919 … Nobody
1920-1929 … Nobody
1930-1939 … Nobody
1940-1949 … (1) Pat Seerey
1950-1959 … Nobody
1960-1969 … (1) Don Lock
1970-1979 … (6) Mike Schmidt, Dave Kingman, Nate Colbert, Deron Johnson, Leroy Stanton, Bobby Darwin
1980-1989 … (10) Reggie, Gorman, Kingman, Balboni….
1990-1999 … (12) Canseco, Buhner, Palmer, Tettleton…
2000-2009 … (17) Burrell, Cameron, Thome, Dunn…
2010-2019 … (48)

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Voomo

“1960-1969 (1) Don Lock”
To paraphrase Gene Mauch, “They told me Lock could do it all. And, he can – except, run, throw, field, and hit”. But, to his credit, Lock was at least an average starter in the ML for the equivalent of approximately 6 full seasons.

Kind of surprised Reggie Jackson doesn’t appear in the 1970-1979 group. It appears he probably committed to guessing pitches as his bat slowed? I dunno

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Doug
Author
Doug
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Buyer’s remorse on Lock. The Phillies obtained Lock from the Senators in exchange for a young Darold Knowles, who had posted a promising rookie campaign in Philly. In 4+ seasons in Washington, Knowles posted a 2.46 ERA, still the top mark for Senator/Ranger relievers in 300+ IP (Knowles’s 140 ERA+ in DC is just shy of the 142 mark posted by Ron Kline and Francisco Cordero, for the Sens and Rangers, respectively). Knowles is also known for his “stellar” 1970 season with 119 IP and 2.04 ERA (174 ERA+), but only a 2-14 W-L record; the next highest ERA+ with… Read more »

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

One thing about Knowles’ 1970 season was that, in addition to the 27ER he gave up, there were also 9 additional unearned runs. He was bad in his 14 losses: .333/.424/.535
Young’s 1993 season also had an unearned run problem: 62 runs, 42 Earned. 20 unearned runs in 100 IP is not good.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Doug:
Re Lock, interesting move by John Quinn. He’s got a 22 y.o. CF’er, Johnny Briggs, who, as a LH platoon, had a 140 OPS+ in 81 games and Quinn goes and trades for a CF’er to play full time. Who knows? Callison was slipping and Tony Gonzalez had an off year so, maybe Quinn’s thinking he needs an OF’er and a bullpen guy isn’t as important as an everyday 8 ball player?
Quinn kept on trading young ballplayers in order to get over the hump with veterans. But, the Phillies never came truly close after 1964 during Quinn’s reign

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Voomo

What’s interesting that three of them, Schmidt, Reggie and Thome are all in the HOF, I suspect to be joined by others who played later.

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Paul E
Paul E
4 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

…..at least Schmidt’s strikeout rate went down from the seventies (.2186 per PA) to the eighties (.1665). Thome got worse from the nineties (.2332) to the aughts (.2519).
Thome also missed making the 90’s list by one (882 K’s – 883 hits) in addition to making the 2000’s list.
As far as the H o F, it looks like the three true outcomes phenomenon is here to stay

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Mike L
Mike L
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

You’d need to graph the K/AB rate of each of them as compared to the ML K/AB in the same period. In each of the last three years, we’ve had over 40000 strikeouts. In 1980 we had half that.

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