The Diaz Effect has been both outside and inside baseball, so much so that he’ll likely receive Cy Young Award votes at year’s end. He’s already claimed three straight NL Reliever of the Month awards.
Before closers, there were “firemen”—those who pitched in tenuous situations regardless if it wasn’t the ninth inning. Sutter was certainly among the best at it.
Bruce Sutter - 1977
Bruce Sutter - 1977
107.1 IP, 1.34 ERA
After only recording 27 saves over the previous seven seasons, the south-paw appeared in 80 games and was perfect in each of his 32 save opportunities.
140.1 IP, 1.92 ERA
Willie Hernández - 1984
Willie Hernández - 1984
Eckersley was so dominant he took the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1992, but his performance two years earlier is arguably more impressive.
Dennis Eckersley - 1990
Dennis Eckersley - 1990
73.1 IP, 0.61 ERA, 0.61 WHIP
He was tough to hit, but even tougher to square up. He allowed just one home run ball the entire year, as he was third among American League Cy Young finalists.
107.2 IP, 2.09 ERA
Mariano Rivera - 1996
Mariano Rivera - 1996
He had 54 save opportunities with a 0.49 ERA in those situations. Hoffman converted on all but one and he tied the then-NL record in the proces
Hitters swung and missed at Lidge’s strikes 42 percent of the time and whiffed on more than 70 percent of his pitches out of the strike zone.
94.2 IP, 1.90 ERA, 0.92 WHIP
Brad Lidge - 2004
Brad Lidge - 2004
Kimbrel falls into the “so good he was unhittable” category. With 116 K’s, his K/9 rate of 16.7 is a bar for Diaz to try and clear.
Craig Kimbrel - 2012
Craig Kimbrel - 2012
62.2 IP, 1.01 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 0.78 FIP
Britton established a record of 43 straight games without allowing an earned run. His season ERA was the lowest for a pitcher with at least 50 innings.
Zach Britton - 2016
Zach Britton - 2016
67.0 IP, 0.54 ERA
Among pitchers who tossed at least 80 innings, Treinen’s ERA is the lowest of any pitcher in major league history, with hitters batting only .157.