The Closers

The closer each year has almost always been a favorite player of mine.  I have no idea why.  Closers are just fun.  They often have an outrageous personality.  You almost have to be arrogant to be a closer.  It's only annoying when they do not perform well or you like the other team.  So yeah, ever since I got into baseball, I have been a very big fan of closers.

The below are a year by year look at the Red Sox closers since I was fan:

1991

JEFF REARDON:  Reardon was the first Red Sox closer I was aware of and he had a terrific 1991 season.  Reardon was an All Star in 1991 and set a new Red Sox record for saves in a season with 40.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (2), Jeff Gray (1), Tony Fossas (1), Dan Petry (1)

1992

JEFF REARDON:  Reardon was 36 in 1992 and was starting to show his age.  He did break the career saves record and had 27 saves before being traded to the Braves.  They went with a committee after the trade.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (4), Danny Darwin (3), Tony Fossas (2), Joe Hesketh (1), Paul Quantrill (1), Ken Ryan (1)

1993

JEFF RUSSELL:  After trading Reardon in 1992, Boston was on the lookout for a closer for the 1993 season.  Russell was signed after the team nearly signed Tom Henke.  Russell racked up 33 saves and a 2.70 ERA in a very good season.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (8), Paul Quantrill (1), Ken Ryan (1), Joe Hesketh (1)

1994

KEN RYAN:  Russell started the season as the closer but had a rough time and was eventually traded to Cleveland.  Ken Ryan took over and lead the team with 13 saves with a 2.44 ERA.

Others recording saves: Jeff Russell (12), Greg Harris (2), Chris Howard (1), Tony Fossas (1), Todd Frohwirth (1)

1995

RICK AGUILERA:  The Red Sox started the season with Ryan as the closer but he struggled.  They then went with Stan Belinda for a little while but eventually decided to pick up Aguilera at the trade deadline in order to have a shot at the playoffs.  Aguilera was great down the stretch notching 20 saves and a 2.67 ERA.

Others recording saves:  Stan Belinda (10), Ken Ryan (7), Mike Maddux (1), Joe Hudson (1)

1996

HEATHCLIFF SLOCUMB:  Aguilera returned to the Twins as a free agent after the 1995 season so Boston acquired Slocumb in a trade with the Phillies.  Slocumb had a great season in 1996 picking up 31 saves and 88 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.  He had a 3.1 WAR as a closer, which is impressive.

Others recording saves: Stan Belinda (2), Pat Mahomes (2), Mike Stanton (1), Joe Hudson (1)

1997

HEATHCLIFF SLOCUMB:  1997 was not nearly as good for Slocumb.  He only had 17 saves for Boston and blew some big ones.  He was eventually traded to the Mariners in what would be a terrific trade for Boston.  Tom Gordon took over after the trade.

Others recording saves: Tom Gordon (11), Butch Henry (6), Kerry Lacy (3), Jim Corsi (2), Chris Hammond (1)

1998

TOM GORDON:  In what was easily one of the greatest seasons by a Red Sox closer, Gordon set a new single season saves record for the team with 46 and was an All Star.  He even received votes for MVP.

Others recording saves: Derek Lowe (4), Dennis Eckersley (1), Rich Garces (1), Ron Mahay (1)

1999

DEREK LOWE:  Gordon started off the season as closer but had some injury problems.  Lowe and Tim 

Wakefield actually tied with 15 saves, but Lowe finished more games.  

Others recording saves: Tim Wakefield (15), Tom Gordon (11), Rod Beck (3), John Wasdin (2), Mark Guthrie (2), Rich Garces (2)

2000

DEREK LOWE:  The sinkerballer was terrific in 2000, saving 42 games with a 2.56 ERA, and an All Star berth.

Others recording saves: Rich Garces (1), Hipolito Pichardo (1), Bryce Florie (1), John Wasdin (1)

2001

DEREK LOWE:  Lowe started to falter as closer in 2001, but still recorded 24 saves.  He was moved to the rotation later in the season and Ugueth Urbina was acquired to serve as closer.

Others recording saves: Ugueth Urbina (9), Rod Beck (6), Rolando Arrojo (5), Tim Wakefield (3), Rich Garces (1)

2002

UGUETH URBINA:  Urbina was an All Star in 2002 with 40 saves and a 3.00 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 60 innings.

Others recording saves: Tim Wakefield (3), Alan Embree (2), Frank Castillo (1), Casey Fossum (1), Rolando Arrojo (1), Willie Banks (1), Chris Haney (1), Wayne Gomes (1)

2003

BYUNG-HYUN KIM:  2003 was the year of the ill-fated closer-by-committee approach.  It did not work. Boston eventually traded Shea Hillenbrand to the Diamondbacks for Kim, who saved 16 games in 2003 with a 3.18 ERA.  Scott Williamson did some great work as closer in the postseason.

Others recording saves: Brandon Lyon (9), Chad Fox (3), Mike Timlin (2), Tim Wakefield (1), Casey Fossum (1), Alan Embree (1), Jason Shiell (1), Bronson Arroyo (1), Robert Person (1)

2004

KEITH FOULKE:  After having trouble with the closer-by-committee in 2003, Boston signed the best closer available on the free agent market in Foulke.  He saved 32 games with a terrific 2.17 ERA and was lights-out in the postseason.

Others recording saves: Curtis Leskanic (2), Mike Timlin (1), Scott Williamson (1)

2005

KEITH FOULKE:  Foulke struggled in 2005, leading to an infamous comment about Burger King.  He only picked up 15 saves and Boston had to resort to some desperate measures as will be seen by some of the other pitchers who saved games in '05.  Foulke's ERA was an ugly 5.91

Others recording saves: Mike Timlin (13), Curt Schilling (9), Alan Embree (1)

2006

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Rookie Papelbon solved the closer problem for the long term.  He had a fantastic season and came in second in the Rookie of the Year vote, and might have won it had he not been injured the final month of the season.  He saved 35 games with a remarkable 0.92 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.  He was also an All Star.

Others recording saves: Mike Timlin (9), Julian Tavarez (1), Javier Lopez (1)

2007

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Papelbon had another strong All Star season, saving 37 with a 1.85 ERA and 84 strikeouts in only 58.1 innings.

Others recording saves: Hideki Okajima (5), Mike Timlin (1), Manny Delcarmen (1), J.C. Romero (1)

2008

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Another terrific All Star season for Papelbon (41 saves, 2.34 ERA, 77 strikeouts), but his mouth was starting to be a problem.

Others recording saves: Manny Delcarmen (2), Craig Hansen (2), Hideki Okajima (1), Mike Timlin (1)

2009

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Ho hum, another All Star season for Paps (38 saves, 1.85 ERA, 76 strikeouts).

Others recording saves: Takashi Saito (2), Daniel Bard (1)

2010

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Papelbon actually had a rough year.  He still picked up 37 saves, but his ERA ballooned to 3.90.  His strikeout rate was in line with his averages.  He missed the All Star game for the first time in his career.

Others recording saves: Daniel Bard (3), Ramon Ramirez (2), Felix Doubront (2)

2011

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  He blew the save on the last game of the season, but Papelbon actually had a decent season.  He had 31 saves and a 2.94 ERA with 87 strikeouts.

Others recording saves: Alfredo Aceves (2), Daniel Bard (1), Scott Atchison (1), Felix Doubront (1)

2012

ALFREDO ACEVES:  Papelbon bolted as a free agent to Philadelphia before even being offered arbitration.  The Red Sox made two trades to acquire closers in Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon.  Injuries or ineffectiveness limited both of them, so they turned to Aceves who struggled at times.  He finished with 25 saves, a 2-10 record, and a 5.36 ERA.

Others recording saves: Andrew Bailey (6), Vicente Padilla (1), Mark Melancon (1), Franklin Morales (1), Junichi Tazawa (1)

2013

JOEL HANRAHAN:  Boston attempted another trade to bring over a closer.  Hanrahan has been a little rough so far this year, but he has notched three saves.  He blew a big one and is currently on the disabled list.

Others recording saves: NONE

Feature: The Secret to Being a Great Closer in the 1980's/1990's

I have always been a fan of closers. I am not really sure why, but next to catcher, closer is my favorite position. Maybe because there are so few really good ones. It takes a lot of talent to put together a Hall of Fame career, or even a long-lasting career as a closer.

That being said, the Red Sox when I first started watching were on a pretty good hot streak with closers. They had a lot of good ones.

Let's look at some of these players:

LEE SMITH (1988-1990)
Lee Smith was a mountain of a man, and an incredibly intimidating presence on the mound. He was acquired from the Cubs for Calvin Schiraldi and Al Nipper before the 1988 season and put up some big numbers for the Red Sox. In 2+ seasons with Boston he went 12-7, with a 3.05 ERA, 209 strikeouts in 168.2 innings, and 58 saves. He was traded to the Cardinals for Tom Brunansky during the 1990 season, a trade that was not particularly great for Boston.

JEFF REARDON (1990-1992)
Signed as a free agent from the Twins before the 1990 season, his signing necessitated the trade of Smith. He was not quite as good as Smith though, going 8-9, with a 3.41 ERA, 109 strikeouts in 153 innings, and 88 saves. Reardon did break the team record for saves in a season in 1991 when he saved 40 and was selected to the All Star Game that year. The next year, Reardon broke Rollie Fingers's career record for saves, which was soon surrendered to former teammate Smith. Reardon was traded to the Braves during the 1992 season for Nate Minchey and a minor leaguer.

JEFF RUSSELL (1993-1994)
Jeff Russell was signed as a free agent from the Athletics and was part of the overhaul of the Red Sox in 1993. Russell had a good year in 1993, going 1-4 with a 2.70 ERA, 45 strikeouts in 46.2 innings, and 33 saves. His numbers completely fell off a cliff in 1994 though and he was traded to the Indians for Chris Nabholz and Steve Farr.

RICK AGUILERA (1995)
Rick Aguilera was picked up from the Twins in July of 1995 for the stretch run since the Red Sox were in contention and really did not have a closer. Aguilera went 2-2, 2.67, with 23 strikeouts in 30.1 innings, and 20 saves, almost single-handedly saving the team's season. He was allowed to leave as a free agent after the year and returned to the Twins.

So, what is the secret to being a great closer from 1988-1995? Look closely:





IT"S THE FACIAL HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Papelbon, take note.

Feature: The Rape of the Red Sox?

The series of trades between the Red Sox and Yankees in the late 1910's/early 1920's is often vilified in Boston. The Red Sox traded several important parts of their club to the Yankees, who helped the Yankees become a force in the 1920's. Many of the players Boston received were perceived to be inferior to those sent to the Yankees. But, is that necessarily true? Let's examine each of the major trades and the players changing sides, and assign a winner of each trade.

DECEMBER 18, 1918
Yankees receive: Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore, Duffy Lewis

Dutch Leonard never played a game with the Yankees and was sold to the Detroit Tigers. WAR = 0.0

Ernie Shore was at the end of his career, despite only being 27. He only pitched in 34 total games in two years with New York, posting ERA's north of 4.00. WAR = -1.0

Duffy Lewis had a little bit of power but was never again the same kind of player that he was in Boston. WAR = -0.5

TOTAL WAR = -1.5

Red Sox receive: Ray Caldwell, Frank Gilhooley, Slim Love, Roxy Walters, $15,000.00

Ray Caldwell went 7-4 with a 3.96 ERA and was released. WAR = -2.9

Frank Gilhooley spent one season in Boston and never did much of anything. WAR = -0.3

Slim Love never played for Boston and was traded to Detroit with two other players for Ossie Vitt, who was never much of a player in Boston either. WAR = 0.0 (Vitt WAR = 2.2, but will not be considered as part of this analysis because other players were traded along with Love for Vitt)

Roxy Walters played for Boston for five years as a backup catcher. WAR = -2.8

TOTAL WAR = -6.0

Winner: Yankees. Boston got more seasons out of Walters and Vitt, who was a product of a trade for Love, but those seasons were not really productive. None of the players involved in this trade were particularly impressive after the trade.

JULY 29, 1919
Yankees receive: Carl Mays

Carl Mays won 20 games each of the next two full seasons for New York. Later, he would be infamous for killing Ben Chapman with a pitch. WAR = 15.2

TOTAL WAR = 15.2

Red Sox receive: Bob McGraw, Allen Russell, $40,000.00

Bob McGraw was terrible for Boston and ended up back in New York the following year anyway. WAR = -1.2

Allen Russell won 10 games the rest of the 1919 season which is the best showing of any of the players involved in the trade that year, and he was a slightly above-average pitcher for a couple of more years. WAR = 5.1

TOTAL WAR = 3.9

Winner: Yankees. Russell had the best transition immediately after the trade, but Mays is borderline HOF-worthy and showed why during his tenure with the Yankees.

JANUARY 3, 1920
Yankees receive: Babe Ruth

Do I really need to say anything? WAR = 149.6

TOTAL WAR = 149.6

Red Sox receive: $100,000.00

TOTAL WAR = 0.0

Winner: Yankees. Sure, $100K was a lot of money back then, but Babe Ruth is quite possibly the greatest player to have ever played.

DECEMBER 15, 1920
Yankees receive: Waite Hoyt, Wally Schang, Mike McNally, Harry Harper

Waite Hoyt is in the Hall of Fame. Mostly for what he did in the 1920's with the Yankees. WAR = 31.0

Wally Schang's best years were behind him, but he was still a solid offensive catcher and should be in the Hall of Fame. He played five years for the Yankees. WAR = 10.2

Harry Harper only pitched in eight games for the Yankees. WAR = 0.9

Mike McNally was a utility infielder. WAR = 0.9

TOTAL WAR = 43.0

Red Sox receive: Del Pratt, Muddy Ruel, Hank Thormahlen, Sammy Vick

Del Pratt was a very good player for two years for the Red Sox. He was the team's best player in 1921 with 102 RBI, a .324 batting average, and he almost never struck out. Not bad for a second-baseman. WAR = 5.9

Muddy Ruel never did much for Boston in two years with the team. WAR = 1.1

Hank Thormahlen pitched poorly and was out of the major leagues for a few years before resurfacing in Brooklyn. WAR = 0.3

Sammy Vick did nothing in 44 games with Boston. WAR = -0.5

TOTAL WAR = 6.8

Winner: Yankees. Pratt was a good player and was later traded for Howard Ehmke and Babe Herman, but the Yankees got a Hall of Famer at the beginning of his prime.

DECEMBER 20, 1921
Yankees receive: Bullet Joe Bush, Sad Sam Jones, Everett Scott

Bullet Joe Bush won 26, 19, and 17 games in three years with the Yankees. WAR = 11.5

Sad Sam Jones was a 21 game winner one year and a 21 game loser another year. He was slightly above average for three years in New York and slightly below average for two years. WAR = 6.5

Everett Scott was never much with the bat, but was a fantastic defensive shortstop. WAR = 0.1

TOTAL WAR = 18.1

Red Sox receive: Roger Peckinpaugh, Rip Collins, Bill Piercy, Jack Quinn, $100,000.00

Roger Peckinpaugh was immediately traded to Washington for Joe Dugan and Frank O'Rourke. Dugan only played part of one season for Boston and was later traded, see below. O'Rourke did not do much. WAR = 0.0.

Because Peckinpaugh was traded alone, I will consider Joe Dugan and Frank O'Rourke in this analysis. Dugan WAR = 0.3, O'Rourke WAR = 0.2

Rip Collins won 14 games for a bad Boston team, but lead the league in walks and wild pitches. WAR = 2.7

Bill Piercy won 16 games over the next three years with a decent ERA in one of them. WAR = 0.8

Jack Quinn was a consistently good pitcher for the next three years on bad teams. WAR = 11.6

TOTAL WAR = 15.6

Winner: Yankees. Quinn was a good pickup and for once the Red Sox had the most valuable individual player in the trade, but he did not make up for the loss of Bush AND Jones. If they had held onto Peckinpaugh, this would look to be in Boston's favor.

JULY 23, 1922
Yankees receive: Joe Dugan, Elmer Smith

Nope, the Red Sox did not even hold on to Joe Dugan for very long. Not really a good player, due to inability to take a walk, but he hit for a reasonable average, without any power and was steady for several years. WAR = 5.4

Elmer Smith did nothing in 31 at bats. WAR = 1.2

TOTAL WAR = 6.6

Red Sox receive: Chick Fewster, Elmer Miller, Johnny Mitchell, Lefty O'Doul, $50,000.00

Chick Fewster was your run-of-the-mill utility infielder. WAR = -1.0

Elmer Miller was a terrible backup outfielder for 44 games. WAR = -1.0

Johnny Mitchell was basically Chick Fewster. WAR = -1.0

The Yankees did not know what they had in Lefty O'Doul who later became a big-time slugger. He was just a pitcher for the Yankees when he was traded. Of course the Red Sox did not know either and also tried him as a pitcher where he was terrible and banished to the minors where he would later be drafted away and become the slugger he was capable of being. WAR = -1.5

TOTAL WAR = -4.5

Winner: Yankees. The Yankees did not get anyone terribly impressive, but Boston got some spare parts and O'Doul who they did not know what to do with. If he had been turned into a position player while with Boston, this one may have turned out differently.

JANUARY 3, 1923
Yankees receive: George Pipgras, Harvey Hendrick

George Pipgras was a big winner for the Yankees later on in the decade and never actually played for the Red Sox. WAR = 8.8

Harvey Hendrick was only a part-time player. WAR = -0.3

TOTAL WAR = 8.5

Red Sox receive: Al DeVormer, cash

Al DeVormer was a part-time catcher with no bat. WAR = -0.4

TOTAL WAR = -0.4

Winner: Yankees. Yeesh, even the minor deals turn out incredibly one-sided with Pipgras being a 20 game winner later on and DeVormer doing basically nothing.

JANUARY 30, 1923
Yankees receive: Herb Pennock

Pennock turned out to be a HOFer and the ace of the Yankees staff for the remainder of the decade. WAR = 29.2

Red Sox receive: Norm McMillan, George Murray, Camp Skinner, $50,000.00

Norm McMillan played regularly at three infield positions the next year, but was not much of a hitter. WAR = -1.2

George Murray walked too many hitters and had high ERAs each of the two years he played in Boston. WAR = -1.0

Camp Skinner played seven uninspiring games and was out of baseball. WAR = -0.2

TOTAL WAR = -3.4

Winner: Yankees. No question.


YANKEES OVERALL TOTAL WAR = 268.7

RED SOX OVERALL TOTAL WAR = 12.0

Overall Winner: Yankees. The Yankees received HOFers Babe Ruth, Waite Hoyt, and Herb Pennock and gave away only a couple of players who were any good at all. Del Pratt, Allen Russell, and Jack Quinn were the "highlights" of these deals for the Red Sox. Not much to say other than, these were overall terrible deals for the Red Sox. It is interesting that the trade involving Quinn could have swung in Boston's favor had they not immediately traded Peckinpaugh. That's the only trade that could be argued as a decent trade for both teams though. The Red Sox received $360,000.00 in those trades, which I think basically shows what these deals were really about. The Red Sox could have undone most of it though with one trade. The Yankees wanted to trade for Boston's first-baseman Phil Todt, and offered a first-baseman of their own, but Boston said no after the rash of bad trades earlier. The player the Yankees offered was Lou Gehrig.

Now, I'm depressed.