John Smoltz Is The GOAT Reliever: By The Numbers

Photo: bleacherreport.com

This is not hyperbole. When Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz converted into a relief role in the 2001 season, he would establish himself as one of the better hurlers in this category through the 2004 campaign.

In our latest edition of By The Numbers, we provide the analytical evidence as to why he is the GOAT reliever.

Preventing Negative Outcomes

Having pitched 260.1 innings of relief from 2001 to 2004, Smoltz was simply better than the average team's elite reliever in preventing negative outcomes. In reference to Figure One below, he ranked no lower than tenth in the following metrics amongst relievers who pitched a minimum of 250 innings in this time frame:

Figure One

Let's focus on Smoltz's impressive Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) of 2.30. This statistic measures a pitcher's effectiveness in preventing unfavorable events and generating outs, which is the number one task for relievers. In this time frame, and in the context of FIP, Smoltz ranked higher than Mariano Rivera (2.56), Jason Isringhausen (2.64), and Billy Wagner (2.70). Relative to other elite relief arms, he was one of the most effective hurlers coming out of the bullpen in professional baseball.

The Stuff

Now, let us shift to the type of pitches that “Reliever Smoltz” threw to get batters out, specifically his secondary stuff. Aside from his fastball, which he used 62.5% of the time, the GOAT reliever relied on his slider and split finger pitches. Relative to his contemporaries, both his usage and velocity on these pitch types was elite, according to Figure Two:

Figure Two

Amongst relievers who threw at least 200 innings in relief from 2001 to 2004, Smoltz essentially had the sixth best slider and a split-finger pitch that might be considered the best. What should resonate with readers is that the righty did not exclusively throw heat, as most relievers are known to do. His pitch arsenal was deep and effective, and it was highly advantageous for both his and Atlanta's success.

The GOAT Reliever

Notice, I am not claiming that John Smoltz is the GOAT closer, that title belongs to Mariano Rivera. I am stating that in the three years-plus that he was a reliever, he had a statistical run that places him on that level. In conclusion, from 2001 to 2004, the right-hander was the GOAT reliever if you go By The Numbers.

Thank you for choosing The Launch Angle for our out-of-the-box analysis! If you like this article, click this link for our previous post. For our last installment in our By The Numbers series, click this link.