Qualifications for the Modern Day Hall of Fame Pitcher

What does it take to become a Hall of Fame pitcher? Does he need a certain amount of wins? Does he need a Cy Young Award on his resume? Is a memorable postseason required?

For the longest time, it seemed there were milestone numbers a player could reach for an automatic trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Offensive players had 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, or living up to the adage “three out of ten make a Hall of Famer” with a .300 career batting average. These are no longer automatic trips to Cooperstown thanks to PED suspicion and general offensive explosions.

Meanwhile pitchers trying to get into the Hall of Fame have a different disadvantage. They no longer pitch as many games or innings as they used to so it’s important to always consider the era when comparing statistics. Cy Young, the all-time leader in wins, had 511 in his career. A modern-day pitcher can easily get into Cooperstown with less than half of that. For instance, Pedro Martinez goes into Cooperstown this summer with 219 wins in his career.

By bryce_edwards on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Asking a pitcher to win 300 games in a career is a very high demand. In spite of the fewer starts we see on a regular basis, we’re pretty lucky to have four pitchers who played throughout the 1990s get to the milestone. Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, and Randy Johnson all won over 300 games.

Johnson was the most recent to reach 300, doing so in 2009. This may be the last time for a while too as nobody is very close at all. The 300-win mark is a good automatic judge for a Hall of Famer, but at the same level as 600 home runs. The only pitcher with 300 or more wins not in the Hall of Fame is Clemens and it has everything to do with PEDs—not baseball skill.

Wins are not everything when it comes to determining a pitcher’s value for Hall of Fame candidacy. As mentioned before, Martinez was elected in 2015 with only 219 of them. His career 2.93 ERA, 3,154 strikeouts, and three Cy Young Awards all helped him become an easy choice. A more realistic number for the modern-day Hall of Fame pitcher to try achieving might be 250 wins.

This total is still far from a guarantee. Players like Tommy John, Jim Kaat, and Mike Mussina all surpassed 250 wins and are without a Hall of Fame plaque. Andy Pettitte also celebrated his 250th career win at one point. Other statistics, like his 3.85 ERA, take away from this accomplishment.

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In terms of strikeouts, reaching 3,000 seems to be milestone most want to reach. Again, though, this is not a guarantee at the Hall of Fame. Curt Schilling finished his career with over 3,000 and hasn’t come very close to Hall of Fame enshrinement. He doesn’t have the cloud of PEDs hanging over his head either. Similar to Pettitte, other numbers Schilling had are holding him back.

Unfortunately, for the Hall of Fame, using a pitcher’s ERA is not a good representation. While a very good number, it doesn’t tell the whole story of a pitcher.

The best example I could find of a modern day Hall of Fame pitcher might be Tim Hudson. Even with him, I’m not sure he belongs in Cooperstown even though he’s one of the best pitchers of this era. More than 200 wins, an ERA below 3.50, and a winning percentage of .633 make him worthy of all of the accolades anyone can earn.

By Rich Anderson (Tim Hudson warming up) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

The modern day Hall of Fame pitcher may not look as elite as he used to with few exceptions. Someone like Hudson, consistent for nearly two decades, is what it takes now for a pitcher to earn his spot in the Hall of Fame.

San Francisco Giants Not Signing James Shields or Max Scherzer

The defending champion San Francisco Giants are no longer pursuing free agent pitcher James Shields. Additionally, they were apparently never interested in Max Scherzer in a realistic world.

By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA (Max Scherzer) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

The current rotation is shaping up to include Madison Bumgarner, Jake Peavy, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson, and Tim Lincecum. A great rotation if they were all in their prime, questions remain.

Bumgarner is the only sure-thing of the five following his memorable performance in the 2014 postseason. Even so, some have wondered if his arm can hold up with all of the extra innings he was asked to pitch so late into the year.

Peavy has had his struggles in recent seasons as has Cain, who suffered a season-ending injury. For the Tims, Hudson is probably pitching in his final season while Lincecum could have his last chance to make the starting rotation. We have seen the best and worst from Lincecum in the last few seasons, but as the team’s fifth starter how good does he really need to be?

By Bryce Edwards from San Jose, CA, USA (Matt Cain Uploaded by Muboshgu) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

The more pressing need for the Giants is with their offense. Losing Pablo Sandoval and replacing him with Casey McGehee shows the poor direction they are headed. One player they may be after now is Tampa Bay Rays’ infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist who could play almost anywhere in San Francisco. The Giants are lacking all over the field with the exception of Buster Posey at catcher. Even the great Hunter Pence was not an elite player, better utilized as a locker room leader.

Repeating is hard under any circumstances. Even if they had signed Shields or traded for an equivalent-level pitcher, the Giants have to deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres within the division. Although they won the World Series last season, we need to remember if they had lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card game it would have never happened.

The All-Time Tim Team: Part 2 – The Pitching Staff

The offense for the All-Time Tim Team turned out a lot weaker than we would have liked. The bottom of our lineup has guys who would be better suited as utility men on a contending team.

Thankfully for the Tims, our pitching staff is a bit better. From really old players who would need to be reanimated to a pair of pitchers that won the World Series recently, this is the All-Time Tim Team’s pitching staff comprised of only five starters, a middle relief pitcher, a setup man, and a closer because we’re so damn good that’s all we need.

Starting Rotation

Tim Keefe

Coming off a very impressive 1883 season, Tim Keefe headlines the starting rotation for the All-Time Tim Team. That 1883 season was the best WAR any player has ever had so we are looking pretty good at least every fifth day. Keefe won 342 games in his career with a 2.63 ERA. His biggest struggle will be playing against players who actually train for strength as opposed to the ones he’s used to from the 1800s whose idea of weightlifting was building their own house from scratch.

Tim Hudson

Second in the rotation is Tim Hudson. A very quality number two starter in any rotation, Hudson is the ultimate winner. His 214 career wins is only more magnificent thanks to his .633 winning percentage. He’s not a strikeout pitcher however the Tims do have a decent defense to help him out whenever the opponent puts the ball in play.

By Rich Anderson (Tim Hudson warming up) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Tim Lincecum

A teammate of Hudson’s on the 2014 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants will be joining him on the Tims. Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young winning starting pitcher turned middle relief pitcher, is back in as a starter thanks to the faith Tims have for each other. Certainly if we have the technology to raise Tim Keefe from the dead we can do the same for Lincecum’s arm.

Tim Wakefield

Imagine how confused batters will be when one day they face Lincecum’s crazy deliver and fastball then the next they have to deal with Tim Wakefield and his knuckleball. This is exactly the strategy we will have in our starting rotation. Wakefield won 200 games in his career, mostly with the Boston Red Sox. With the Tims he will be counted on most to provide some veteran leadership and give us a good gimmick in the rotation.

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Tim Belcher

Finally rounding out the five man rotation is Tim Belcher. A career 146-140 pitcher, Belcher still did have a respectable 4.16 ERA. The Tims are hopeful we can get the 1989 version of him that went 15-12 and had 8 shutouts. As a fifth starter, we will settle for a bit less.

Middle Relief

Tim Worrell

When the starters need to come out it will be Tim Worrell coming into the game to relieve them first. Worrell will also be capable of saving a few games if necessary, something he did 38 times successfully for the Giants in 2003. His 678 games, mostly out of the bullpen, and his experience playing for multiple teams will make him a very valuable commodity for the Tims.

Setup Man

Tim Spooneybarger

The Tims’ 8th inning man will be Tim Spooneybarger. The fans’ choice for funniest last name on the team, Spooneybarger had a very short yet successful big league career with the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins. In 88 career games he had a 3.24 ERA. The Tims would be honored to have someone with such a fun name on their pitching staff to entertain the only other two relief pitchers during the early innings.

Closer

Tim Burke

Picking up the majority of the saves for the Tims will be Tim Burke. His career 102 saves makes him the obvious choice as no other team currently has more saves. Burke comes to the Tims with a 2.72 ERA. His best year was my birth year, 1987, where he was 7-0 with 1.19 ERA. We don’t need him to be that good though, but close to it would help out a lot in those close games.

Five Statistical Facts about Tim Hudson

We forget what a great pitcher Tim Hudson has been throughout his career–at least I do. He burst onto the scene in 1999 with the Oakland Athletics then spent 9 seasons with the Atlanta Braves before joining the San Francisco Giants in 2014. This could be his last season, but for now, here are five statistical facts about one of baseball’s best pitchers of the millennium.

An Absolute Winner

Hudson’s winning percentage is absolutely ridiculous. After his 9-13 2014 season, the only year he didn’t finish with an above .500 record, Hudson’s winning percentage sits at .633. This comes from winning 214 games and losing only 124.

All-Star Selections: 4

Four times in Hudson’s career he was selected to the All-Star Game. The selections came very sporadically too, happening in 2000, 2004, 2010, and 2014. As it would turn out, he made the All-Star team with each team he played for.

Keeping the Ball in the Park

For the most part, Hudson was pretty good at keeping the ball in the park. The best was in 2004 when he pitched 188.2 innings and only allowed 8 home runs. Never a strikeout pitcher, Hudson was a guy who has relied on his defense to help him out.

By Rich Anderson (Tim Hudson warming up) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Postseason Pitching

Coming into the 2014 World Series, Hudson has only ever won 1 game in the postseason. In fact, coming into 2014, his team had never even won a series as they were always bounced in the Division Series. Hudson’s lone win came back in 2001 against the New York Yankees while he was with the Oakland Athletics. Despite the lack of winning and the 1-3 record, Hudson still has a 3.42 ERA and a complete game which happened to be a loss. Hudson has been so unlucky in the postseason on the mound, his postseason batting average (.364) is better than his postseason winning percentage (.250).

Shutouts, Complete Games, Innings Pitched

Hudson must not trust his bullpen much because he seemed to always go deep into games throughout his career. Hudson was able to consistently pull about a shutout each season, 2 a year in his early days, and in every season except for two which ended early due to injuries, had 1 complete game or more. Additionally, Hudson’s 162 game average of innings pitched is 223. This is largely thanks to pitching a very impressive 235-240 innings from 2001-2003.

The Top Candidates for the 2014 National League Comeback Player of the Year

The Comeback Player of the Year Award is baseball’s version of the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back story. To have your skill stripped away from you whether due to injury or just losing touch with what once made you a great player is tough on any player. Thankfully these four players have redeemed themselves in 2014 and are competing to win the National League Comeback Player of the Year.

Josh Beckett

The well-traveled starting pitcher who started out in South Florida, moved to New England, and now finds himself in Southern California is a good story as long as it ends on a positive note. The Josh Beckett Story took a bit of a twist in 2013 when a plethora of injuries kept him on the disabled list for the majority of what was an otherwise very bad year.

Beckett has come back with vengeance in 2014. He’s striking batters out and not allowing runs to score. He also threw his first career no-hitter in late May. Although he has no shot at winning the Cy Young Award because even teammate Clayton Kershaw has been even better, Beckett has an incredibly realistic shot at taking home the Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Starlin Castro

There was no injury for Chicago Cubs’ shortstop Starlin Castro to blame his performance in 2013 on. He played in 161 games so he was certainly healthy, yet the young former league leader in hits from 2011 seemed to go with the rest of his teammates into a downward spiral of a season. Castro’s .284 on-base percentage was absolutely pathetic. Not pathetic has been his play in 2014.

Already Castro has more home runs and RBIs than he did last season. Not known for being an offensive weapon in that sense, his batting average has also climbed back to normal from the .245 it was last season. Castro has made a comeback. Now it’s just up to the voters to give him the hardware to match.

Tim Hudson

Based on how the rotation has done over the last few seasons one might think putting on a San Francisco Giants’ uniform automatically makes you a good pitcher. Of course that’s impossible, but the way Tim Hudson has pitched may give this magical idea some credence.

The 2013 season for Hudson ended early due to an injury which came after one of his worst seasons in quite some time. The approaching 40-years-old veteran has in many ways reinvented himself to reflect his age to still find success. Many believed Hudson was finished after 2013. The Giants take a risk on him although how risking is it to sign a player with almost 100 more wins than losses in his career?

Chase Utley

If Chase Utley wins the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award it will have less to do with his 2013 performance and more with everything he has done since 2010. Utley’s numbers have dropped off drastically since the Philadelphia Phillies last made the World Series. He now appears as healthy as he can be and kept the Phillies in the playoff race for longer than they should have been.

Like Hudson, Utley has become a different kind of player. He will never hit 30 home runs again, but his ability to get on base is almost back to his career best. Patient Phillies fans, if they exist, are feeling a sense of reward now that they have their beloved second baseman back.

Photo Credit: By Keith Allison on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Josh Beckett”) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Five Reasons Why the 2014 MLB Season Has Been Great

Likely no important single season records will be broken and no major milestones will be reached in the 2014 Major League Baseball season. Other than individual achievements, there appears to be nothing incredibly noteworthy about to happen. However the way things are going this still has the chance to be one of the best in years for some new reasons.

The American League Rookie Class

Even Nostradamus would have trouble predicting who will win the 2014 American League Rookie of the Year Award. Candidates include Jose Abreu, Masahiro Tanaka, George Springer, Xander Bogaerts, and a few others who have a chance at surpassing these men currently at the top.

These five men are all exciting and have already made a major impact on their respective teams. And although the National League has far fewer talented rookies, there’s still Billy Hamilton‘s blazing speed and Oscar Taveras‘s outstanding potential to keep your attention.

New Teams at the Top

For the longest time it felt like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were the only teams capable of winning a championship with a few others sneaking in. Still talented teams in their own right, others have emerged.

The Toronto Blue Jays have one of the best offenses in the league with a pitching staff capable of shutting anyone down. Meanwhile in the west the Oakland Athletics are winning despite having no household names on the roster. Finally in the National League we have the surprise Milwaukee Brewers. Nobody could have guessed they would be contending, but thanks to contributions from just about every player they find themselves with playoff aspirations.

Veteran Pitchers Still Got It

Young players like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout can get fans excited for the game. At the same time veterans can also become something to watch. Two veteran pitchers who have made 2014 a great season are Tim Hudson of the San Francisco Giants and Mark Buehrle of the Toronto Blue Jays.

In his first season pitching for the Giants after spending several seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Hudson has found comfort once again in the Bay Area. He has been nearly untouchable and is a big reason why the Giants are competing even with their top homegrown pitchers struggling. Buehrle has been a machine when it comes to winning games. The veteran lefty became the first to win 10 games in 2014 and with the way things are going could easily double it.

Charlie Blackmon

The name Charlie Blackmon may not sound familiar and that’s okay. Prior to 2014 Blackmon was a part-time player never reaching 250 at-bats in a season. A hot start in 2014 has gotten him into the lineup more often and baseball fans all across the country are noticing with massive amounts of votes in the All-Star game balloting going his way.

Power, speed, and a high batting average are all elements of Blackmon’s game. He has cooled off from his incredibly start, although he still maintains a semi-warm bat. Fans everywhere are hoping he gets back to slugging the ball.

The Houston Astros and Miami Marlins

Two of the worst teams in baseball (still) are actually worth watching in 2014. The Houston Astros may not improve much record-wise, but rookies George Springer and Jonathan Singleton are with the big league club headed toward the beginning of successful careers. Jose Altuve has also been playing great, with a high possibility of leading the league in hits.

Down in Miami the Marlins are actually winning games despite a season-ending injury to Jose Fernandez. What makes them still a team to watch are the rest of the young pitching staff, most notably Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez, and the outfield. Christian Yellich and Marcell Ozuna have joined Giancarlo Stanton in establishing one of the best young outfields in baseball.

The San Francisco Giants Acquire Jake Peavy: Your Move Los Angeles Dodgers

Earlier today the San Francisco Giants acquired Jake Peavy in a trade with the Boston Red Sox for top prospects Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree.

The Red Sox are smartly reloading (not rebuilding) and have shifted their focus from young position players to young pitchers to create a sunnier future in Boston. We won’t know for a while how the trade affects them, but even if they got a mule and a bag of magic beans for Peavy it was the right thing to do.

Peavy’s move to San Francisco returns him to the West Coast after beginning his career with the San Diego Padres. Despite what we have been made to believe, Peavy hasn’t been a top pitcher since 2007 or 2008 if you want to be generous. He has only finished with an ERA below 4.00 twice since this time and reached double digit wins just as many.

The role Peavy will take with the Giants looks to be replacing the currently injured Matt Cain and eventually joining the bullpen. The Giants already have a loaded starting rotation so picking up Peavy might be more of a precaution in case Tim Hudson’s body suddenly decides to start acting its age. There’s always a chance if Santiago Casilla struggles as the closer they end up moving someone like Tim Lincecum there although he has been great at times this season and should probably remain in the rotation instead of thrust into the closer’s role without much experience.

Even though the addition of Peavy is not something to blow anyone away, it does make me wonder what the Los Angeles Dodgers will now do. They have a surplus of outfielders and a starting rotation that when healthy and at their best can beat anyone. There’s still room for growth and we have to assume they are on the phones right now trying to steal headlines away from the only team giving them competition in the National League West.

Among their needs, the Dodgers could use an upgrade at catcher and possibly at third base. Juan Uribe has played well, but the lack of power at a position traditionally known for it is concerning. Uribe fits the lineup though and with the limited amount of third basemen even available he probably has some tight job security.

The pitching could however be fixed. Other than Dan Haren though, everyone has been pretty good. Josh Beckett still has a chance to lose his job if he continues his recent struggles, but like Lincecum on the Giants how do you demote a guy who pitched a no-hitter this season and has good numbers?

Some pitchers the Dodgers could target are Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Bartolo Colon, Ian Kennedy, David Price, and Peavy’s old teammate Jon Lester. If the Dodgers are looking to add an arm it will probably be a pretty big one. They are not known for shying away from spending money. The biggest thing stopping them from drastically upgrading the rotation will be if someone can beat them to it.

Photo Credit: By SD Dirk on Flickr (Original version) User UCinternational (Crop) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

MLB Aces in Need of a Big Second Half

Today begins the second half of the 2014 MLB season. Unfortunately a pitcher cannot necessarily start from scratch after the All-Star Break. Everything he did in the first half is still there on the stat sheet and on the frontal lobe of his mind. Instead of looming over the failures of the first 3 and a half months of the season a real ace would put the failures behind and push forward. These are a few front of the rotation pitching stars who need big second halves.

James Shields

A god among men in the starting rotation for the Kansas City Royals, James Shields needs to improve in the second half. He hasn’t been dreadful or anything. In fact he is 9-5 with a 3.65 ERA and coming off several good outings. Shields’s suffering this season has largely been in games where he completely lost control of the scoreboard.

As unbelievable as it may seem, the Royals are right in the playoff hunt not only for the Wild Card, but also for the American League Central. If Shields can pitch like the ace the Royals believe he is the team can capture a playoff berth. Shields will need some help from the weak offense the Royals have to turn his season around. If the bats fail they can always remind him how much money he will make in free agency if he becomes unhittable down the stretch. Surely that will get him going.

Justin Verlander

Hopefully someday Justin Verlander isn’t on a “Whatever Happened To?” list. The way things are going in 2014 he may just end up on several E! Network specials about fallen celebrities. Verlander was once the ace of the Detroit Tigers. Now he looks far more like a fourth starter than anything else. Verlander’s 8-8 record with a 4.88 ERA in the first half represents just how far the former Cy Young and MVP Award winner has fallen.

There’s no real explanation for his poor performance either other than age or hanging around Mark Fidrych a little too much. Verlander’s struggles put the Tigers in a tough position as they will likely lose Max Scherzer to free agency after this season. Once Scherzer is gone the team will be down a top pitcher and potentially out of contention.

C.J. Wilson

Injuries have plagued the Texas Rangers and suddenly the Los Angeles Angels are picking up a few more victories. They have done this without starting pitcher C.J. Wilson playing particularly well either. Especially of late, Wilson has been pretty bad to say the least. Wilson could blame his dandruff except as we all know he uses Head and Shoulders.

Blame should instead be put Wilson’s sudden urge to give up home runs. Already in the first half he has thrown 14 gopher balls. His career high has been 19, which will most likely be shattered this season. Wilson needs to believe in his stuff and his team. The Angels have a potent offense and will be able to bail him out of some bad situations, but only if Wilson does his part.

Every Pitcher on the San Francisco Giants

With the exception of Tim Hudson the rest of the rotation for the San Francisco Giants needs to do a little better. Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum have been up and down while Ryan Vogelsong has suffered more losses than he deserves. Matt Cain is the one guy in the rotation who appears to have lost any effectiveness. Since he is now pretty much the team’s fifth starter they are in good hands considering Cain is the worst option they have. Still, in order to win the World Series all of these men have to do a little better.

In addition to the rotation the Giants have to hope their bullpen can keep up with the first half success. Sergio Romo has lost his job as closer to Santiago Casilla so it’s still up in the air as to whether things will remain stable in the 9th inning or not. Finally the Giants have an offense at least comparable to the Los Angeles Dodgers, admittedly weaker. If the Giants want to win the division the pitching needs to improve or else they will enter the playoffs as the weakest team in the National League.

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Big Seasons for Players on New Teams in 2014

Prior to the 2014 Major League Baseball season only a small handful of big name players swapped teams. The free agent class was not spectacular and only a small handful of notable trades took place. These are five players wearing a different uniform in 2014 and having a great season.

Nelson Cruz

The 2013 season for Nelson Cruz began on a high note until he served a 50-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs. Many wondered how much of what he did was due to the use of illegal substances so it took a while before the Baltimore Orioles signed him to a very favorable one-year contract for $8 million. Cruz has so far proven that his skills are beyond cheating. He is on pace to set career highs in multiple categories and could very well win his first home run title.

Ian Kinsler

For years Ian Kinsler was the heart of the Texas Rangers. So when the team traded him to the Detroit Tigers for Prince Fielder in the offseason it hurt a little. He had never put on another major league uniform since debuting with the team in 2006. Kinsler has not missed a step though. He has hit over .300 for a large majority of the season and his home run total could reach 20. Everything needed for a guy batting at the top of the order, Kinsler has done it. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez are very happy with their new toy.

Scott Kazmir

After falling from grace pitcher Scott Kazmir wandered around the American League for a few seasons while trying to keep healthy and remind teams about how good he once was. In 2014 he joined the Oakland Athletics and the organization has to be thrilled with the way he has played. Season-ending injuries to Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin guaranteed Kazmir a spot in the rotation however it has been the way he has played that has kept him there. Kazmir has had an All-Star season full of strikeouts, wins, an ERA below 3.00, and left-handed hitters looking for an excuse to not come to the park that day.

Tim Hudson

One of the most consistent pitchers over the last decade and a half has been Tim Hudson. Starting off his career with the Oakland Athletics then moving to the Atlanta Braves, Hudson finds himself wearing a San Francisco Giants uniform in 2014. After finishing the 2013 season due to an injury, it’s even more rewarding to see Hudson come back pitching so well with his new team. Primarily the Giants have built their rotation with homegrown talent. The addition of Hudson gives them a different kind of weapon and the experience brought with it is extremely valuable.

Fernando Rodney

The eccentric sideways cap-wearing closer Fernando Rodney joined the Seattle Mariners for the 2014 season. Even though he calls a new city home, Rodney is quietly having an amazing year. Rodney may easily finish with more saves than anyone else and not hollow ones either. As the Mariners’ pitching staff continues to grow it is a comfort to have someone like Rodney to close out their games when Felix Hernandez can only go 8 innings. Unfortunately for Rodney he may be gone from baseball by the time he can fully see the positive effects his great 2014 season has on the team as the young pitching staff is still a few years away from being great.

Photo Credit: By Keith Allison on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons