MLBs 10 Best Relief Pitchers of the 1970s: Fingers, Garber, Lyle, McGraw

Relief pitching in the 1970s had some things similar and some things different than the relief pitching of today. In a way, it was still the general ideology of managers that the good arms were in the starting rotation and the duds were in the bullpen.

That unwritten rule was certainly beginning to shift by the 1970s and the relief pitchers on this list definitely broke that rule, but, nonetheless, this thought by Managers was still the popular belief and practice around the League.

The 1970s helped define certain type of relief pitchers and situations, like the closer role.

There were certainly some relief pitchers that began to define that role from my 1960s article, like Roy Face and, of course, Hoyt Wilhelm. There were even some as early as the 1920s that helped begin to define that role, like Firpo Marberry.

But this decade certainly helped further the definition of the closer role, and some other relief pitcher roles, no question.

Another similarity to the relief pitching of the 2000s is the fact that we saw more career relief pitchers in the 1970s than we generally saw in previous decades.

I wrote an article about a month ago on the 10 best from the 2000s and all 10 on that list started 0-10% of their career games. They were generally career relief pitchers.

This 1970s list is about the same. In fact, every relief pitcher in this top 10 started 0-10% of their career games also, except one.

It is like today, more or less, in that facet.

What is different about the 1970s relief pitchers compared to the 2000s relief pitchers?

The biggest difference, innings pitched per game.

That 2000s relief pitcher article saw that top 10 average 1.2 IP per G.

This 1970s relief pitcher article will see the top 10 averaging 1.9 IP per G.

It doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but they are a world apart. Basically two thirds of an inning per game more in this decade compared to the 2000s. It’s a bigger difference than it may sound, trust me.

Now, about this list.

There were 77 relief pitchers from the 1970s.

If a player does not appear on this list of 77, then they either didn't reach 250 games or I consider them a relief pitcher from the 1960s or the 1980s. I just wrote articles covering relief pitchers from each of those two decades.

Relief pitchers will only be in one decade. For example, Rollie Fingers will appear in this article. So, he did not appear in my 1960s article or my 1980s article.

An Explanation of the Stats

The statistics that I include will be Games Pitched, Games Started, Innings Pitched, ERA, ERA+, WHIP (OOB%), H/9 (OBA), SV, SV/50 (per 50 Games Relieved) and K/BB (ratio). I will also letter grade their length of career.

First , I will include their raw career numbers first. These are simply their career numbers.

Second , I will include their adjusted career numbers, if they had a long career (which most did). Adjusted career is this: Let's take Sparky Lyle, for example. Lyle had a long career. So in order to find his real numbers, I have to exclude some late seasons during his career to find the numbers that he really carried during his career.

With Lyle, I'd exclude his 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982 seasons. That is his adjusted career. Again, this can only be done with long career players. If I don't list an adjusted career under a player's raw career numbers, then it means they didn't played long enough to adjust for their long career or it means they didn't have any bad seasons late in their career.

Third, I will include peak career numbers. Many like short peaks, not me. I include the best seasons equaling at least 250 games for a peak. It takes away the possibility of a pitcher having one or two lucky seasons. The 250-game peak will tell us how good the pitcher was at his best.   

The 77 Relief Pitchers

Here are the 77 Relief Pitchers from the 1970s that reached at least 250 games (listed in alphabetical order): Jerry Augustine, Doug Bird, Pedro Borbon, Jim Bouton, Tom Burgmeier, Tom Buskey, Clay Carroll, Bill Castro, Reggie Cleveland, George Culver, John Curtis, John D’Acquisto, Bruce DalCanton, Dick Drago, Rawley Eastwick, Ed Farmer, Rollie Fingers, Ken Forsch, Terry Forster, Steve Foucault, Danny Frisella, Gene Garber, Mike Garman, Wayne Granger, Tom Griffin, Tom Hall, Dave Hamilton, Andy Hassler, Dave Heaverlo, Ramon Hernandez, John Hiller, Joe Hoerner, Don Hood, Tom House, Al Hrabosky, Grant Jackson, Jerry Johnson, Darold Knowles, Frank LaCorte, Lerrin LaGrow, Dave LaRoche, Paul Linblad, Mark Littell, Bob Locker, Skip Lockwood, Sparky Lyle, Mike Marshall, Will McEnaney, Tug McGraw, Dyar Miller, Steve Mingori, Randy Moffitt, Sid Monge, Tom Murphy, Dale Murray, Marty Pattin, Horacio Pina, Mike Proly, Ron Reed, Eduardo Rodriguez, Enrique Romo, Vicente Romo, Gary Ross, Ken Sanders, Fred Scherman, Ron Schueler, Elias Sosa, Dan Spillner, Don Stanhouse, Chuck Taylor, Dick Tidrow, Jim Todd, Dave Tomlin, Wayne Twitchell, Cecil Upshaw, Eddie Watt and Charlie Williams  

The Top 10

10. Darold Knowles (1965-1980) Career Length Grade: B

Raw Career: 765 G, 8 GS, 1,092 IP, 3.12 ERA, 113 ERA+, 1.36 WHIP, 8.3 H/9, 143 SV, 9.5 SV/50 and 1.4 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 657 G, 8 GS, 953.1 IP, 2.80 ERA, 123 ERA+, 1.33 WHIP, 7.9 H/9, 122 SV, 9.4 SV/50 and 1.4 K/BB (exclude his 1975, 1979 and 1980 seasons)

Peak Career: 296 G, 0 GS, 413 IP, 2.18 ERA, 159 ERA+, 1.27 WHIP, 7.5 H/9, 66 SV, 11.2 SV/50 and 1.3 K/BB (include his 1969, 1970, 1972, 1976 and 1978 seasons)

Some historians still argue that he had the best pickoff move in the history of Major League Baseball, starter or reliever.

He was a career relief pitcher, as he was a relief pitcher every season. In fact, he had less than 10 starts during his entire career.

And man, what a relief pitcher he was.

He had five or six pitches in his arsenal that included a sinkerball, fastball and slider.

This good arsenal of pitches helped lead to a great career and some simply incredible seasons.

The best season of his career was arguably his 1972 season. During that season, he pitched almost 55 G of relief and over 65 IP. He posted a 1.37 ERA, 210 ERA+ and 6.7 H/9.

His best back to back seasons were arguably his 1969 and 1970 seasons. During those two seasons combined, he pitched almost 125 G of relief and over 200 IP. He recorded a 2.12 ERA, 40 SV and 166 ERA+.

He had five or six seasons during his career that were superb.

He helped his team to the postseason twice and also helped them capture the 1973 World Series championship. During his career postseason, he pitched almost 10 G and posted a 0.00 ERA, 6.8 H/9 and never allowed an earned run.

Great numbers, to say the least.

There are certainly a few on the Honorable Mentions list that have good arguments to take this 10^th and final spot instead of Knowles. Most notably: Ken Forsch, Grant Jackson and Bob Locker.

Forsch and Jackson had longer careers than Knowles, but I can’t put them ahead of Knowles, even with a slightly longer career because Knowles simply has better numbers; and though the gap is narrowed, it’s not surpassed.

And Locker has better numbers than Knowles, but he had a less than average length of career and Knowles length of career more than makes up for the slight difference in his and Locker’s numbers, in that case.

It’s close, but Knowles gets the 10 spot.

9. Clay Carroll (1964-1978) Career Length Grade: A-

Raw Career: 731 G, 28 GS, 1,353.1 IP, 2.94 ERA, 122 ERA+, 1.28 WHIP, 8.6 H/9, 143 SV, 10.1 SV/50 and 1.5 K/BB

Peak Career: 267 G, 8 GS, 475 IP, 2.43 ERA, 157 ERA+, 1.17 WHIP, 8.2 H/9, 39 SV, 7.5 SV/50 and 1.9 K/BB (include his 1964, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1977 and 1978 seasons)

Incredibly, he posted less than a 2.80 ERA during 11 of the 15 seasons during his career, including each of his last five seasons.

Just couldn’t score against this guy. He led the League with 37 SV during the 1972 season.

Like Knowles in the 10 spot, Carroll was a career relief pitcher. He was a relief pitcher every season during his career, but he had a lot of spot starts throughout his career, and ended up starting almost 30 G by the time he was through.

This may be a bit silly, but I just love this kind of stuff.

Here it is.

His first season was a bit of a short season, but he pitched brilliantly during his first season to start his career. He pitched over 10 G, 1 GS and over 20 IP. He recorded a 1.77 ERA, 204 ERA+, 0.89 WHIP, 6.6 H/9 and 5.7 K/BB.

Again, a short first season, but a great one.

Now, his last two seasons: he pitched a lot during his second to last season and he only pitched a couple of games during his last season. Either way, he combined his last two seasons to pitch over 60 G, 1 GS and over 105 IP. He posted a combined 2.73 ERA, 144 ERA+ and 1.18 WHIP.

Here’s my point, as silly as it may be, I just love these kind of facts and finds. They might be the best first season and last two seasons combined for any relief pitcher in history.

Those three seasons combined, his first season and his last two seasons, he pitched over 70 G, 2 GS and over 125 IP. He recorded a 2.58 ERA, 151 ERA+ and 1.13 WHIP.

Again, it’s kind of a silly fact and find, but I just love those kind of finds.

What a way to start and end his career.

Carroll recorded great postseason numbers during his career and pitched another short season in the postseason because his teams were generally really good and in the postseason quite often.

In fact, he helped his team to the postseason during four of the first six seasons of the 1970s, from 1970-1975, and they captured the World Series championship during the 1975 season.

His combined postseason numbers are: over 20 G of relief and 30 IP; he recorded a combined 1.39 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 6.7 H/9.

Great postseason numbers, to say the least.

What a relief pitcher.

8. Tom Burgmeier (1968-1984) Career Length Grade: A-

Raw Career: 745 G, 3 GS, 1,258.2 IP, 3.23 ERA, 119 ERA+, 1.28 WHIP, 8.8 H/9, 102 SV, 6.9 SV/50 and 1.5 K/BB

Peak Career: 287 G, 0 GS, 516.2 IP, 2.26 ERA, 177 ERA+, 1.12 WHIP, 7.9 H/9, 50 SV, 8.8 SV/50 and 2.0 K/BB (include his 1971, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1984 seasons)

He was a great defensive fielder, especially for a relief pitcher.

He was a true career relief pitcher and he was a reliever during every season of his career. In fact, he only had a few spot starts during his entire career.

He pitched as much with the Boston Red Sox as any other team during his career and, the truth is, he pitched his best with the Red Sox, generally speaking.

The best season of his entire career was arguably his 1980 season with Boston. He pitched over 60 G of relief and almost 100 IP. He posted a 2.00 ERA, 24 SV, 213 ERA+, 1.08 WHIP and 2.7 K/BB.

The best back to back seasons of his career were with Boston also. They were his consecutive seasons in 1979 and 1980. He combined those two seasons with Boston to pitch over 105 G of relief and almost 190 IP. He recorded a combined 2.35 ERA, 186 ERA+, 1.13 WHIP and 3.2 K/BB.

He simply bordered on magical while with the Boston Red Sox.

He was with the team for the five seasons from 1978-1982 and three of the four seasons from 1979-1982, he pitched the best baseball of his career; the three seasons in particular were his 1979, 1980 and 1982 seasons.

He combined those three seasons with Boston to pitch over 145 G of relief and 290 IP. He posted a combined 2.33 ERA, 187 ERA+, 1.15 WHIP and 2.7 K/BB.

Again, that’s three of his five seasons with Boston from 1978-1982 and it’s three of the four seasons with Boston from 1979-1982.

He pitched well other places too, but his best seasons were with Boston; and he pitched as much with them as any other club during his career, too.

Man, he’s kind of a forgotten relief pitcher with many casual fans.

He quietly remains as one of the 20 best left-handed relief pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. 

7. Ron Reed (1966-1984) Career Length Grade: A+

Raw Career: 751 G, 236 GS, 2,477.2 IP, 3.46 ERA, 108 ERA+, 1.21 WHIP, 8.6 H/9, 103 SV, 10.0 SV/50 and 2.3 K/BB

Peak Career: 295 G, 11 GS, 540.1 IP, 2.60 ERA, 146 ERA+, 1.05 WHIP, 7.2 H/9, 72 SV, 12.6 SV/50 and 2.9 K/BB (include his 1966, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1984 seasons)

During his incredibly long 19 season Major League Baseball career, he was basically a starting pitcher during his first 10 seasons and he was a relief pitcher during his last nine seasons.

During his first season in 1966, he only started a couple of games and pitched less than 10 innings. He posted a 2.16 ERA and 179 ERA+.

Only a couple of games, but great starting pitcher numbers.

You may be asking, why didn’t he pitch more during his first season?

Well, he was playing in the NBA during his first two seasons of MLB. He actually wasn’t a bad player in the NBA. Let’s don’t forget, he’s an Indiana boy, and we like our basketball out here in Indiana; he even played his college ball in Indiana, at Notre Dame. He averaged 8.0 points per game during his two seasons in the NBA and likely could have had a good career in the NBA.

But after playing in the NBA and MLB during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, he stopped playing in the NBA and concentrated entirely on his MLB career. Of course, he pitched more after his first couple of seasons after dropping the NBA.

He wasn’t a bad starting pitcher, but he was an even better relief pitcher. He basically started pitching as a reliever during the second half of his career, starting in 1976.

He was dominant as a relief pitcher right from the start. In fact, his first three seasons as a relief pitcher were arguably the three best consecutive seasons of his entire career, from 1976-1978.

During those first three seasons as a relief pitcher, he combined to pitch 185 G, almost 10 GS and over 360 IP. He recorded a combined 2.49 ERA, 150 ERA+, 1.02 WHIP, 6.9 H/9 and 2.9 K/BB.

Those were his first three seasons as a relief pitcher, from 1976-1978. Amazing numbers.

His best season as a relief pitcher was arguably his 1978 season. During that 1978 season, he pitched over 65 G of relief and almost 110 IP. He posted a 2.24 ERA, 161 ERA+, 1.01 WHIP, 7.2 H/9 and 3.7 K/BB.

What a season. What a career. A good starting pitcher and a truly great relief pitcher.

6. Mike Marshall (1967-1981) Career Length Grade: A

Raw Career: 723 G, 24 GS, 1,386.2 IP, 3.14 ERA, 119 ERA+, 1.29 WHIP, 8.3 H/9, 188 SV, 13.4 SV/50 and 1.7 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 689 G, 20 GS, 1,312.2 IP, 3.02 ERA, 123 ERA+, 1.27 WHIP, 8.1 H/9, 186 SV, 13.9 SV/50 and 1.7 K/BB (exclude his 1977 and 1980 seasons)

Peak Career: 338 G, 1 GS, 595.2 IP, 2.39 ERA, 162 ERA+, 1.23 WHIP, 7.7 H/9, 112 SV, 16.7 SV/50 and 1.8 K/BB (include his 1967, 1972, 1973, 1978 and 1979 seasons)

He won the Cy Young award during the 1974 season, as a relief pitcher. During that 1974 season, he led the League with 106 G pitched in relief, which is still a Major League Baseball record, and pitched almost 210 IP. He posted a 2.42 ERA, 141 ERA+, 1.19 WHIP, 2.6 K/BB and led the League with 21 SV.

You may be saying, those are extremely good numbers, but those aren’t Cy Young award numbers, are they?

No, they’re really not, except for the MLB record 106 G pitched. If you take that out, they are extremely good numbers, but not Cy Young award numbers, you’re right. In fact, he may have had five or six seasons better than his Cy Young award season. But, of course, he never pitched 106 G in a season again, no one ever has, before or since.

During that magical 1974 season, he also helped his team capture the World Series championship. During that 1974 postseason, he pitched almost 10 G and recorded a 0.75 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, 4.5 H/9 and 11.0 K/BB.

Incredible postseason numbers, what a season.

His 1974 Cy Young award season was great, don’t get me wrong. But I think his best season was two season prior in 1972. During the 1972 season, he led the League with 65 G of relief and over 115 IP. He posted a 1.78 ERA, 198 ERA+, 1.11 WHIP and 6.4 H/9.

All of those numbers are better than his Cy Young award season in 1974, except G and IP.

During his long 14 season MLB career, he was basically a starting pitcher for one season and he was a relief pitcher for 13 seasons.

He had an arsenal of pitches that included a fastball, screwball and slider. Some historians still argue that Marshall possessed the best screwball in the history of MLB.

His great arsenal of pitches helped him lead the League in SV three times during his career, recording over 20 SV each time he led the League.

His best back to back seasons were arguably his consecutive seasons in 1978 and 1979. He combined those two seasons to pitch almost 145 G, 1 GS and over 240 IP. He recorded a combined 2.57 ERA, 53 SV and 163 ERA+.

They were arguably the last two truly magical consecutive seasons of his career; and what a career it was, what a workhorse, what a pitcher.

5. John Hiller (1965-1980) Career Length Grade: C+

Raw Career: 545 G, 43 GS, 1,242 IP, 2.83 ERA, 134 ERA+, 1.27 WHIP, 7.5 H/9, 125 SV, 12.5 SV/50 and 1.9 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 491 G, 43 GS, 1,132 IP, 2.62 ERA, 143 ERA+, 1.22 WHIP, 7.3 H/9, 116 SV, 12.9 SV/50 and 2.1 K/BB (exclude his last two seasons)

Peak Career: 291 G, 4 GS, 603.2 IP, 2.19 ERA, 175 ERA+, 1.19 WHIP, 6.9 H/9, 96 SV, 16.8 SV/50 and 2.2 K/BB (include his 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978 seasons)

His career 2.83 ERA still ranks as the 18^th best ERA in the history of Major League Baseball for a relief pitcher; tied with Bruce Sutter. Hiller posted less than a 2.65 ERA during nine of the 15 seasons of his career, including five consecutive seasons from 1972-1976.

There’s an amazing story about John Hiller that I want to share with you. I’ll give the quick condensed version:

He pitched his first six seasons from 1965-1970, and he was fairly good, not great, but off to a good start to his career, nonetheless.

Well, before the 1971 season, he had an unexpected heart attack. He missed the entire 1971 season and there were certainly many that never expected him to come back and pitch another MLB game after the heart attack and those that thought he would eventually come back simply never thought he would be the same.

They were right, he wasn’t the same; he was better. He came back during the 1972 season, his first season after the heart attack, and proceeded to have, what some historians consider to be the best five consecutive season stretch in the history of MLB for a relief pitcher.

He not only came back from the heart attack, he was better than ever.

I just love those kind of stories, those down for the count, but came back stories. Hiller has one of those, for sure.

That’s the story, the quick condensed version.

As I said above, there are some historians that believe his five consecutive seasons following his heart attack is the best five consecutive season stretch in the history of MLB for a relief pitcher.

They were, of course, the five consecutive seasons from 1972-1976. During those combined five seasons, he pitched 240 G, almost 5 GS and over 510 IP. He recorded a 2.16 ERA, 177 ERA+ and 7.0 H/9.

What a five consecutive season stretch that was. It’s hard to not argue that he was simply the best relief pitcher in all of baseball for the five seasons from 1972-1976. In fact, there’s a logical argument that he was actually the best overall relief pitcher in all of baseball during the seven seasons from 1972-1978, the better part of the 1970s.

He was a career relief pitcher and was a reliever during every season of his career. However, he had a lot of spot starts during his career and started over 40 G by the time his career was through.

The best season of his entire career was arguably his 1973 season. During that 1973 season, he led the League by pitching 65 G of relief and over 125 IP. While leading the League with 65c G, he posted a 1.44 ERA, 286 ERA+, 1.02 WHIP, 6.4 H/9, 3.2 K/BB and led the League with 38 SV, which was a MLB record at the time.

So, while leading the League with 65 G, he also set a MLB record of 38 SV; all while posting a 1.44 ERA and 286 ERA+.

Mike Marshall won the Cy Young award the next season, in 1974, by posting 21 SV, 2.42 ERA and 141 ERA+. Marshall set a record by pitching in 106 G, but many argue that Hiller should have won the Cy Young award in 1973, not Marshall in 1974. Marshall personally had better seasons than his 1974 season, if you ask me, but that’s another story.

I have Marshall in the six spot on this list, by the way; see his write up for more details.

Hiller came back from a heart attack that many thought he would never come back from to pitch the best baseball of his career and he still easily remains as one of the 20 best left-handed relief pitchers in the history of MLB.

4. Gene Garber (1969-1988) Career Length Grade: A+

Raw Career: 931 G, 9 GS, 1,510 IP, 3.34 ERA, 117 ERA+, 1.26 WHIP, 8.7 H/9, 218 SV, 11.8 SV/50 and 2.1 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 888 G, 9 GS, 1,449.1 IP, 3.28 ERA, 119 ERA+, 1.25 WHIP, 8.6 H/9, 209 SV, 11.9 SV/50 and 2.1 K/BB (exclude his 1983 season)

Peak Career: 259 G, 0 GS, 417.2 IP, 2.33 ERA, 169 ERA+, 1.06 WHIP, 7.4 H/9, 98 SV, 18.8 SV/50 and 2.9 K/BB (include his 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1986 seasons)

During his incredibly long 19 season Major League Baseball career, he was basically a relief pitcher during each of his last 18 seasons and he was a starting pitcher during his first season, which was a short season for him.

He was a sidearm pitcher and pitched most of his career for the Atlanta Braves. He had some great seasons with the Braves.

In fact, the best season of his career was arguably his 1978 season. He actually split that season between the Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies. He didn’t pitch as many seasons with the Phillies as he did the Braves, but he certainly had some great seasons with the Phillies also and might have pitched his best ball in Philadelphia.

During that 1978 season, he pitched 65 G of relief and almost 120 IP. He posted a 2.15 ERA, 25 SV, 183 ERA+, 0.92 WHIP, 6.5 H/9 and 3.5 K/BB.

It was an incredible season.

His best back to back seasons were consecutive seasons in 1977 and 1978. He pitched the 1977 season with Philadelphia and the 1978 season was, again, split between the Phillies and the Braves.

He combined those two seasons to pitch almost 130 G of relief and over 220 IP. He recorded a 2.25 ERA, 44 SV, 178 ERA+, 0.97 WHIP, 6.8 H/9 and 3.5 K/BB.

This guy just had some incredible seasons, including those back to back seasons in 1977 and 1978.

Here’s a neat piece of trivia for you: Gene Garber was the pitcher that ended Pete Rose’s 44 game hit streak.

It was the ninth inning and Rose was facing Garber; we know what happened, Garber got him out and the streak ended at 44. Struck him out after the count was pushed to two and two, that was during Garber’s magical 1978 season. Well, I should say, Garber and Rose’s magical 1978 season.

Garber is surprisingly and widely forgotten by the casual fan and he simply shouldn’t be. He was the real deal.

3. Tug McGraw (1965-1984) Career Length Grade: A+

Raw Career: 824 G, 39 GS, 1,514.2 IP, 3.14 ERA, 117 ERA+, 1.25 WHIP, 7.8 H/9, 180 SV, 11.5 SV/50 and 1.9 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 666 G, 37 GS, 1,297.2 IP, 2.93 ERA, 125 ERA+, 1.24 WHIP, 7.6 H/9, 159 SV, 12.6 SV/50 and 1.9 K/BB (exclude his 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1984 seasons)

Peak Career: 307 G, 5 GS, 586 IP, 2.01 ERA, 180 ERA+, 1.12 WHIP, 6.7 H/9, 87 SV, 14.5 SV/50 and 2.3 K/BB (include his 1969, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977 and 1980 seasons)

During his incredible long 19 season Major League Baseball career, he was basically a relief pitcher for 17 seasons and he was a starting pitcher for two seasons; two of the first three seasons of his career.

The best season of his entire career was arguably his 1980 season and it was the last truly great season of his career.

During that 1980 season, he pitched almost 60 G of relief and over 90 IP. He posted a 1.46 ERA, 260 ERA+, 0.92 WHIP, 6.0 H/9 and 3.3 K/BB.

It was an incredible season.

His best back to back seasons were arguably consecutive seasons in 1971 and 1972. During those two seasons combined, he pitched 105 G, 1 GS and almost 220 IP. He recorded a 1.70 ERA, 199 ERA+, 1.04 WHIP and 6.0 H/9.

By the time his career was through, he had a bunch of good seasons and six or seven seasons that were truly extraordinary.

Incredibly, he helped his team to the playoff during seven of the 13 seasons from 1969-1981, including capturing the 1980 World Series championship.

His combined postseason numbers are: over 25 G of relief and 50 IP; a 2.24 ERA and 6.5 H/9, great career postseason numbers.

Neat trivia: he’s the father of country music superstar Tim McGraw.

Tug McGraw remains as one of the 10 best left-handed relief pitchers in the history of MLB.

2. Sparky Lyle (1967-1982) Career Length Grade: A

Raw Career: 899 G, 0 GS, 1,390.1 IP, 2.88 ERA, 128 ERA+, 1.28 WHIP, 8.4 H/9, 238 SV, 13.2 SV/50 and 1.8 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 688 G, 0 GS, 1,060.1 IP, 2.50 ERA, 146 ERA+, 1.21 WHIP, 7.8 H/9, 214 SV, 15.5 SV/50 and 2.1 K/BB (exclude his 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982 seasons)

Peak Career: 288 G, 0 GS, 505.2 IP, 2.03 ERA, 174 ERA+, 1.16 WHIP, 7.5 H/9, 104 SV, 17.9 SV/50 and 2.1 K/BB (include his 1967, 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1977 seasons)

He was a true career relief pitcher and never started a game during his long Major League Baseball career.

Incredibly, he posted less than a 2.80 ERA during nine of the first 11 seasons of his career, including four consecutive seasons from 1971-1974.

By the time his career was through, he recorded almost 240 SV and led the League in SV twice, recording over 20 SV each time he led the League. The fact of the matter is, he recorded at least 20 SV during five of the first eight seasons of the 1970s, from 1970-1977.

He won the Cy Young award as a relief pitcher during the 1977 season. During that Cy Young award winning 1977 season, he led the League by pitching 72 G of relief and almost 140 IP. He posted a 2.17 ERA, 26 SV and 183 ERA+.

Another great season for him, and arguably even better than his Cy Young award 1977 season, was three season prior, in 1974. During that 1974 season, he pitched over 65 G of relief and almost 115 IP. He recorded a 1.66 ERA, 215 ERA+, 1.19 WHIP and 7.3 H/9.

All of those numbers I just mentioned from 1974 are better than his Cy Young award 1977 season, except for G and IP. My point is, 1974 was a great season, and arguably just as good or better than his Cy Young award 1977 season.

The best back to back seasons during his career were arguably consecutive seasons in 1976 and 1977. During those two season combined, he pitched over 135 G of relief and 240 IP. He posted a 2.21 ERA, 49 SV and 170 ERA+.

As you can see, this guy had five or six incredible seasons during his career.

He helped his team to the postseason during four of the six seasons from 1976-1981, including capturing the World Series championship in 1977.

His combined career postseason numbers: over 10 G of relief and 20 IP; a 1.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 7.2 H/9 and 3.0 K/BB. Great career postseason numbers.

He arguably remains as one of the 20 best relief pitchers in the history of MLB.

He also remains as one of the 10 best left-handed relief pitchers in the history of MLB.

1.Rollie Fingers (1968-1985) Career Length Grade: A+

Raw Career: 944 G, 37 GS, 1,701.1 IP, 2.90 ERA, 120 ERA+, 1.16 WHIP, 7.8 H/9, 341 SV, 18.8 SV/50 and 2.6 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 843 G, 37 GS, 1,562.1 IP, 2.74 ERA, 126 ERA+, 1.13 WHIP, 7.6 H/9, 311 SV, 19.3 SV/50 and 2.8 K/BB (exclude his 1979 and 1985 seasons)

Peak Career: 262 G, 2 GS, 465 IP, 2.05 ERA, 174 ERA+, 1.09 WHIP, 7.4 H/9, 122 SV, 23.5 SV/50 and 3.2 K/BB (include his 1973, 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1984 seasons)

His career 341 SV still ranks 10^th all time in the history of Major League Baseball. It was a MLB record at the time of his retirement. He led the League in SV during three of the five seasons from 1977-1981 and posted over 25 SV each time he led the League.

He posted at least 20 SV during 10 of his 12 seasons from 1972-1984 and he posted over 20 SV during his first four seasons of the 1980s, from 1980-1984.

His career 1.16 WHIP still ranks as the 18^th best WHIP in the history of MLB for a relief pitcher. He recorded less than a 1.18 WHIP during 10 of his 13 seasons from 1971-1984, including six consecutive seasons from 1971-1976.

That puts Fingers in the top 20 all time in two important statistical categories, SV and WHIP.

In fact, there are only seven other relief pitchers in the history of MLB that are in the top 20 all time in both of those categories with Fingers. They are: Mariano Rivera, Billy Wagner, Trevor Hoffman, Troy Percival, John Wetteland, Tom Henke and Dennis Eckersley. Nice company there, huh?

Kind of a who’s who of relief pitchers from the past 40 seasons of MLB.

Fingers is the only relief pitcher from the 1970s that is in the Hall of Fame and he still remains as one of only five in the history of MLB, all decades.

Fingers was a relief pitcher every season of his incredibly long career, a career relief pitcher. He had plenty of spot starts during his career and even had parts of seasons that he was in the starting rotation, but by season’s end, he was a relief pitcher. By the time his career was through, he had started almost 40 G.

He possessed good control, and you just couldn’t score against him.

He posted less than a 2.85 ERA during nine of his 12 seasons from 1972-1984, including his first four seasons of the 1980s, from 1980-1984.

He recorded over 2.8 K/BB during 10 of his 13 seasons from 1971-1984, including seven consecutive seasons from 1971-1977.

Again, he was simply possessed marvelous control.

The best season of his entire career was arguably his 1981 season. He won the Cy Young award and the MVP award that season, as a relief pitcher.

During that magical 1981 season, he pitched almost 50 G of relief and 80 IP. He posted a 1.04 ERA, 333 ERA+, 0.87 WHIP, 6.3 H/9, 4.7 K/BB and led the League with 28 SV.

Folks, that means he only gave up nine runs and 13 walks all season, almost 50 G. So far during this 2010 season, there are pitchers that we all consider to be good that gave up nine runs and 13 walks in two bad games; it’s what Fingers did during the entire 1981 season, almost 50 G.

What a season.

Another great season for him was his 1973 season. During that 1973 season, he pitched over 60 G, 2 GS and over 125 IP. He recorded a 1.92 ERA, 22 SV, 186 ERA+, 1.15 WHIP and 2.8 K/BB.

It wasn’t quite as good as his Cy Young award/MVP 1981 season, but it was another great season that quickly presents itself to the forefront of my mind as a great season.

The best three consecutive seasons of his career were his three consecutive seasons from 1981-1984. During those three seasons combined, he pitched 130 G of relief and over 200 IP. He posted a 1.86 ERA, 80 SV, 199 ERA+, 0.99 WHIP, 6.9 H/9 and 3.7 K/BB.

Wow, those are unbelievable numbers and they are the numbers of three consecutive seasons combined.

As you can see, he had a bunch of good seasons during his career, and five or six seasons that were off the charts.

He helped his teams to the postseason six times during his career and, incredibly, helped his team capture three consecutive World Series championships from 1972-1974.

His career postseason numbers: 30 G of relief and almost 60 IP; a 2.35 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 2.7 K/BB.

Great postseason numbers.

There are some historians that suggest that the role of relief pitcher, and particularly, the closer role was originally and collectively defined by relief pitchers like Firpo Marberry, Roy Face and Hoyt Wilhelm.

It’s a logical suggestion.

So those historians suggest that Rollie Fingers simply helped re-define those roles. At the same time, some historians suggest that Fingers didn’t re-define anything; he simply defined those roles, period.

Either way, most historians give him credit for one or the other.

I’ll say this, he still arguably remains as one of the 20 best relief pitchers to ever grace the fields of MLB.

 The Honorable Mentions

Here are the ten relief pitchers that just missed the top 10 for various reasons. I will list them in alphabetical order: Ken Forsch, Terry Forster, Al Hrabosky, Grant Jackson, Dave LaRoche, Paul Lindblad, Bob Locker, Elias Sosa, Dick Tidrow and Eddie Watt

The 10 Highest Caliber Relief Pitchers of the 1970s

I consider this to be the Smoky Joe Wood section. Who’s the best pitcher, putting career values aside; putting length of career aside and putting some other things aside that affect a relief pitchers overall rating? So, these aren’t the best careers, these are the best pitchers, in a way.

Like Smoky Joe Wood in the 1910s, he was a starting pitcher that many historians feel is one of the 10 highest caliber starting pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. But with his short overall career, he’s never rated that high when you see historians rate starting pitchers because they are almost always rating the best careers.

Don’t get me wrong, caliber is part of historians formula too, it’s just a smaller part of the overall equation; and smaller than it should be, if you ask me, but that’s another article.

Smoky Joe Wood’s overall rating and career value is lower because of his short career and some other factors. But if a highest caliber list were made, Smoky Joe Wood would appear on many historians all time top 10 lists. But almost never in the top 10 on their all time career list, which are the lists that we usually see.

I hope that makes sense. This is basically what I’m doing here with this list. Again, this list is not a list of the best careers, that list is the list you just read. This list is the highest caliber relief pitchers. Here it is.

10. Darold Knowles

9. Gene Garber

8. Eddie Watt

7. Bob Locker

6. Joe Hoerner

5. Al Hrabosky

4. Tug McGraw

3. Rollie Fingers

2. John Hiller

1. Sparky Lyle

The Caliber Honorable Mentions (listed in alphabetical order): Tom Burgmeier, Clay Carroll, Terry Forster, Ramon Hernandez, Dave LaRoche, Mike Marshall, Steve Mingori, Ron Reed, Ken Sanders and Elias Sosa

There you go, the best relief pitchers from the 1970s. The 10 best careers and the 10 highest caliber relief pitchers.