Last month, I watched an interview on YouTube. A relief pitcher talked about his experience in the 2024 postseason. His performance was very impressive and lots of fans surely will remember what he did last postseason.
After watching the interview, I was just wondering which relievers were solid in the postseason over the last 15 years. To understand a little bit more, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs website.
Firstly, let’s look at the number of strikeouts. Kenley Jansen has collected 400+ saves so far in his career and he’s one of the most reliable closers in the majors. From 2013 to 2022, he tossed 65.1 innings in the postseason and struck out 94 batters. Moreover, Aroldis Chapman has picked up 300+ saves thus far in his career. From 2010 to 2023, he threw 49.1 innings in the playoffs and struck out 68 batters. Furthermore, Ryan Pressly threw 60 strikeouts over 45.1 innings in the playoffs from 2018 to 2024. He now has 112 saves in his career. Additionally, Andrew Miller threw 54 strikeouts in the postseason from 2014 to 2020. In particular, he struck out 30 batters in 19.1 innings in the 2016 postseason. He was the 2016 ALCS MVP. And David Robertson threw 54 strikeouts in the postseason from 2010 to 2023.
In addition, let’s take a look at the earned run average. Brian Wilson made 17 postseason relief appearances from 2010 to 2014. He tossed 18 innings without allowing an earned run. Luke Hochevar made 9 relief appearances in the 2015 postseason. He didn’t allow any runs in 10.2 innings. Additionally, Evan Phillips made 12 relief appearances in the postseason from 2021 to 2024. Phillips didn’t give up any runs in 15.1 innings and threw 21 strikeouts. In the 2023 postseason, Kevin Ginkel was an important reliever in the D-backs bullpen. He made 10 relief appearances and he didn’t let opponents score a run in 11.2 innings. Well, we all know that Tim Lincecum was one of the best pitchers in the majors. Two-time Cy Young award winner used to make 7 relief appearances in the postseason from 2010 to 2014. He tossed 15 innings and allowed only 1 run.
Finally, let’s take a look at batting average against. Nick Martinez made 7 relief appearances for the Padres in the 2022 postseason. He only gave up 3 hits in 11 innings. Moreover, Octavio Dotel made 18 relief appearances in the postseason in 2011 and 2012. He tossed 15.1 innings and opponents only hit .098 against him. Additionally, Tim Lincecum pitched well as a reliever and opponents only batted .100 against him. Back in the 2023 postseason, Josh Sborz made 10 relief appearances for the Rangers and he was surely an important pitcher to help the Rangers win the first World Series title in franchise history. Sborz only gave up 4 hits in 12 innings and opponents’ batting average against him was below .110.
Looking back at the last 15 postseasons, it’s quite interesting to see that Tim Lincecum did pitch well as a reliever in the postseason. Meanwhile, several relief pitchers didn’t let opponents score a run over 10+ innings and their performances were certainly memorable.
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