[sharkhawk]

I say Sutter belongs because he changed the game. He introduced, or at least was the first master. of the split fingered fastball. His first few years he was unhittable.

[Alberta's Child]

I'm very ambivalent about Sutter. He's one of those guys who could have a strong case for or against him. He was dominant in his day and really defined the closer role in that era, but his accomplishments also diminish over time because that role has gotten so much more specialized.

I think the introduction of the save as a pitching statistic may be the worst thing to happen to the Hall of Fame selection process, since it causes some relievers to be very overrated and others to be underrated over time.