[BluesDuke]

Hoyt Wilhelm was the original prototype for the modern day relief pitcher. He set the standards for what being a stopper was all about.

It is pleasant to think so, yes...but Wilhelm missed being the prototype by only a couple of seasons. The actual prototypes were Joe Page, the shooting-star relief star of the 1947-49 New York Yankees; and, Jim Konstanty, the old man of the Philadelphia "Whiz Kids" Phillies of 1950.

Converted to relief work by then-skipper Bucky Harris, Page in 1947 was a hellion from the bullpen: 14-8, 17 saves (the stat was recorded retroactively; it didn't exist as an official stat at the time) and a 2.48 ERA overall (including only two starts; his relief ERA was 2.15). He faltered a little in 1948 but in 1949, with Casey Stengel now managing the Yankees, Page went lights out again, going 13-8 with 27 saves and a 2.59 and a spectacular effort in the season-ending, pennant-winning game against the Red Sox - he was brought in in the third after Vic Raschi was lit up early and held on to go the rest of the way as the Yankees came back and win. He weakened in 1950 and was practically washed up (Page's weakness: the bottle); a 1954 comeback proved only too futile.

But Page's two stellar seasons began the awakening that Konstanty would finish in 1950, when he went 16-7 with a 2.66 ERA and 22 saves. Ironically, Konstanty was given the start for Game One of the 1950 World Series and he pitched brilliantly, giving up only one run before handing off to Russ Meyer for the ninth inning. Unfortunately, it was the only run scored in the game, the Yankees winning 1-0 to begin their four-game burial of the upstart Phillies.

Konstanty and Page right before him had touched off a baseball nerve; little by little, over the next several years, more and more managers began to crave that big bomb relief ace after the experience of their performances. Hoyt Wilhelm was seen in such a light when the New York Giants brought him up in 1952. He wasn't the prototype, alas...but he was an excellent relief pitcher. Like Konstanty, though, his signature performance came as a starter, in his case the no-hitter against the Yankees.

Go figure. For the converse, consider Sid Fernandez, usually a starter, making his signature performance out of the bullpen in Game Seven, 1986 World Series, blowing the Red Sox away for two-and-a-third and giving the Mets breathing room enough to take the momentum and tie and win the game and the Series...

[Lancey Howard]

Hey BluesDuke, do you happen to have the web address for the Bill James Encyclopedia? I had to reload AOL and lost all my bookmarks, and now I can't seem to find a link that gets me right to the stats of every major leaguer who ever played. That is one handy reference.

Thanks,
LH

[Reagan Man]

>>>Hoyt Wilhelm was the original prototype for the modern day relief pitcher. He set the standards for what being a stopper was all about.

>>>It is pleasant to think so, yes...but Wilhelm missed being the prototype by only a couple of seasons.

Perhaps you're right. May be a better term for Hoyt Wilhelm is premier relief specialist, who set the standard for the career closer. The forerunner of a new breed. Perhaps.

While there were some relief pitchers around who preceded Hoyt Wilhelm, like Joe Page (#141 all-time,w/76 saves) and Jim Konstanty (#144 all-time,w/74 saves), IMO, Wilhelm (#22 all-time, w/227 saves) was the first true relief specialist. If anything, perhaps Elroy Face of the Pirates (#31 all-time, w/193 saves), could be considered the forerunner of the modern day relief pitcher. His closer stats are impressive for the second half of the 1950`s and early 1960`s. Lets not forget Ron Perranoski (#40 all-time, w/170 saves), Lindy McDaniel (#42 all-time, w/172 saves), Stu Miller (#47 all-time, w/154 saves) and Ted Abernathy (#50 all-time, w/148 saves). All contemporaries of Wilhelm's. I'm sure there are a few others I'm overlooking who deserve some consideration.

Wilhelm set the standard for those relievers that immediately followed him in the 1970`s, like Rollie Fingers, Sparkey Lyle, Mike Marshall, Tug McGraw, Kent Tekulve, Bruce Sutter, Gene Garber and Goose Gossage. The success of these pitchers led to the explosion of the relief specialist in the 1980`s and changed the game of baseball, forever.

In addition, of the top 50 relief pitchers of all-time, Wilhelm's ERA is second at 2.52 (#1 Brian Harvey @ 2.42 and #3 Mariano Rivera @ 2.58). Hoyt Wilhelm was one of a kind.

I love baseball!