Top 5 Cleveland Indians Relievers of All Time

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Jul 7, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Members of the Cleveland Indians pitching staff walk to the bullpen before a game against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Who Is The Cleveland Indians’ All-Time Best Reliever?

This year has seen the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen struggle: Cody Allen and Scott Atchison have ERAs north of five, and the corps as a whole has allowed free passes at the fourth highest rate in the American League. Just a few years back, the Bullpen Mafia reigned – although its greatness is questionable. Even though the Tribe hasn’t always fielded great bullpens, it has seen its share of great relievers.

With this in mind, I decided to compile a list of the Indians’ five best relief arms. My only criterion was that the player pitched more than 100 innings with the Cleveland Indians, which left 86 pitchers to consider. Also, I only judged the players based on their work in the Tribe’s ‘pen, so guys like Kerry Wood would only receive credit for his year-or-so of time as the Indians’ closer.

So let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the Tribe’s top five relievers of all time.

Next: Statistics Used

Various statistics that I used in my rankings:

To rank the best relievers, I used FIP, strikeouts per nine innings, walks per nine innings, opponent batting average, WHIP, and left on base percentage. Rather than use ERA, I used FIP simply to try and balance out defenses. Ideally, I would have been able to use xFIP, but that data doesn’t go back forever.

Number Five: Bob Howry

Bob Howry pitched a year and a half with the Tribe, and he was nothing short of dominant. Across that time span, he appeared in 116 games and prevented base runners at an incredible rate. His 2.18 walks per nine, 0.202 opponent average, and 0.99 WHIP are fantastic today and even better in the offensive heavy 2004 and 2005. Those rates are all in the top four of the included relievers.

Although he didn’t really strikeout many batters, something evidenced by his 6.77 strikeouts per nine, he still posted an impressive 3.32 FIP, which is better than 20% of the league across that same timespan. He didn’t really allow many groundballs either, with just a 35% groundball rate. What probably helped his performance was a .234 BABIP, but what he did his impressive nonetheless.

Up next is on the list is a familiar face.

Next: Number Four

May 19, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Cody Allen (37) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning at U.S Cellular Field. The Cleveland Indians defeat the Chicago White Sox 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Number Four: Cody Allen

Cody Allen is still with the Tribe, and he will hopefully pitch for them well into the future. He has the best strikeout rate, fifth best FIP, and eight best left on base percentage. From his call-up in the middle of 2012, some fans cried for him to take over as the closer until he did last year, when he compiled 24 saves. Each season, his strikeout rate increased, and it currently sits at a ridiculous 13.50 strikeouts per nine innings.

May 15, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Cody Allen (37) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Indians defeated the Rangers 8-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

His fastball, which he throws around 70% of the time, clocks in at a blazing 96 miles per hour. Another impressive feat is his 19.6% whiff rate at his curveball. These spectacular pitches have led to make Allen the owner of the highest strikeout rate among Tribe relievers. In fact, the pitcher with the next highest strikeout rate, Vinnie Pestano, is a whole half strikeout behind Allen.

Allen’s main drawback is his command, which has struggled at times. His walks per nine innings of 3.81 ranks the 45^th best among the relievers included in my research. This has become an even bigger problem this season, as he has walked almost six batters per nine innings.

Next up on the countdown is another recent pitcher.

Next: Number Three

Apr 5, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Vinnie Pestano (52) pitches during the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Number Three: Vinnie Pestano

Vinnie Pestano, a former 20^th round pick, rose from obscurity to become a dominant reliever with the Tribe. Pestano pitched incredibly well in 2011 and 2012. Across those two seasons, Pestano compiled a 2.5 WAR. With so much success in the setup role, fans began to wonder if Pestano would replace Chris Perez as the Tribe’s closer.

2013, however, caused massive problems for Pestano. He spent large portions of the season on the disabled list and only pitched 35 innings. While still striking out batters at an impressive rate, his walks per nine innings inflated to 5.35. His struggles continued into 2014, and he again spent a lot of time on the disabled list.

Nevertheless, Pestano was one of the best relievers in baseball for two seasons, and that is enough to put him high up on the Tribe’s all-time list. Pestano’s high strikeout rates sit second best behind Cody Allen, and he holds the best left on base percentage. Despite command struggles, his low opponent average (tied for 12^th best) managed to keep his WHIP low at 16^th best.

Up next on the countdown is a closer from the Tribe’s glory days of the 1990s.

Next: Number Two

May 5, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a Cleveland Indians cap and glove in the dugout prior to the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Number Two: Mike Jackson

Mike Jackson replaced Jose Mesa as the Tribe’s closer in mid-1997 and remained in that role through 1999. Over those three years, he saved a total of 94 games. He may not seem like an obvious choice for the fourth best reliever in Tribe history, especially sine he posted a FIP of almost five in 1999, but he didn’t allow many baserunners. His 1.11 WHIP is the second best among included relievers; his 0.212 opponent average, sixth best.

Jackson pitched an impressive 1998 season for the Cleveland Indians, in which he stranded 90.1% of base runners and pitched to the tune of a 1.55 ERA. He didn’t strike out many hitters, but his 1.83 walks per nine innings more than made up for the fact.

And the all-time best reliever for the Tribe is…

Next: Number One

May 30, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt (63) leaves the game with an injury during the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Colorado Rockies won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Number One: Rafael Betancourt

Rafael Betancourt spent parts of seven seasons with the Cleveland Indians in various roles. With the sixth best walks per nine and third best WHIP for Tribe relievers, Betancourt kept runners off the bases. What is quite impressive is that Betancourt brought a unique combination of strikeouts and walks, as his strikeouts per nine innings is the ninth best among included relievers. All these peripherals led to a solid 3.25 FIP, good enough for eighth best.

The only real drawbacks to the Venezuelan’s performance were his opponent average and left on base percentage; however, both statistics are in the upper third of the players I included. Also, these stats are still very good. His opponent average of 0.230 is good, and his left on base percentage of 75.30% is also a solid rate. For comparison, relievers averaged a 0.238 opponent average and stranded 73.9% of base runners last season. Both numbers were not as good during Betancourt’s days with the Tribe.

His time with the Indians, however, will be slightly tainted by a steroids scandal. In 2005, he became the sixth Major League player to be suspended for PEDs. He remained with the team during these times, and the club eventually traded him to the Colorado Rockies for Connor Graham.

Here’s a table with all the stats I used to compile this list:

Do you agree with my rankings? Sound off on social media, and make sure to follow @WahoosOnFirst on Twitter.

Next: Solving the Cleveland Indians' Defense Problems

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Top Five Cleveland Indians Relievers of All-Time