Judging Relievers is Tough
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I don't know what to do with relievers. At all, and it's confusing to me. Occasionally the rare bird flies in your face, and you sit there and praise his awesomeness (like Mariano Rivera), but frequently you remain stumped. Currently six players reside in the Hall of Fame, and nothing really connects them. Here are your six current relievers in the Hall of Fame by order of induction:
Hoyt Wilhelm (1985)
47.1/26.7/36.9, 1,070 Appearances, 2,254.1 IP, 228 Saves, 651 GF, 1,610 SO
Sarge was the first player ever inducted primarily as a reliever, and he remains a fairly unique character in baseball history. For one: he played forever despite debuting at 29. He never started even 30 games in a single season, and never once led the league in saves. Intriguingly, he actually debuted the year the save statistic was invented. However, his use never matched its invention. Despite primarily pitching out of the bullpen, he frequently topped 100 innings pitched, and actually led the league in ERA twice. He only pitched in the post season once (1954 against Cleveland), and retired after his age 49 season. It took Sarge eight ballots to earn induction.
Rollie Fingers (1992)
Fingers is another interesting figure in the relief pitcher discussion. By JAWS, he's the worst reliever in the Hall of Fame. However, in some ways Fingers invented the closer role. Fingers played a part in the Oakland Athletics World Series three-peat, and was for the most part dominant. He then proceeded to lead the league in saves three times, and broke the saves record held by Hoyt Wilhelm. In 1981 he won the Cy Young & MVP Awards (but struggled for Milwaukee in the post season). It didn't take long for Fingers to gain induction, as he entered on his second ballot with 80% of the vote. Fingers also has an excellent mustache.
Dennis Eckersley (2004)
Thus far the only first ballot relief pitcher in the Hall of Fame, Eckersley tops the JAWS rankings for relief pitchers. Here's the rub: most of his value came from his time as a starter. Unlike Fingers & Sarge: Eckersley started over 350 games. However, his fame dramatically increased when he became a 1 inning closer deluxe in 1983 (at age 33), where he spent five seasons as an excellent reliever. His stats for the time:
1.90 ERA (ERA+ 198), 220 Saves, 359.2 IP, 378 SO, 9.95 SO/BB
Eck was something else. He then hung on as a mediocre reliever for 6 more years, never posting an ERA below 3, but collected another 151 saves before retiring. He too won a combo Cy Young & MVP Award in 1992. His post season record is more mixed, he gave up one of the most famous home runs in World Series history in 1988. But overall, his 3.00 ERA in the post season isn't bad, nor is his 0.46 WPA. Overall he had more positive WPA series than negative (6 positive, 5 negative).
Bruce Sutter (2006)
Sutter is primarily in the Hall of Fame for popularizing the split fingered fastball. His overall statistics are fairly mediocre (as is his 300 save total). He won a Cy Young Award in 1979. He led the league in saves five times. There are probably a dozen relievers with a career equal to his, with more coming every season.
Goose Gossage (2008)
Gossage was a fireman reliever who pitched forever, and played for the famous New York Yankees. He too was pretty damned good in the post season, and unlike Sutter he pitched a ton of innings. His save total isn't strong (310), but he played in a different time in the 1970s. Gossage is probably the best of the fireman relievers of the '70s, and relatively stands out on this list because he is one of only four relievers above the JAWS line.
Trevor Hoffman (2018)
Finally we reach Hoffman. Hoffman had a career kinda similar to Bruce Sutter in terms of value, but most importantly he broke the saves record set by Lee Smith, and finished with over 600. Hoffman was effective for a long time. Unlike Fingers & Gossage, Hoffman was not good in the post season (in his lone World Series he surrendered the lead). In terms of JAWS he's a mediocre 21st.
What does any of this mean? By JAWS there are 12 non-Hall of Fame pitchers ahead of Bruce Sutter, 15 ahead of Hoffman, and 20 ahead of Rollie Fingers. Lee Smith & Mariano Rivera will probably enter the Hall of Fame this season. When they do, I think the precedent will be set for relievers. In order to enter the Hall of Fame a reliever will need:
1. A healthy save total. Most of the pitchers who held the All-Time Saves record will be in the Hall of Fame, including the player who held it the longest: Lee Smith.
2. Post season greatness. This can be overcome with saves (ahem: Hoffman & Smith), but is important. Every reliever besides Trevor Hoffman has won a World Series:
Sarge: 1954 (ERA of 0 in two appearances
Fingers: '72, '73, '74 (MVP of '74 World Series)
Eckersley: 1989 World Series
Sutter: 1982 World Series, 4 Games Finished, 2 Saves
Gossage: 1978 World Series, 2.87 Career ERA
Which brings us to Billy Wagner. Wagner was about the same pitcher as Trevor Hoffman, they ironically rank right next to each other in JAWS, with Wagner edging out Trevor. How does Wagner rank on our two point system?
Saves: Wagner ranks pretty well: he's 6th all time on the save list, with 422, right behind John Franco's 424. The problem is he never held the saves record, and never led the league in saves. Not once. He did lead the league in games finished twice.
Post Season Greatness: A definite miss. Wagner has a career ERA over 10 in the post season, and never even saw the World Series.
Now, how do we reconcile the fact Wagner was pretty a carbon copy (value wise) to Trevor Hoffman, who just entered the Hall of Fame? Simple. Hoffman may not have struck out as many batters, and been as dominant, but Hoffman led the league in saves twice, and was the first pitcher to record both 500 & 600 saves. In terms of saves, he's the next best pitcher this side of Mariano Rivera.
Conclusion
I personally think Wagner was a better pitcher than Trevor Hoffman. However, he wasn't a better closer, and the Hall of Fame does not so much elect relievers as they elect closers. Until they create a pathway for dominant relievers, Wagner will remain outside the Hall of Fame.