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Yesterday, I came upon this startling discovery: longtime reliever Kyle Farnsworth
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threw a shutout The best solution payday loans
once, back in 1999. He’s not the only longtime reliever to have mixed in a shutout at some point in his career, though.
Farnsworth’s shutout happened during his disappointing* rookie year, when he started in 21 of his 27 games. After 5 more starts to begin the next year, he never started again. He’s now on a streak of 770 straight relief appearances, which explains why I didn’t remember his time as a starter.
* He allowed nearly 2 homers per 9 innings and had a K/BB ratio of 1.35. That works out to a FIP of 6.13. He had just 70 strikeouts in 130 innings, which seems odd given that he’s now known for his crazy strikeout rates… but then those didn’t start until he was moved to the bullpen.
The “failed starter turned good reliever” career path is of course a familiar one. What makes it interesting in cases like Farnsworth’s is the reminder that even failed starters can have brief moments of glory.
The list below shows all the pitchers to throw a shutout despite having 30 or fewer career starts, at least 100 games in relief, and at least 90% of all games in relief. In other words, these are guys who were known as relievers but who had at least one dominant game as a starter, usually early in their careers.
In the table, “SHO” is Shutouts, “GS” is starts, “GR” is relief games, “% Relief” is the percentage of games that player appeared in relief, “SHO Yr” is the year of the player’s shutout(s), and “GS After” is the number of starts the player made in his career after his (last) shutout. If the number in the SHO column is bolded, that player threw a shutout in his first career start.
| Rk | Player | SHO | GS | GR | From | To | % Relief | SHO Yr | GS After |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Leach The best solution payday loans |
3 | 21 | 355 | 1981 | 1993 | 94.4% | ’82, ’85, ’87 | 10 |
| 2 | Randy Niemann The best solution payday loans |
2 | 10 | 112 | 1979 | 1987 | 91.8% | ’79 (x2) | 5 |
| Chuck Taylor The best solution payday loans |
2 | 21 | 284 | 1969 | 1976 | 93.1% | ’69, ’70 | 1 | |
| Dan Osinski The best solution payday loans |
2 | 21 | 303 | 1962 | 1970 | 93.5% | ’63, ’64 | 1 | |
| Jumbo Brown The best solution payday loans |
2 | 23 | 226 | 1925 | 1941 | 90.8% | ’32, ’35 | 5 | |
| 6 | Sean Burnett The best solution payday loans |
1 | 13 | 271 | 2004 | 2011 | 95.4% | 2004 | 7 |
| Kyle Farnsworth The best solution payday loans |
1 | 26 | 750 | 1999 | 2011 | 96.6% | 1999 | 10 | |
| Aaron Heilman The best solution payday loans |
1 | 25 | 452 | 2003 | 2011 | 94.8% | 2005 | 5 | |
| Bob Wickman The best solution payday loans |
1 | 28 | 807 | 1992 | 2007 | 96.6% | 1993 | 7 | |
| Danny Graves The best solution payday loans |
1 | 30 | 488 | 1996 | 2006 | 94.2% | 2003 | 18 | |
| Travis Harper The best solution payday loans |
1 | 14 | 226 | 2000 | 2006 | 94.2% | 2000 | 11 | |
| Aaron Small The best solution payday loans |
1 | 15 | 157 | 1994 | 2006 | 91.3% | 2005 | 7 | |
| Bob Wells The best solution payday loans |
1 | 21 | 393 | 1994 | 2002 | 94.9% | 1996 | 9 | |
| Lee Guetterman The best solution payday loans |
1 | 23 | 402 | 1984 | 1996 | 94.6% | 1987 | 14 | |
| Mike Hartley The best solution payday loans |
1 | 6 | 196 | 1989 | 1995 | 97.0% | 1990 | 1 | |
| Steve Farr The best solution payday loans |
1 | 28 | 481 | 1984 | 1994 | 94.5% | 1990 | 1 | |
| Roger Mason The best solution payday loans |
1 | 23 | 209 | 1984 | 1994 | 90.1% | 1985 | 16 | |
| Frank Williams The best solution payday loans |
1 | 1 | 332 | 1984 | 1989 | 99.7% | 1984 | 0 | |
| Bill Campbell The best solution payday loans |
1 | 9 | 691 | 1973 | 1987 | 98.7% | 1975 | 2 | |
| Joe Sambito The best solution payday loans |
1 | 5 | 456 | 1976 | 1987 | 98.9% | 1976 | 3 | |
| Sammy Stewart The best solution payday loans |
1 | 25 | 334 | 1978 | 1987 | 93.0% | 1982 | 8 | |
| Rick Lysander The best solution payday loans |
1 | 5 | 132 | 1980 | 1985 | 96.4% | 1983 | 4 | |
| Bob Lacey The best solution payday loans |
1 | 2 | 282 | 1977 | 1984 | 99.3% | 1980 | 1 | |
| Mike Marshall The best solution payday loans |
1 | 24 | 699 | 1967 | 1981 | 96.7% | 1969 | 18 | |
| Darold Knowles The best solution payday loans |
1 | 8 | 757 | 1965 | 1980 | 99.0% | 1973 | 2 | |
| Max Leon The best solution payday loans |
1 | 13 | 149 | 1973 | 1978 | 92.0% | 1974 | 11 | |
| Steve Kealey The best solution payday loans |
1 | 4 | 135 | 1968 | 1973 | 97.1% | 1969 | 3 | |
| Steve Hamilton The best solution payday loans |
1 | 17 | 404 | 1961 | 1972 | 96.0% | 1966 | 0 | |
| Bill Kelso The best solution payday loans |
1 | 2 | 117 | 1964 | 1968 | 98.3% | 1964 | 1 | |
| Larry Sherry The best solution payday loans |
1 | 16 | 400 | 1958 | 1968 | 96.2% | 1959 | 7 | |
| Ernie Johnson The best solution payday loans |
1 | 19 | 254 | 1950 | 1959 | 93.0% | 1952 | 11 | |
| Luis Aloma The best solution payday loans |
1 | 1 | 115 | 1950 | 1953 | 99.1% | 1951 | 0 | |
| Tom Ferrick The best solution payday loans |
1 | 7 | 316 | 1941 | 1952 | 97.8% | 1941 | 5 | |
| Emil Kush The best solution payday loans |
1 | 8 | 142 | 1941 | 1949 | 94.7% | 1946 | 1 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com
Generated 1/18/2012.
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is the king of shutouts-by-a-reliever. He tossed a 10-inning, 1-hit shutout The best solution payday loans
in his only start of 1982, then didn’t appear in the majors for two years, then threw another The best solution payday loans
in 1985 (one of just 4 starts that year). His final shutout The best solution payday loans
came in 1987, the year in which he made 12 of his 21 career starts. He’s one of just 4 players since 1950 The best solution payday loans
to make 25 or fewer starts but throw 3 shutouts, and he’s the only one of those 4 who spent significant time as a reliever.
In his rookie year, Randy Niemann
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got off to a great start. He threw two The best solution payday loans
shutouts The best solution payday loans
in his first 5 starts, and added a 1-run complete game The best solution payday loans
to boot. After the 2nd shutout, though, he made just 2 more starts: one in which he gave up 8 runs, and another in which he got just 2 outs. He made just 3 spot starts the rest of his career, and never really made a mark as a reliever, either. But hey, he’s one of just 30 MLB pitchers since 1919 The best solution payday loans
to toss 2 or more shutouts in his first 7 games, so that counts for something, right?
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threw complete games in 6 of his first 7 starts in the majors, including his 1st shutout The best solution payday loans
. In his 2nd shutout The best solution payday loans
, he faced the minimum 27 batters thanks to two double plays and a caught stealing. And he did it despite just one strikeout! Taylor got just 1 more start in his career, which lasted another 6 seasons.
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threw shutouts in his 5th career start, in 1963, and in his next-to-last start, in 1964. He lasted just a third of an inning in the start immediately following the first shutout The best solution payday loans
. The latter shutout was a rain-shortened 6-inning affair The best solution payday loans
 on the last day of the 1964 season.
You may remember Jumbo Brown
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from my list of the fattest players through MLB history The best solution payday loans
, a title he held or shared in 12 seasons. His first shutout The best solution payday loans
was in his 3rd MLB start. His 2nd, almost exactly 3 years later, was also abbreviated by rain, ending after 8 innings The best solution payday loans
.
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was mostly a starter in his first two seasons in MLB, but he was walking as many as he was striking out (which wasn’t very many), and the Yankees switched him to relief. He started 1 game after 1993 and relieved in 502. Wickman went on to make 2 All-Star Teams and recorded 267 Saves in his career.
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bucks the trend by getting most of his starts (12 of 15 career) toward the end of his career, rather than at the beginning. He spent nearly all of the years from 1994 to 2004 either in the minors or as a reliever before starting 9 times for the Yankees in 2005 (with good success) and 3 more times the following year (disastrously). In 2005, Small actually had a 10-0 record, which is tied for the 3rd-most wins without a loss The best solution payday loans
in MLB history.
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is an interesting case, because unlike most of the other pitchers on this list, he didn’t fail as a starter. In his last 5 starts (including the shutout), he gave up just 3 runs in 31.2 innings (0.85 ERA). In fact, in his 28 career starts, his ERA was a not-bad 3.77. Sure, his ERA was better as a reliever (3.14 career), but a decent starter is always more valuable than a good reliever. His teams presumably didn’t give him more chances to start because he didn’t have great “stuff,” which would also explain why he didn’t make it to MLB until age 27. Still, he accrued over 16 WAR in his career, an excellent total for such a late bloomer.
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actually had a better ERA as a starter (2.52 in his 6 starts, all in 1990) than as a reliever (3.85). He never got a chance to start in his last 5 seasons, mainly because he couldn’t seem to get his walk rate under control.
Two of the players on this list got only 1 career start, and tossed a shutout in it. The most interesting is probably Frank Williams
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, who threw a shutout in his only career start amid 300+ relief appearances. Though there is an asterisk on that game The best solution payday loans
, as it was just 5 innings long. Luis Aloma The best solution payday loans
also tossed a shutout in his only start (a 9-inning one The best solution payday loans
in the 2nd half of a doubleheader), though he only pitched in 115 games as a reliever in a relatively short career.
Williams and Aloma are two of only 4 players in MLB history to toss a shutout in their only career start. The other two are Larry Anderson
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, who had 1 start The best solution payday loans
and 15 relief appearances, and Don Fisher The best solution payday loans
, who appeared in just two games in his career. In his debut, Fisher tossed 5 innings of relief. In his 2nd game, he threw a 13-inning shutout The best solution payday loans
as part of a doubleheader on the last day of the season. He never appeared in MLB again, but that was quite a sendoff.
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made his last start in 1975, not long after his shutout. But that was probably a good thing for him. In 1976 and 1977, he threw over 300 innings as a reliever, with a 2.98 ERA (136 ERA+) and even 30 wins. He received Cy Young The best solution payday loans
and MVP votes both years, and made the All-Star Team in 1977. He wasn’t as great after that, but still pitched for 10 more years.
Speaking of relievers who hung around for a while, one of the most famous journeymen of all time makes the list: Mike Marshall
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, he of 9 teams in 14 seasons. Marshall made just 5 starts in 11 seasons after 1970, but again, that was probably for the best. He won a Cy Young by pitching 200 innings (all as a reliever!) in 1974, and received CY votes in 4 other years. While the Cy Young award wasn’t really deserved, he did amass nearly 18 WAR in the 5 seasons in which he got votes. That’s a ton of value for a reliever.
I loved seeing Ernie Johnson
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on the list. His playing career was mostly undistinguished, but Johnson was a legendary announcer. He’s still beloved by Braves fans, even after his death last year. (And of course, Johnson’s son, Ernie, Jr., has had a notable broadcasting career in his own right.)
A common pattern is exemplified by Tom Ferrick
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, who threw a shutout in his 2nd career start. In his very next start, he gave up 11 runs. After that disaster, he only started in emergencies, in doubleheaders or when another pitcher couldn’t make his start.
Many other pitchers in this list struggled in their outing immediately following the shutout (or the next few) and never got a regular starting chance afterward. But hey, at least they had that one great performance to remember. Many MLB pitchers would love to be able to have thrown a shutout, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of minor leaguers who don’t even get the chance.
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The thing that I find most surprising about this list is the three pitchers (Frank Williams, Steve Hamilton and Luis Aloma) who never got another start after pitching their shutouts. I think it says a lot about the way teams often make a decision about a player and then stick to that decision no matter how unreasonable it might have been. It was apparently decided that these three pitchers were relievers and that was it, even after they’d thrown their shutouts.
I’m reminded of the guys who were tremendous college hitters, but the teams who drafted them decided they were pitchers and that was it. Micah Owings is the one who really stands out in my mind. The decision to develop him exclusively as a pitcher was probably a mistake.
Burly: I think you’re right. In many cases when these guys didn’t get another start (or just a few more), it was because they were labeled as “non-prospects” or “AAAA guys”. Many of them didn’t debut in MLB until age 27 or later, which backs up that idea. And once teams get that in their heads, they’re unlikely to give a guy a full shot.
Of course, the teams were probably right in most cases, and the shutouts were mostly flukes… but in some cases, the pitchers probably would have continued to do well.
I think I’ve found an all-time record for Aaron Small, but it’s going to take your savvy to confirm. Most seasons, full or partial (6) with an ERA over 7.00
And since he has to pull that ERA down to a lifetime 5.20 in his minority (4) years, we’re looking at some sparkly up time (lifetime winning record even without the 10-0), so I’m also thinking he could be the champ for most inconsistent in history, by fluctuations in ERA.
Tommy: I’m only counting 5 seasons with an ERA over 7 for Small. That’s still good for a tie for 2nd all-time. The record-holder is Kevin Jarvis, with 6. Here’s the link:
http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/bRXh2
He certainly did have a chaotic career, as you say. It’d be interesting to find all players with, say, 3+ high-era years and 3+ low-era years. Or something like that.
The sixth is Small’s 1998 partial with Oakland, but I see that if we let partials in, Jarvis gets credit for eight, and is still better (worse). But the campaign to uncover an all-time record for Aaron Small is not over yet, because Small crammed his 6 partials into a 10-line career, pit stop by pit stop, ignoring MLB and NL/AL yearly grand totals. Jarvis’ 8 required 16 ‘pit stops’, just 50% to Small’s 60%. Ten lines of bubble gum card (of the sort I grew up with), 60% ghastly (of the over 7.00 variety), and if we need to, to put him over the top, we have that lifetime .651! winning percentage to fall back on.
Check me: .658!
One way to determine ‘consistency’ would be to go through the partials, and divide ‘stop2 by stop1′, stop3 by stop2, and so on, placing the higher ERAs in the numerator. Then find the median average (so as not to let 180.00s and the like cause too much havoc) of the total number of ‘stops’.
Thanks for the link, J!
With the help of that list I’ve found a way myself to prove that Aaron Small is an immortal. Severest case of multiple 7+ ERA seasons in combination with a lifetime winning percentage over 65%. You have to drop to the mere three-timers, the 55th player on the list, to find a higher lifetime PCT, namely Joe Nelson and his 7-2 career record. So (one of the) second most ghastly had the highest winning percentage among the first 54 listed, spanning all of the 4s and a good chunk of the 3s.
Other immortal achievements uncovered by that list:
Longest career never to have had an ERA below 7.00: 5 years
Scott Ruffcorn
(Can’t you just feel the majesty in that name?)
1993-1997 White Sox and Phillies
Most consecutive years above a 7.00 ERA for a former Cy Young finalist (top five finisher):
3 Mark Mulder
3 Hideo Nomo
(Sunset of career in both cases, and this is possibly an incomplete list– I quit looking after I found somebody with a higher PCT than Small)
What’s really eye-popping about Small is the inconsistency. He could be the Babe Ruth of this trait. (I read somewhere recently that Hank Aaron was the most consistent hitter in history, but don’t know how they figured it, and wasn’t enlightened as to who the pitching counterpart was– I suspect Don Sutton.) Kevin Jarvis, on the other hand, was just uncanny at faking competence; he was consistently crappy. Below replacement level, outside his three prime years.
I’ve followed my own advice for a Jarvis vs. Small comparison, stop by stop (team and year changes). A pitcher with identical ERAs side by side would get a score of 0, derived by taking their ratio of 1.00, dropping the decimal and subtracting a hundred. ERAs that are double and half the size of their neighbors get a score of 100.
KEVIN JARVIS
25
5
69
23
130
114
94
24
10
34
42
225
100
13
115
AARON SMALL
533
475
91
69
96
632
226
158
medians:
Jarvis 42
Small 164
Stats to whet appetite for potential future projects:
Joe Nelson had a 16.88 ERA in 2004, but his Ks per 9 innings were even higher (16.9) Is it a record? At least given the strenuous workload o 2 2/3 innings?
There have been 20 Jose Sanchez’ and 20 Jose Gonzalez’ in the minor leagues. Is it a record, and can anyone disrupt a Latin American stranglehold on this list of elites?
Dang it, Small’s should read:
533
475
91
69
96
632
226
158
164
…for a median of 164. I had missed the last comparison, which so happened to also be the median.
[...] while back, I looked at some pitchers who had thrown shutouts despite spending most of their career in relief. In this post, we’ll consider the inverse: [...]