Who Has Been The Most Dominant Yankee Reliever This Century? Hint: It’s Not Who You’d Think
By Alex Mazer
The New York Yankees pride themselves on having a shutdown bullpen, but which reliever has been the most dominant for the Yankees since the turn of the century?
He was better than Dellin Betances. He was better than Aroldis Chapman. He even was better than Mariano Rivera.
Andrew Miller’s 2016 campaign was the most dominant by any Yankee reliever this century, and it’s not even close.
To assess the overall strength of relief pitchers, I created this metric–we’ll call it “Dominance” for now:
((S0/9)-(WH/9)*gmLl*Fielding%)/(RA/9)
The Most Dominant Relievers (Minimum 25 IP)
| Season | Name | SO/9 | WH/9 | gmLl | Fielding % | RA/9 | Dominance | |
| 1 | 2016 | Andrew Miller | 15.3 | 7 | 1.71 | 1.000 | 1.59 | 8.926415 |
| 2 | 2012 | Mariano Rivera | 9.8 | 6 | 1.94 | 1.000 | 1.40 | 5.265714 |
| 3 | 2014 | Dellin Betances | 13.5 | 7 | 1.36 | 0.857 | 1.50 | 5.050587 |
| 4 | 2015 | Dellin Betances | 14.0 | 9.1 | 1.67 | 1.000 | 1.82 | 4.496154 |
| 5 | 2017 | Chad Green | 12.9 | 6.5 | 1.15 | 1.000 | 1.74 | 4.229885 |
| 6 | 2011 | David Robertson | 13.5 | 10.1 | 1.67 | 0.857 | 1.22 | 3.988562 |
| 7 | 2015 | Andrew Miller | 14.6 | 7.7 | 1.62 | 0.800 | 2.34 | 3.821538 |
| 8 | 2016 | Aroldis Chapman | 12.6 | 8 | 1.90 | 1.000 | 2.30 | 3.800000 |
| 9 | 2014 | David Robertson | 13.4 | 9.5 | 2.08 | 1.000 | 3.22 | 2.519255 |
| 10 | 2017 | Dellin Betances | 16.2 | 11.6 | 1.41 | 1.000 | 2.63 | 2.466160 |
| 11 | 2016 | Dellin Betances | 15.5 | 10.2 | 1.50 | 0.769 | 3.82 | 1.600406 |
| 12 | 2009 | Mariano Rivera | 9.8 | 8.5 | 1.85 | 1.000 | 1.90 | 1.265789 |
| 13 | 2005 | Mariano Rivera | 9.2 | 7.8 | 1.78 | 1.000 | 2.07 | 1.203865 |
| 14 | 2004 | Tom Gordon | 9.6 | 7.9 | 1.63 | 0.950 | 2.31 | 1.139589 |
| 15 | 2011 | Mariano Rivera | 8.8 | 7.7 | 1.95 | 1.000 | 1.91 | 1.123037 |
| 16 | 2013 | David Robertson | 10.4 | 9.3 | 1.48 | 1.000 | 2.04 | 0.798039 |
| 17 | 2017 | Aroldis Chapman | 12.9 | 11.2 | 1.58 | 1.000 | 3.45 | 0.778551 |
| 18 | 2012 | David Robertson | 12.0 | 10.5 | 1.44 | 1.000 | 2.82 | 0.765957 |
| 19 | 2007 | Mariano Rivera | 9.3 | 10.1 | 1.53 | 1.000 | 3.15 | -0.388571 |
| 20 | 2001 | Mariano Rivera | 9.3 | 9.9 | 2.05 | 0.970 | 2.68 | -0.445187 |
| 21 | 2010 | Kerry Wood | 10.7 | 11 | 1.27 | 1.000 | 0.69 | -0.552174 |
| 22 | 2010 | Mariano Rivera | 6.8 | 7.6 | 1.86 | 1.000 | 2.10 | -0.708571 |
| 23 | 2012 | Rafael Soriano | 9.2 | 10.5 | 1.64 | 0.833 | 2.26 | -0.785821 |
| 24 | 2003 | Mariano Rivera | 8.0 | 9.1 | 1.83 | 0.905 | 1.91 | -0.953804 |
| 25 | 2013 | Mariano Rivera | 7.6 | 9.5 | 1.86 | 1.000 | 2.25 | -1.570667 |
| 26 | 2006 | Mariano Rivera | 6.6 | 8.6 | 1.72 | 1.000 | 1.92 | -1.791667 |
| 27 | 2004 | Mariano Rivera | 7.6 | 9.7 | 1.82 | 0.976 | 1.94 | -1.922821 |
Glossary
- SO/9: Strikeouts per 9 innings.
- WH/9: Walks and Hits per 9 innings.
- gmLl: Game-Entering Leverage. Solely an analytic for relievers, this measures the strength of opposing hitters. The higher the number, the higher the pressure of the situation.
- Fielding%: (Putouts + Assists) / (Putouts + Assists + Errors)
- RA/9: Runs allowed per 9 innings. This is like ERA, but with unearned runs included.
All terms and analytics are provided by Baseball Reference.
Rationale
Relief pitchers are relied on by managers to get their team out of a jam, which often implies entering a game with runners already on base. Being able to shut down a hitter with a strikeout while holding the runners at their bases can serve as a deadly weapon for any reliever. For the same reason, unnecessary walks and hits can become any pitcher’s worst nightmare.
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Game-Entering Leverage properly credits relievers for handling a stronger part of the order. Closers typically feature a higher gmLl just by the nature of their position, but any potential inflation in “Dominance” due to an increased gmLl would be counterbalanced by a proportional increase in RA/9.
Pitchers typically don’t make too many errors out on the mound, however, if they do, it can be extremely costly, and those who did were penalized accordingly.
The decision to factor in all runs allowed by a reliever, including those unearned, stems from the same notion that being able to strike out a hitter is extremely important. The goal is to hold the baserunners, especially those already on base.
Analysis
Let me just start by saying that I agree with all of you that Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of our generation and no doubt a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but if you asked me right now to pick a reliever to get me out of a bases loaded situation with no outs, I’m putting the ball in Andrew Miller’s 2016 hands. The Cleveland Indians were clearly cognizant of that when they agreed to give up a haul of top prospects, centered around Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield, in order to acquire him at last year’s trade deadline.
Mo does indeed have a high finish, most notably at No. 2, but what becomes suspect is that he does not crack the list again until all the way down at No. 12. Rivera then basically hugs the bottom until the end, while Dellin Betances cruised to two of the top four spots.
Statistically, maybe Mariano was not as great as we all praised him to be, but if you ask any hitter who has faced him, I am certain they will attest to the contrary.
And let’s not overlook how reliable Chad Green has been for the Yankees this season. He may be overshadowed by flashy names like Betances, Robertson, Kahnle, and Chapman, but he is quietly having a tremendous season, earning himself the fifth spot on a list of elite names.
Next: New York Yankees 40-Man Roster Series: 40-Man Locks
This list confirms for all of us just how dominant the Yankees’ pen has been of late. In the 17 seasons from which this list was compiled, seven of the top 11 spots were taken by relievers since 2015.