Missing Stanton, Nelson & Lloyd (Part II)
Posted by Steve L. on March 18th, 2008 · Comments (3)
Using the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia to identify the best seasons by a Yankees “set-up” man (in the bullpen), I was able to work up the following “best of” list:
YEAR RSAA G SV BR/9 IP NW_vLgAv. Bob Wickman 1994 10 53 6 3.00 6 Chris Hammond 2003 10 62 1 1.72 3 Graeme Lloyd 1998 12 50 0 5.10 3 Jay Howell 1984 12 61 7 2.07 8 Jeff Nelson 2000 20 73 0 1.96 10 Jeff Nelson 1997 13 77 2 2.53 7 John Habyan 1991 19 66 2 3.07 4 Mariano Rivera 1996 35 61 5 4.76 9 Mike Stanton 2002 12 79 6 1.18 5 Mike Stanton 2001 17 76 0 0.27 10 Mike Stanton 1997 13 64 3 1.54 5 Ron Davis 1980 15 53 7 1.80 8 Tom Gordon 2005 17 79 2 2.81 7 Tom Gordon 2004 22 80 4 5.12 10
Once again, here, we see just how important Stanton, Nelson & Lloyd were to the Yankees (during their prime).
It will be interesting to see if Joba Chamberlain can crack this “best of” list with his 2008 season.
The Yanks probably miss Ruth, Meusel, and Gehrig too.
Stanton, Lloyd, and Nelson have been gone for a bit, grief counselors might suggest it’s time to move on.
Tom Gordon was extremely valuable for the Yankees, he was just overused.
The problem was Tom Gordon was not good in the post season maybe it was the overruse but if the Yankees can’t find another set-up man then Joba more important in the pen in the postseason.