Roy Face was a starting pitcher very early in his career but struggled to find a groove, but once he made his move to the bullpen in 1956 and full-time in 1958, he became one of the first truly elite relievers in Pirates’ history. He lead the league in saves three times and had three saves in the 1960 World Series.
186 Saves/3.46 ERA/3.33 FIP/1.239 WHIP/21.3 WAR
Kent Tekulve is no stranger to Pirates’ fans as he’s been on the Root Sports post game coverage for years, but before that he was one of the elite closers in all of baseball during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a true rubber man during his career, pitching in over 90 games three different times. He also saved three games during the 1979 World Series.
184 Saves/2.85 ERA/3.26 FIP/1.250 WHIP/26.2 WAR
Dave Giusti came to the Pirates with a career 4.04 ERA with the Astros and Cardinals, so most didn’t have high expectations when he joined the team in 1970. All Giusti did was lower his ERA by over a full run and save over 20 games in four straight seasons, including a career- high 30 saves in 1971.
145 Saves/3.60 ERA/3.23 FIP/1.296 WHIP/16.1 WAR
Mark Melancon might be a surprise to see here on this list, but all the dude has done in three short seasons as a Pirate so far is become one of the most dominant relievers in all of Major League Baseball. He may be the greatest success of Pirates’ pitching coach Ray Searage when it comes to struggling pitchers that saved their careers once they got to the Pirates.
121 Saves/2.78 ERA/2.87 FIP/1.062 FIP/6.8 WAR
It would have been easy just to look at the all time Pirates’ save totals and put together a bullpen, but where’s the fun in that? Tony Watson doesn’t have gaudy save totals, but since his 2011 debut, he has become perhaps the best left-handed reliever in all of baseball. No one does their job better than Tony Watson. He also absolutely dominates left-handed hitters, holding them to a .203 batting average against.
24-8/2.46 ERA/3.26 FIP/1.029 WHIP/7.3 WAR
Ramón Hernández is a sneaky great relief pitcher in Pirates’ history. You might not realize it, but in his day, Hernández was as good of a left-handed pitcher as anyone in the game. He was a late bloomer as he didn’t really find success in the big leagues until he was already 30-years-old. Once he found his groove, though, he never looked back and he was very good for the Pirates until he was traded to the Cubs in 1976.
46 Saves/3.03 ERA/3.10 FIP/1.241 WHIP/6.2 WAR
Next, let’s see how the all time Pirates bench is constructed.
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING…
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
