A Brief History of Bay Area Closing Pitchers
An IBWAA member examines the best closers who have toed the mound for the A's or Giants
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . With the modernization of the bullpen, specifically the closer position, only three 20-save seasons in the history of the Athletics occurred before the A’s moved to the Bay. Two were by John Wyatt, who saved a total of 72 games in seven seasons with the Kansas City A’s. The most impressive pre-Oakland season by an A’s fireman was by a guy who grew up roughly 200 miles from where the Athletics would relocate after they left K.C. Visalia native Jack Aker tallied 32 saves to lead the league in an incredible 1966 season that actually earned him MVP votes, an impressive feat for a relief pitcher on a seventh-place team!
. . . Of the four relievers who have ever won league MVP, two spent more seasons in the Bay than anywhere else. Rollie Fingers won the award in 1981 with the Brewers after receiving MVP votes in three of his nine seasons in Oakland. Dennis Eckersly then was the final reliever to win the MVP award in 1992, the best finish of his four top-10 MVP voting finishes as the anchor of the Oakland bullpen.
Leading Off
A Brief History of Bay Area Closers
By Rich Campbell
So far, we have looked at the best shortstops, third basemen, second basemen, first basemen, left fielders, right fielders, center fielders, catchers, designated hitters, right-handed starters, and left-handed starters to have played in the Bay Area. Today is part three of our look at pitchers, covering closers.
For closers to qualify for this list, they had to be in the Baseball Reference top five in saves by Bay Area pitchers. So, without further ado, on to the list of the best relievers, listed by most saves.
Dennis Eckersley, Oakland A’s, 9 seasons, 2.74 ERA, 320 saves, 637 innings
Eckersley, who began his career as a starter with Cleveland and Boston, resurrected his career in Oakland under Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan. By the time he left to finish his career in St. Louis (with LaRussa/Duncan) and Boston, he had notched four All-Star seasons in the Green and Gold and won the MVP/Cy Young double in 1992. The A’s appeared in three consecutive World Series with Eck as their closer and hoisted the trophy in 1989. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
Robb Nen, San Francisco Giants, 5 seasons, 2.43 ERA, 206 saves, 378 innings
Nen is the Giants’ career leader in saves. He joined the team in 1998 after spending the previous five seasons with the Florida Marlins. Among his accomplishments in San Francisco, Nen led the NL in saves in 2001 with 45, one of four seasons in SF with 40 or more saves. Nen represented the Giants in three All-Star games and finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2000. His career ended after the 2002 season. He was inducted into the Giants Wall of Fame in 2008.
Rod Beck, San Francisco Giants, 7 seasons, 2.97 ERA, 199 saves, 463 innings
Beck joined the Giants in 1991 and was a three-time All-Star for the team. He led the league in appearances in 1998 with 81. He later pitched for the Cubs, Red Sox, and Padres before retiring from the majors after the 2004 season. He famously continued to pitch in independent ball after that and passed away at the tender age of 38. Beck was also honored with a Wall of Fame plaque in 2008.
Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants, 7 seasons, 3.21 ERA, 172 saves, 320 innings
Coincidentally, Wilson was named to three All-Star teams as a Giant, just like Nen and Beck. He led the NL in saves in 2010 with 48, in the season that preceeded the team’s first World Series win since moving to San Francisco. He joined the hated Dodgers for the final two seasons of his career and retired after the 2014 campaign. His name was added to the Giants Wall of Fame in 2018.
Rollie Fingers, Oakland A’s, 9 seasons, 2.91 ERA, 136 saves, 1016 innings
Fingers’ save total in Oakland is probably lower than you thought, owing to the fact that relievers were deployed differently in his era. Like Eck, he was a four-time All-Star in Oakland and helped the team to three straight World Series appearances, the difference being the A’s won all three of those trips in the ’70s. After leaving Oakland, Fingers led the league in saves in San Diego and Milwaukee (something he never did in Oakland) and won the MVP/Cy Young double in 1981 with the Brewers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992.
Other closers with more than 75 saves for Bay Area teams:
A’s: Billy Taylor (100), Huston Street (94), Andrew Bailey (75) and Jason Isringhausen (75)
Giants: Gary Lavelle (127), Greg Minton (125), Santiago Casilla (123), Camilo Doval (94), Sergio Romo (84), Randy Moffitt (83) and Frank Linzy (77)
Rich Campbell is a Marketing Professor at Sonoma State University by day and A’s fan by night. He has previously been a sports business contributor at Forbes.com and his academic writing has appeared in Sport Marketing Quarterly. You can find him on Twitter @RichCampbelPhD.
Extra Innings
One of the best feel-good moments in baseball this past week was the first MLB appearance in nearly two years by Liam Hendriks (who had 40 saves in his time in Oakland), but one of the most memorable Oakland closers in recent memory was fellow Aussie Grant Balfour, who came out of the bullpen for the A’s to this: