Who's the best closer in the game? Antonio Alfonseca led the majors with 45 saves, but do you really think he's the best? LaTroy Hawkins was perfect as a closer -- 14-of-14 in save opportunties. But not many of you would take him over Mariano Rivera.
There is no simple method to rate closers. But we've ranked the closers in seven different categories: saves, ERA, save percentage, innings pitched, strikeouts per nine innings, saves of more than one inning and opponents' OPS (on-base + slugging). All of these statistics are excellent ways to measure a closer's effectiveness. For instance, who's more valuable: Danny Graves and Keith Foulke led the majors with 14 saves of more than one innings. Robb Nen, on the other hand, never had to go more than three outs for a save. Graves and Foulke deserve extra credit for pitching in tougher save situations than Nen, and pitching more innings.
We chose the probable closer for each team. If the pitcher is No. 1 in a category, he gets one point. If he ranks 15th, he gets 15 points, and so on. The fewer the total points, the better your ranking. Tom Gordon, the new Cubs' closer, missed all last year, so by default he's 30th in each category.
The best last year in the regular season? Armando Benitez of the Mets ranked in the top 10 in six of the seven categories. His across-the-board excellence gives him the nod over Derek Lowe and the underrated Foulke.
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Ranking the closers
|
|
Player
|
Team
|
Sv.
|
ERA
|
Pct.
|
IP
|
SO/9
|
1+
|
OPS
|
Tot.
|
|
1. Benitez
|
NYM
|
5
|
6
|
8
|
10
|
3
|
11
|
2
|
45
|
|
2. Lowe
|
Bos.
|
3
|
3
|
7
|
2
|
16
|
3
|
15
|
49
|
|
3. Foulke
|
ChW
|
9
|
11
|
12
|
4
|
10
|
1
|
4
|
51
|
|
4. Nen
|
S.F.
|
5
|
1
|
8
|
20
|
3
|
25
|
1
|
63
|
|
5. Rivera
|
NYY
|
8
|
8
|
11
|
11
|
20
|
3
|
3
|
64
|
|
6. Hoffman
|
S.D.
|
2
|
12
|
14
|
15
|
6
|
11
|
5
|
65
|
|
7. Sasaki
|
Sea.
|
7
|
14
|
3
|
22
|
5
|
7
|
9
|
67
|
|
8. Koch
|
Tor.
|
10
|
7
|
13
|
8
|
21
|
3
|
16
|
78
|
|
9. Graves
|
Cin.
|
14
|
3
|
15
|
2
|
29
|
1
|
19
|
83
|
|
10. Rocker
|
Atl.
|
18
|
10
|
10
|
24
|
2
|
7
|
13
|
84
|
|
11. Leskanic
|
Mil.
|
24
|
3
|
4
|
9
|
14
|
20
|
11
|
85
|
|
12. Veres
|
St.L.
|
16
|
8
|
20
|
11
|
15
|
3
|
12
|
85
|
|
13. Jones
|
Det.
|
3
|
19
|
6
|
21
|
9
|
16
|
20
|
94
|
|
14. Hawkins
|
Min.
|
22
|
17
|
1
|
5
|
24
|
14
|
17
|
100
|
|
15. Wickman
|
Cle.
|
14
|
13
|
19
|
14
|
22
|
20
|
6
|
108
|
|
16. Isringhausen
|
Oak.
|
10
|
20
|
18
|
19
|
18
|
7
|
18
|
110
|
|
17. Jimenez
|
Col.
|
18
|
15
|
21
|
17
|
28
|
7
|
7
|
113
|
|
18. Hernandez
|
K.C.
|
12
|
16
|
21
|
13
|
17
|
11
|
24
|
114
|
|
19. Alfonseca
|
Fla.
|
1
|
22
|
5
|
18
|
26
|
16
|
26
|
114
|
|
20. Williams
|
Pitt.
|
18
|
18
|
17
|
16
|
12
|
20
|
14
|
115
|
|
21. Urbina
|
Mon.
|
25
|
21
|
21
|
29
|
1
|
14
|
8
|
119
|
|
22. Mantei
|
Ari.
|
21
|
25
|
16
|
26
|
7
|
20
|
10
|
125
|
|
23. Kohlmeier
|
Bal.
|
23
|
2
|
2
|
28
|
27
|
25
|
25
|
132
|
|
24. Percival
|
Ana.
|
12
|
24
|
25
|
25
|
13
|
25
|
21
|
145
|
|
25. Shaw
|
L.A.
|
17
|
22
|
24
|
23
|
23
|
16
|
23
|
148
|
|
26. Mesa
|
Phi.
|
28
|
27
|
27
|
6
|
8
|
25
|
27
|
148
|
|
27. Crabtree
|
Tex.
|
27
|
26
|
28
|
7
|
25
|
16
|
22
|
151
|
|
28. Yan
|
T.B.
|
29
|
29
|
29
|
1
|
19
|
25
|
28
|
160
|
|
29. Wagner
|
Hou.
|
26
|
28
|
26
|
27
|
11
|
20
|
29
|
167
|
|
30. Gordon
|
ChC
|
30
|
30
|
30
|
30
|
30
|
30
|
30
|
210
|
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