Email a copy of 'AL Notes: Blue Jays, Mariners, Gordon' to a friend
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By charliewilmoth | at
Email a copy of 'AL Notes: Blue Jays, Mariners, Gordon' to a friend
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Brixton
1984 must have been a really weak season in the AL, considering there is like 10 relief pitchers having better seasons than 1984 Hernandez this year.
ryan211
Hernandez did at least lead MLB pitchers in Win Probability Added in 1984, and it wasn’t even close. See the leaderboard here: fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&…
So, at least by that measure, Hernandez was a reasonable choice.
Brixton
I would assume that naturely closers have an edge, considering they are pitching a good 75% of the time in an important inning in a close game. 3 of the top 4 guys on that list were closers (or atleast relievers with a large amount of saves).
Looking at that stat in 2015, 3 of the top 10 are closers (4 if you count Betances), including Mark Melancon coming in at 2nd.
ryan211
Oh I agree, there’s no doubt that closers have an edge. Hernandez had a pretty historic 1984 in terms of WPA though, even accounting for that. Here’s the leaderboard for all relief seasons from 1950 to 2015:
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=rel&…
I’m not a Hernandez fan or a Tigers fan or anything; it just seems kind of strange that he managed to rack up such a high WPA total in what otherwise seems to be a pretty strange pick for an MVP season.
tfranco
What may have factored in the voting is that Hernandez had 80 appearances and an astounding 140 IP in relief.
ryan211
Yeah, but in exchange for Willie Hernandez, the Phillies picked up someone named John “Wockenfuss,” so they clearly came out ahead on the deal in name value.
Dock_Elvis
Wockenfuss had an epic 1985 Topps card. Little known fact that those 85 Phillies cards came in printing variations
stymeedone
At the time of the trade, Johnny B. Wockenfuss was my favorite player on the Tigers. He had the funkiest batting stance. His left heel was in a straight line with his right toes and he would wiggle his fingers on his left hand while waiting for the pitch. He was great at the hit and run.
Nick 18
Is it normal for other organizations’ presidents to identify themselves as “not baseball guys”
klnjjkjknh2
Every baseball team has people who are solely focused on the business side of the game. They don’t need to have extensive knowledge about the game itself, just how to make money, run the business, and whatnot.