Posted by tecwrg on 1/18/2017 8:15:00 AM (view original):
Context is always important.
Wilhelm was mostly before my time. But Gossage, Fingers and Sutter were not. While their numbers may not look as impressive as Rivera, Hoffman and Wagner, it's important to understand how they were perceived when they played. They were impactful on the game. When they entered a game, the rest of the game changed. The numbers that show the context would be CYA results. Gossage was top 6 in CYA voting 5 times. Fingers was top 8 four times, including a win and an MVP. Sutter was top 5 five times, including a win. In comparison to Rivera, who is without question the best relief pitcher in the history of the game, he was top 8 in CYA voting 6 times . . . not much different from Gossage, Fingers or Sutter. Hoffman was top 6 four times. Wagner only received CYA votes twice in his career.
It's easy to just look at raw stats, or even adjusted/normalized "advanced stats" and think that's all you need to evaluate players. That's what PSBL does ("I don't need to watch the games, I have the stats!"). But without understanding context, you're only seeing a part of the picture.
So because the perception of relievers has changed, today's relievers should be penalized because they're not as revered as those of the past?
Zach Britton's 2016 season would have won him an MVP in the 70s or 80s. Hell, even the 90s, since Eck won an MVP with a marginally worse season. Is that season suddenly less valuable because award voters today are too "enlightened" to cast those votes for relief pitchers?
If Gossage pitched today, I have no doubts he would NOT be a Top 5 closer in the game. And then, by your own logic, since he isn't one of the best of his era, he'd suddenly no longer be a HOFer. Hoffman had a significantly lower WHIP and a lower ERA in a more offensive era. He was better than Gossage.