Seattle Mariners and the death of the traditional closer

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Jan 9, 2022
Seattle Mariners
Diego Castillo, Seattle Mariners.

The years of MLB teams employing just one guy to close out games are coming to end. The rise of the high leverage fireman is here and the Seattle Mariners are on the cutting edge.

Analytics changed sports. Maybe the sport most impacted by analytics is Major League Baseball. Coaches are now pulling starting pitchers earlier in games. Even if the pitcher is throwing a gem, like a perfect game or no-hitter. For some fans, it makes logical sense. For others, it triggers their anger and hatred towards how baseball has been ruined by analytics. The Seattle Mariners aren’t known as an analytics-heavy team but are at the forefront of a growing trend.

There are a few teams that at various points in their team history have been the face of analytics. First, it was the Oakland A’s with Billy Beane’s Sabermetrics. Highlighted by their 2002 team and the movie Moneyball. More recently, it’s the Tampa Bay Rays. Their use of analytics helps them compete with the rest of the big-spending American League East.

Last year Tampa Bay had 14 different players record a save. Their main “closer” Diego Castillo led the team with 14 and he was traded at the deadline to the Seattle Mariners! The previous year they had 12 different players earn a save. Tampa Bay won the AL East last year. When was the last time a division champ traded their closer at the deadline?

In 2021 the LA Dodgers and San Francisco Giants tied with a league-leading 56 saves. The Dodgers had 10 different players get a save. However, Kenley Jansen paced the team with 38 saves (tied for second in the MLB). The next closest was Blake Treinen with seven. For the Giants, they had eight different players earn a save. However, Jake McGee led them with 31 saves (eighth in the MLB). Unlike their rival Dodgers, their second-leading saves getter, Tyler Rogers, earned 13 saves.

So, what about the guy who lead the league in saves last year? That player would be Mark Melancon, who saved 39 games for the San Diego Padres (or the AAAA farm team of the Seattle Mariners). The Padres only had five guys get a save and besides Melancon, nobody else got more than one.

Next: Page 2 – Adding Context

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