Seattle Mariners and the death of the traditional closer
Chris Phillips
|
Rise of the new Fireman
A position that has increased in importance is the aforementioned fireman.
For the past few decades, MLB clubs operated under the guidance of saving their closer for the ninth inning or later. More teams are searching for someone they can use in any clutch situation. The player who best exemplifies this and made this role come to prominence is Andrew Miller.
Using a pitching value metric, game-entering Leverage Index (gmLI). The metric is based on the average of each appearance’s opening leverage index, weighted by the batters faced in that outing. Or the average pressure a pitcher saw in a game or season. One is average. Below one is low pressure and above one is high pressure.
So with that information established, we can more accurately view Miller’s rise. From 2014 to 2020, seven seasons, he has a gmLI of 1.32 or higher, including his postseason appearances; and his career gmLI is 1.39. Speaking of his postseason, this is where he really gained fame and notoriety.
He has a career 0.93 ERA and 0.853 WHIP in 11 postseason series. Only twice did he register an ERA over ZERO in a series. This led to him signing a two-year $25M contract with St. Louis. That’s pretty big money to a guy who can enter a game in say the sixth inning where there isn’t a save situation. However, a game’s outcome can still be impacted in this spot. A team having a Miller type to pair with their shutdown closer and eighth inning guy is what teams are now searching for.
If you recall, Andrew Miller was virtually unhittable in the 2016 Postseason.
His ALCS performance won him MVP of the series, and he recorded 30 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched across the Postseason. pic.twitter.com/7D1wkqOptt
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 27, 2021