Sunday, June 14, 2020

All-Time One-Year Wonder: Left-Handed Relievers

I'm going to do something a little different with the One-Year Wonder posts. I have decided to go position-by-position and see if I can determine who the best player at each position would be who only spent one year with the Red Sox. This requires a lot of time and research. I am not naming every single player who spent just one season with the Red Sox at each position, but just the better-known players. At the end of the post, I will pick the single best player for each position.

LEFT-HANDED RELIEF PITCHER
FRITZ COUMBE - 1914
Coumbe made his Major League debut as a 24-year-old member of the Red Sox in 1914 and performed out of the bullpen for the most part.  He appeared in 17 games, making just five starts, but was very impressive when he was on the mound.  He pitched 62.1 innings, striking out 17 and walking 16, but he had a solid 1.44 ERA and picked up a save, though it was not an official star until much later.  Boston had an absolutely stacked, if very young, pitching rotation, with Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore, Rube Foster and Smoky Joe Wood, as well as a young Babe Ruth.  Coumbe was used as a trade piece to acquire veteran Vean Gregg from the Indians.  Coumbe went on to pitch several seasons in Cleveland, splitting time between starting and relieving and having his best season when he was 13-7 with a 3.06 ERA in 1918.  During his eight-year career, Coumbe was 38-38 with a 2.80 ERA and 13 retroactive saves.

Thormahlen had been a decent starting pitcher for the Yankees for a few years, particularly effective in 1918 and 1919.  In 1918, he was 7-3 with a 2.48 ERA in 112.2 innings.  He was even better in 1919 when he went 12-8 with a 2.62 ERA in 188.2 innings over 30 games (25 starts).  However, he stumbled a bit in 1920 and was sent to the Red Sox in one of those money-centered deals the Red Sox were constantly making with New York.  This one though was a little better for Boston as they received Del Pratt and Muddy Ruel, two still-useful pieces, though they did give up future Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt and Wally Schang.  Thormahlen though was not a particularly effective piece, pitching in 23 games (nine starts) and throwing 96.1 innings.  He was 1-7 with a 4.48 ERA, striking out 17 and walking 34.  He was later sold to Brooklyn, though his career was basically over.

LEFTY O'DOUL - 1923
Bear with me on this one.  O'Doul is a pretty well-known player, but he really is not known for his pitching ability as will be clear.  His claim to fame came much later.  O'Doul came to his name as most players nicknamed "Lefty" do, by being a southpaw pitcher.  After a few starts and stops with the Yankees, never appearing in more than six games, he got his first extended action with the Red Sox in 1923 after being the extra piece in a deal that sent Joe Dugan and Elmer Smith to the Yankees for Chick Fewster, Elmer Miller and Johnny Mitchell.  O'Doul appeared in 23 games, making just one start, and throwing 53 innings.  He was not really great, striking out ten, versus 31 walks and an ugly 5.43 ERA.  His hitting stats were not much to write home about either, but that was where his future was.  He did appear in one game in right field for the Red Sox.  O'Doul re-emerged in the National League a few seasons later, bouncing around from team to team.  He shocked the world when he hit .398/.465/.622 with 254 hits in 1929 with the Phillies.  For his career, he hit .349/.413/.532, but only really had six seasons as a regular player.  

Littlefield held on in the Major Leagues for nine years, despite limited success.  During those nine years, he pitched for nine different Major League teams.  That is sort of impressive.  Obviously he did not spend much time with any of those teams.  The Red Sox were his first team, as a 24-year-old rookie in 1950.  He appeared in 15 games (two starts), going 2-2 with an unsightly 9.26 ERA.  He struck out 13 and walked 24 in 23.1 innings, though he did have a save.  He was traded to the White Sox along with Joe Dobson for Bill Wight and Ray Scarborough.  He would have his best season in 1954 when he was 10-11 with a 3.86 ERA for the Orioles and Pirates.  For his career, Littlefield was 33-54 with a 4.71 ERA and nine saves.

Kennedy bounced around several teams, typically as a reliever.  He was actually in the Red Sox system during the 1947 season before he was drafted by the Indians.  This was the year before he made the Majors.  He had a very good year in 1952 with the White Sox when he led the league in appearances (47), throwing 70.2 innings with a 2-2 record and a 2.80 ERA and five saves.  The next season he was traded to the Red Sox along with Hal Brown and Marv Grissom for the aging Vern Stephens.  Kennedy appeared in 16 games, all in relief, notching two saves while throwing 24.1 innings with 14 strikeouts, 17 walks and a 3.70 ERA.  He was sent to the minors after the season and did not re-emerge in the Majors until 1956.  By then, he was mostly done.

DICK STIGMAN - 1966
Stigman was an All Star in his rookie season with the Indians, despite going 5-11 with a 4.51 ERA.  He struck out 104 while walking 87 in 133.2 innings while saving nine games.  In 1962, he led the league in winning percentage after going 12-5 with a 3.66 ERA while with the Twins.  The next season, as a starting pitcher he turned in a 15-15 season with a 3.25 ERA.  The Red Sox picked him up in a trade with the Twins for Russ Nixon and Chuck Schilling.  Stigman pitched in 34 games, starting ten, and threw 81 innings, striking out 65 and walking 46 with a 2-1 record and a 5.44 ERA.  After the season he was traded to the Reds for Hank Fischer, but Stigman did not appear again in the Major Leagues.

Hernandez had been a reliable reliever for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1970's.  He had his best season in 1972 when he was 5-0 with a 1.67 ERA in 70 innings over 53 games.  He notched 14 saves while striking out 47 versus 22 walks.  He continued to serve an important role in the Pirates bullpen until he was traded to the Cubs in 1976.  He started the 1977 season with the Cubs, but after six games and an 8.22 ERA, he was traded to the Red Sox for Bobby Darwin.  His fortunes did not improve much as he appeared in just 12 games, throwing 12.2 innings, striking out eight and walking seven with a 0-1 record and a 5.68 ERA.  He picked up the last save of his career though.  It was Hernandez's last appearance in the Majors.  

JOE PRICE - 1989
Price pitched out of the bullpen primarily during his first several seasons after coming up with the Reds in 1980.  He was particularly impressive in 1981 and 1982, before the Reds began experimenting with him in the starting rotation.  The first season was impressive as he was 10-6 with a 2.88 ERA.  He struggled afterwards and was eventually converted back into a reliever.  He started the 1989 season with the Giants, but struggled and was released in early May.  Boston picked him up and he pitched in 31 games, starting five and finishing ten.  He threw 70.1 innings with a 4.35 ERA, striking out 52 and walking 30.  After the season he signed with the Orioles as a free agent for his final season.  

CHRIS HOWARD - 1994
Although he only pitched parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues, and only pitched in more than four games in just one of the seasons, Howard was one of the rare, truly impressive players from this post.  He ended up supplanting Tony Fossas as the primary southpaw in the Red Sox bullpen in 1994, making it into 37 games, with 39.2 innings.  He had a 1-0 record with a 3.63 ERA and picked up the only save of his career.  He struck out 22 and walked 12.  Despite the decent season, he started the 1995 season in the minors and did not make it back until after being traded to the Rangers for Jack Voigt.  1995 was his last season in the Majors.  He spent most of his career in the minors except that one decent season in 1994 when the Lynn, MA native pitched for his hometown team.

Lilliquist arrived in the Majors with the Braves in 1989 as a starting pitcher.  After he struggled in the early part of 1990, he was traded to the Padres for Mark Grant and was turned into a reliever.  He started to excel in the role while with the Indians in 1992 when he was 5-3 with a 1.75 ERA and six saves.  He continued in that role until struggling in 1994.  The Red Sox signed him as a free agent before the 1995 season began.  He was used often in the early part of the season, but struggled greatly in 28 games, throwing 23 innings.  He had a 2-1 record with a 6.26 ERA.  Boston released him in July.  He signed with the Dodgers, but did not make it back to the Majors until the next season with the Reds, his last season.

Hammond had a lengthy career in the Majors, primarily as a left-handed setup man.  He made his Major League debut in 1990 with the Reds he started him in the rotation.  After a couple of seasons with Cincinnati, he was on the inaugural Marlins team as a starter.  It was in 1996 that he started appearing more often in the bullpen.  Boston signed him as a free agent and, though he started eight games, he appeared primarily in the bullpen.  Hammond was 3-4 with a 5.92 ERA in 29 games (eight starts), throwing 65.1 innings, striking out 48 and walking 27.  He picked up the first save of his career.  After the season, he signed with the Royals as a free agent.  He was injured for awhile, then came back to the Majors with an incredible season in 2002 with the Braves when he appeared in 63 games and had a 0.95 ERA.  He jumped from team to team, continuing to have some success until retiring in 2006.

Swindell also had a lengthy Major League career, making it to the Majors in 1986.  He spent the first several seasons with the Indians and was one of the team's most reliable starting pitchers.  He was an 18-game winner in 1988 and an All Star in 1989 when he was 13-6 with a 3.37 ERA and 129 strikeouts.  Swindell was turned into a reliever in 1997 with the Twins.  He started the 1998 season with the Twins and pitched in 52 games before they sent him to the Red Sox along with Orlando Merced for Matt Kinney and a couple other minor leaguers.  Swindell appeared in 29 games for the Red Sox, throwing 24 innings, notching 18 strikeouts and 13 walks.  He had a 2-3 record with a 3.38 ERA.  He appeared in the postseason for the first time throwing 1.1 innings without giving up a run.  After the season he signed a free agent contract with the Diamondbacks, where he spent the last four seasons of his career as a setup man.

MARK GUTHRIE - 1999
Guthrie was a long-time member of the Minnesota Twins and was a valuable member of the pitching staff for the 1991 World Champs.  He was primarily a starter early in his career but found his niche as a lefty reliever.  After a few seasons with the Dodgers, he signed a free agent contract with the Red Sox to take over for Swindell as the team's lefty reliever.  Guthrie made it into 43 games with a 1-1 record and a 5.63 ERA and two saves.  He was traded to the Cubs at the August trading deadline in the deal for Rod Beck.  Guthrie bounced around for several seasons afterwards and achieved some success late in his career with the Mets and Cubs.

Once one of the hottest pitching prospects in the game, Pulsipher was part of a trio of brilliant prospects with the Mets along with Jason Isringhausen and Paul Wilson.  Of the three, only Isringhausen came close to reaching his potential when he was turned into a closer.  Pulsipher had a decent rookie season with the Mets.  After a few seasons of struggling though, he re-emerged with the Red Sox who tried him out in the bullpen.  He threw 22 innings over 23 games with a 5.32 ERA, striking out 16 and walking 14.  The Red Sox waived him in August and he finished the season with the White Sox.  He disappeared from the Majors for a few years before coming back with the Cardinals in 2005, but that was pretty much it for him.

CHRIS HANEY - 2002
Haney was another failed starter who Boston attempted to convert into a reliever.  Haney spent a few seasons as a mid-rotation starter with some bad Royals teams, with his best year coming in 1996 when he was 10-14 in 228 innings with a 4.70 ERA.  After a lost season in 2001, Haney came to Boston and made it into 30 innings over 24 games, with a 4.20 ERA, striking out 15 and walking ten.  He finished eleven games and notched the only save of his career.  He was released in August and hung it up.

Sauerbeck was a highly-coveted arm at the trading deadline in 2003 when he was with the Pirates.  Sauerbeck made an impression right away upon making the Majors when he had a 2.00 ERA in 65 games in 1999.  He was somewhat inconsistent over the years, but was decent enough that the Pirates had a lot of suitors before trading him to the Red Sox a week before the trading deadline along with Mike Gonzalez for Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martinez.  The trade had to be re-worked as Lyon had an injury, so all the pieces except Sauerbeck were returned and the Red Sox sent Freddy Sanchez to Pittsburgh for Jeff Suppan.  Sauerbeck struggled greatly in Boston, making it into 26 games, but just 16.2 innings with an unsightly 6.48 ERA, striking out 18 while walking 18 and having a 0-1 record.  He was injured the entire 2004 season, then struggled for the next few seasons before retiring.

JOHN HALAMA - 2005
Halama was part of the package the Astros sent to the Mariners in exchange for Randy Johnson in 1998, along with Carlos Guillen and Freddy Garcia.  He turned in three double-digit win seasons with the Mariners and was a part of the rotation in 2001 when the team turned in its best season ever.  After that season, he began seeing more and more time in the bullpen and was almost exclusively a reliever by the time the Red Sox signed him as a free agent before the 2005 season.  He appeared in 30 games for the Red Sox, including one start, and threw 43.2 innings, but had a poor 6.18 ERA.  He struck out 26 and walked just nine though.  Halama was released late in July and scooped up by the Nationals with whom he finished the season.  2006 with the Orioles was his last Major League appearance.

One of the very rare middle relievers to actually appear in an All Star game, Remlinger had a lengthy Major League career.  He bounced around for several seasons before he finally achieved some success as a member of the Braves' bullpen in 1999 when he was 10-1 with a 2.37 ERA.  He appeared in the All Star Game in 2002 while still with Atlanta when he was 7-3 with a 1.99 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 68 innings.  He then signed with the Cubs where he spent a few successful seasons.  The Red Sox acquired him in a deal with the Cubs late in the 2005 season, but, like Halama, he struggled.  Remlinger appeared in just eight games with the Red Sox, throwing 6.2 innings, but had an awful 14.85 ERA.  He struck out five and walked five.  After the season, he returned to Atlanta for one last season where he bounced back, at least somewhat.

J.C. ROMERO - 2007
Romero was a very useful lefty arm out of the bullpen for the Twins for the first several years of his career.  He was a bright spot in 2002 when he appeared in 81 games and had a 9-2 record and a 1.89 ERA while striking out 76 in 81 innings.  After a few more decent seasons, he struggled in his only year with the Angels before the Red Sox signed him to be a lefty specialist in 2007.  Romero was reasonably impressive, appearing in 23 games with a 3.15 ERA in 20 innings, but he walked more batters than he struck out (15 to 11) and the team had two better lefties in the bullpen in Hideki Okajima and Javier Lopez and really did not need three southpaws.  He was released in June and caught on with the Phillies for whom he finished the season.  He stayed with Philadelphia for a couple more seasons and then moved around a bit before retiring after the 2012 season.  

BILLY WAGNER - 2009
Of all the players on this list, Wagner is the only one who has a chance at making the Hall of Fame some day.  The seven-time All Star's career compares favorably to recent Cooperstown inductee Trevor Hoffman.  Wagner was typically a closer during his career, most notably with the Astros, though he spent time with the Phillies, Mets and Braves as well.  He saved 422 games during his career, though none for the Red Sox.  He was close to the end of his career when the Red Sox acquired him just before the August trading deadline in a deal with the Mets for Chris Carter (not the one who would later lead the NL in home runs) and a minor leaguer.  He was acquired to be the setup man for closer Jonathan Papelbon and only accepted the deal to pitch in the postseason.  Wagner only appeared in 15 games for the Red Sox, but he was electric, striking out 22 and walking seven and pitching to a 1-1 record and a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings.  He appeared in one game in the postseason, giving up two runs and striking out two in one inning in a game against the Angels in the ALCS.  After the season, Wagner wanted to go back to closing, so he signed a deal with the Braves as the Red Sox would not guarantee him the role.  He had one more great season then retired on his own terms.  Wagner struck out an eye-opening 1,196 batters in just 903 innings in his career.  Gaudy numbers.

Schoeneweis was a well-regarded prospect when he came up with the Angels in the late 1990's.  He spent the first several years of his career as a starter but never really got much going.  He spent the 2004 season between the Angels and White Sox as a reliever, then given one last shot as a starter the following season.  Afterwards he converted to the bullpen for the remainder of his career.  He had a few decent seasons, but was more or less just a complementary piece.  He arrived in Boston just before the 2010 season began and appeared in 15 games, throwing 13.2 innings.  He was less than impressive, striking out 13, but walking ten and giving up 12 runs for a 7.90 ERA.  It was Schoeneweis's last season in the Majors.

DENNYS REYES - 2011
Reyes pitched for eleven teams during his Major League career, originally coming up through the Dodgers system before having some sustained success with the Reds for a couple of years when he was part of the deal that sent Paul Konerko to the Reds for Jeff Shaw.  Later on he had three very good seasons in the Twins bullpen, highlighted by a 2006 season when he was 5-0 with a 0.89 ERA in 50.2 innings.  He was signed by the Red Sox just prior to Spring Training in 2011 and started the season in the Red Sox bullpen.  He made it into just four games (1.2 innings), but had an ugly 16.20 ERA and walked two while striking out one.  He was injured soon afterwards and did not appear again in the Majors.

Thornton was a highly-coveted arm available at the 2013 trading deadline when he was acquired by the Red Sox for a minor leaguer.  He had been a highly productive left-hander in the White Sox bullpen since 2006 and even made the 2010 All Star team when he had a 2.67 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 60.2 innings, with eight saves.  He did not appear often while with the Red Sox, making it into 20 games down the stretch and throwing 15.1 innings, but he was reasonably impressive, striking out nine and walking five with a 3.52 ERA with a 0-1 record.  Thornton was left off of the postseason roster in favor of Craig Breslow.  After the season he signed with the Yankees and was eventually waived despite pitching well.  He pitched for the Nationals and Padres before his career ended in 2016.

After being one of the primary pieces headed from the Diamondbacks in the Richie Sexson deal, Capuano was an effective starter for the Brewers for a few seasons.  He was an All Star in 2006 when he was 11-12 with a 4.03 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 221.1 innings, though he was better the previous season when he was an 18 game winner.  He had a few more decent seasons as a mid-rotation starter with the Mets and Dodgers.  The Red Sox signed him as a free agent before the 2014 season with the eye toward turning him into a reliever.  He pitched 31.2 innings over 28 games as a lefty reliever with a 1-1 record and a 4.55 ERA, striking out 29 and walking 15.  He was released in July and eventually was reverted to a starter with the Yankees.  He pitched a couple more seasons with the Yankees and Brewers before retiring.

THE BEST ONE-YEAR LEFT-HANDED RELIEF PITCHER
I probably stretched things quite a bit with this post.  Given the nature of the role of the left-handed reliever, a lot of these guys do not really qualify as stars, and a lot of them were not even deemed worthy of getting cards made in these days of smaller sets (Chris Howard has Red Sox cards in the most sets here).  There were a few former All Stars in this post though and Lefty O'Doul is certainly a fun story.  Most of the seasons here were very underwhelming, with only a couple that could reasonably be considered successful seasons.  Essentially, this came down to Fritz Coumbe, Howard, Greg Swindell, J.C. Romero, Billy Wagner and Matt Thornton.  I eliminated Coumbe because of the uncertainty of his true role.  Howard was the only one who spent the entire season with the team, but he was the least-accomplished of the remaining players.  Swindell, Romero and Thornton were mostly interchangeable, though Swindell had a slight edge in appearances.  Ultimately I chose Wagner for two reasons.  One, he is easily the best player on this post, outside of O'Doul who does not count because his best years were not as a pitcher at all.  Wagner has a real shot at Cooperstown.  Two, despite pitching just a month-plus for Boston, his stuff was absolutely electric and his stats were eye-popping.  Wagner is a much better choice for the purpose of these posts than anyone else here.
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