The Top 10 greatest managers in the last 50 years

 Today I am continuing my list of the greatest in baseball in the last 50 years with the top 10 Managers.

The criteria are based on regular season and post season success.

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest Managers in the last 50 years.

1.   Joe Torre

2.   Tony LaRussa

3.   Sparky Anderson

4.   Bruce Bochy

5.   Tommy Lasorda

6.   Bobby Cox

7.   Dick Williams              

8.   Terry Francona

9.  Whitey Herzog

10.  Dave Roberts

Comments. Torre won 6 pennants and 4 world championships (all with the Yankees). LaRussa won 6 pennants and 3 world championships (1 with the A’s, and 2 with the Cardinals). Anderson won 6 pennants and 3 world championships (1 with the Tigers, and 2 with the Reds). Bochy won 4 pennants and 3 world championships (all with the Giants). Lasorda won 4 pennants and 2 world championships (all with the Dodgers). Cox won 5 pennants and 1 world championship (all with the Braves). Williams won 4 pennants and 2 world championships (both with the A’s). Francona won 3 pennants and 2 world championships (both with the Red Sox). Herzog won 3 pennants and 1 championship (with the Cardinals). Roberts won 3 pennants and 1 championship (with the Dodgers).

Next up is the list of the 10 greatest teams in the last 50 years (the final list in the series!).

The Top 10 greatest relief pitchers in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players at each position in the last 50 years with the top 10 relief pitchers.

 Here’s the criteria.

·         Must have played at least 5 years since the 1971 season to be considered (only looking at his playing career since 1971. Previous year stats prior to 71 will not be considered).

·         Player cannot qualify for 2 positions. Will be considered based on position he played most in his career (example. Rod Carew played more games at first base then at second base. He would only make the list at first base). Using baseball reference to confirm amount of games at each position.

·         Same consideration takes place for Designated Hitter (Frank Thomas being an example. He played more games as a DH than at first base. He would only make the list at DH).

·         Rankings based on regular season stats, awards won (MVPS, titles, gold gloves, etc.). Post season will add to consideration.

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest relief pitchers in the last 50 years.

1.   Mariano Rivera

2.   Rollie Fingers

3.   Dennis Eckersley

4.   Trevor Hoffman

5.   Bruce Sutter

6.   Lee Smith

7.   Rich Goose Gossage

8.   Dan Quisenberry

9.  Billy Wagner

10.  Craig Kimbrel

Comments. Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher of all time. He has the record for most saves all time and has a remarkable 0.70 ERA in 16 years of post season play (32 series). He won an ALCS MVP and WS MVP. Fingers won a regular season MVP, Cy Young award, and World Series MVP. Eckersley converted from a good starter to a great reliever. He led the league in saves twice and ended up winning the MVP and Cy Young as a reliever. Hoffman is second all-time in saves and had 15 seasons of 30 or more saves (including 9 seasons of 40 or more). Sutter led the league in saves 5 straight season and won a Cy Young award. Smith is third all time in saves and led the league 4 seasons. Gossage led the league in saves 3 times. Quisenberry had a relatively short career due to injury. He led the league in saves in 5 of the 10 full seasons he played. Wagner has the lowest hits per nine innings ratio in history, for pitchers with 800+ innings, allowing 5.99 hits per nine innings. Kimbrel led the league in saves 4 straight seasons. He is the active leader in the saves.

Next up is the top 10 greatest Managers in the last 50 years.

The Top 10 greatest left handed starting pitchers in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players at each position in the last 50 years with the top 10 left-handed starting pitchers.

 Here’s the criteria.

·         Must have played at least 5 years since the 1971 season to be considered (only looking at his playing career since 1971. Previous year stats prior to 71 will not be considered).

·         Player cannot qualify for 2 positions. Will be considered based on position he played most in his career (example. Rod Carew played more games at first base then at second base. He would only make the list at first base). Using baseball reference to confirm amount of games at each position.

·         Same consideration takes place for Designated Hitter (Frank Thomas being an example. He played more games as a DH than at first base. He would only make the list at DH).

·         Rankings based on regular season stats, awards won (MVPS, titles, gold gloves, etc.). Post season will add to consideration.

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest left-handed starting pitchers in the last 50 years.

1.   Randy Johnson

2.   Steve Carlton

3.   Clayton Kershaw

4.   Tom Glavine

5.   Madison Baumgarner

6.   Andy Pettitte

7.   Johan Santana

8.   C.C. Sabathia

9.  Vida Blue

10.  Tommy John

Comments.  The top 4 of this list could have been selected in any order. Johnson is a 5-time Cy Young award winner and World Series MVP. Carlton is a 4-time Cy Young award winner. He had 1 of the greatest seasons of all time winning 27 games for a Phillies team that won 54 games in the 72 season. Kershaw has 3 Cy Young awards and an MVP. Glavine has 2 Cy Youngs and a WS MVP. Bumgarner has not been as great in the regular season as others on the list, but his post season performance makes up for it. He has an 8-3 post season record in 14 starts, including 4-0 in the World Series. He has an NLCS and WS MVP. Pettitte won 5 World Series championships for the Yankees and is the all-time leader in postseason wins with 19. Santana had a relatively short career due to injuries. In his 10 full seasons as a starter, he won 2 Cy Youngs and finished in the top 5 in 3 other seasons. Sabathia won a Cy Young award and had 4 seasons of 19 or more wins. Blue won an MVP and Cy Young award. He had 5 seasons of 18 or more wins. John is more known for being named after a surgery than his pitching. He had a terrific career, playing a remarkable 26 years and winning 288 games.

Next up is the top 10 greatest relief pitchers in the last 50 years.