Pirates' Top 5 relief pitchers: Berry's take

No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only … if you don’t agree with the order, participate in the Twitter poll to vote for your favorite at this position.

Here is Adam Berry’s ranking of the top five relief pitchers in Pirates history.

? Pirates' All-Time Team: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | LF | CF | RF | UTL | RH SP | LH SP

1. Roy Face, 1953-68
Key fact: 1960 World Series champion is the Pirates’ all-time leader in saves (186) and appearances (802)

As we begin, it’s worth noting that the save statistic was created by baseball writer Jerome Holtzman in 1960, officially adopted by MLB in '69 and retroactively applied to pitchers like Face. In fact, Face played a large part in inspiring Holtzman to create the save.

As a reliever, Face finished the 1959 season with an 18-1 record -- the highest single-season winning percentage (.947) for a pitcher in Major League history. Recognizing that wins weren’t a useful way to evaluate relief pitchers, Holtzman went to work on a stat that he thought would more accurately reflect the effectiveness of relievers.

Well, Face piled up plenty of saves, too. In hindsight, he led the National League with 20 in 1958, 17 in ’61 and 28 in ’62. The 5-foot-8 right-hander was in many ways a lockdown closer before the role even existed, long before bullpens took their modern form. An All-Star each year from 1959-61, Face is credited with 100 wins and 186 saves to go along with a 3.46 ERA he put together in 15 seasons with the Pirates.

In 1960, Face was the Pirates’ bullpen ace as they won their first NL pennant since 1927. He became the first pitcher to record three saves in a World Series, although he gave up two runs in Game 1 and allowed four runs in a three-inning appearance before Bill Mazeroski’s heroic homer in Game 7. Only Vern Law pitched more innings for the Pirates in that series. That season, Face put together a 2.90 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while finishing 61 games over his 68 appearances.

1a. Kent Tekulve, 1974-85
Key fact: 1979 World Series champ ranks second in Pirates history with 158 saves and 722 appearances

Yes, we went with a 1-1a model here. It’s not easy picking between Face and the beloved submarine closer known as “Teke.”

Face holds the advantage in key counting stats: appearances (802 to 722), saves (186 to 158), innings (1,314 2/3 to 1,017 1/3) and strikeouts (842 to 552). But Tekulve had a better ERA with the Pirates (2.68 to Face’s 3.46), and that difference is even more pronounced when accounting for their eras and ballparks (Tekulve’s Pirates ERA+ was 139, Face’s 110). Face had a marginally better WHIP (1.239) than Tekulve (1.245), and Face had a better strikeout-to-walk ratio. Face holds an almost indistinguishable lead in bWAR, his 20.4 compared to Teke’s 19.7.

But Tekulve was too good for too long -- and too important to the “We Are Family” Pirates’ success -- to make him anything less than 1a. Think about what he did in 1978 and ’79, for starters.

1978: 8-7 record, 31 saves, 2.33 ERA, MLB-leading 91 games, MLB-leading 65 games finished, 135 1/3 innings, fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting, 13th in NL MVP voting

1979: 10-8 record, 31 saves, 2.75 ERA, MLB-leading 94 games, MLB-leading 67 games finished, 134 1/3 innings, fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting, eighth in NL MVP voting, three saves and five appearances during the World Series

Oh, and how did he follow up those two years? He made 78 appearances and earned an All-Star nod in 1980, then produced a 2.44 ERA in his last four full seasons with Pittsburgh.

3. Dave Giusti, 1970-76
Key fact: 1971 World Series champ ranks fourth in Pirates history with 133 saves

The palmballing Giusti was considered so integral to the Pirates’ success in 1970 that he not only received enough NL Cy Young Award support to finish fourth in the voting, but he also finished sixth in that year’s NL MVP Award voting.

Giusti was the closer for Pittsburgh’s 1971 World Series championship team, leading the NL with 30 saves, although his services weren’t required as Steve Blass went the distance in Game 7 of the Fall Classic. Overall, Giusti put together a 47-28 record and 2.94 ERA (121 ERA+) to go along with a 1.29 WHIP in 618 innings over 410 appearances for the Pirates.

Giusti was excellent in the 1971 postseason, allowing only four hits and four walks while striking out seven without allowing an earned run in 10 2/3 innings over seven outings. Called upon in the seventh inning of World Series Game 6, Giusti allowed the tying single, but he picked up two saves and a hold in the NL Championship Series, along with a save in World Series Game 4.

4. Mark Melancon, 2013-16
Key fact: Ranks fifth in Pirates history with 130 saves

If Melancon had spent more time with the Pirates, he might belong with the greats atop on this list. As it is, there’s a good argument that he should be higher than fourth.

Why’s that? Consider just how dominant Melancon was beyond his 130 saves, including the Majors-leading 51 he recorded (with only two blown saves) during his All-Star 2015 campaign -- one of his three All-Star nods with the Pirates. The rock-steady right-hander used his cutter and curveball to produce a minuscule 1.80 ERA and an absurd 210 ERA+ along with a 0.93 WHIP. He only gave up 6.9 hits per nine innings pitched while putting together a 5.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Melancon was nothing short of automatic, an unshakable performer in the volatile profession of relief pitching. He was metronomically consistent, as he averaged 74 appearances from 2013-16. He faltered a bit in the 2013 NL Division Series, as he allowed one run in Game 3 and three runs in Game 5. But the Pirates’ lockdown bullpen played a big part in their 2013-15 renaissance, and Melancon was in the middle of it all.

5. Mike Williams, 1998-2003
Key fact: Third on Pirates’ all-time saves list

Williams wasn’t as tenured as Face, Tekulve or Giusti, nor was he as dominant as Melancon. He never pitched for a winning team in Pittsburgh, either. But the 2002 and ’03 All-Star compiled 140 saves for Pittsburgh, more than anybody but Face and Tekulve. He racked up 46 of those saves in 2002, when he posted a 2.93 ERA (145 ERA+) with a 1.22 WHIP.

Williams' best season might have actually been in 1998, when he recorded a 1.94 ERA (226 ERA+) over 51 innings, but he finished that year with no saves as Rich Loiselle, Ricardo Rincon and Jason Christiansen recorded 39 of the team’s 41 saves that year.

Honorable mentions

? Rich “Goose” Gossage (1977) spent a lot more time with the Yankees, White Sox and Padres, but the Hall of Famer enjoyed one of his best seasons in Pittsburgh. Gossage went 11-9 with 26 saves, 55 games finished, a 1.62 ERA (244 ERA+), a 0.96 WHIP and 151 strikeouts while working 133 innings over 72 appearances. It’s the single greatest season by a Pirates reliever, even better than Face in 1959 or ’62 or Tekulve in ’78 or ’79.

? Joel Hanrahan (2009-12) was around for the final seasons of the Pirates’ 20-year losing streak, but he established himself as one of the Majors’ top closers as he made back-to-back All-Star teams in 2011 and ’12. Overall, Hanrahan saved 82 games with a 2.59 ERA (151 ERA+) and 1.20 WHIP in 238 games for the Pirates. Furthermore, trading Hanrahan to the Red Sox yielded Melancon -- and Hanrahan has since returned to the organization as a popular Minor League pitching coach.

? Al McBean (1961-68, ‘70) made 75 starts for the Pirates, but the righty was at his best out of the bullpen. McBean put together a 2.50 ERA and 1.22 WHIP from 1963-67, when 257 of his 273 appearances were in relief. He only logged 59 saves for Pittsburgh and never pitched in the postseason, but he was still an effective reliever for the Bucs in the mid-1960s.

? Tony Watson (2011-17) didn’t fare all that well when he succeeded Melancon as the Pirates’ closer, but he was such a dependably excellent setup man that he still deserves a spot on this list. The lefty ranks fourth among all Pirates relievers -- behind only Face, Tekulve and McBean -- with 9.3 bWAR. In seven seasons, Watson posted a 2.68 ERA (143 ERA+) and a 1.09 WHIP. He averaged 72 appearances per year from 2012-17, and in his All-Star ’14 campaign he led the Majors by making 78 appearances while recording a 1.63 ERA and a 5.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

? Ramon Hernandez (1971-76) might be one of Pittsburgh’s most underappreciated relievers, perhaps because he was setting up Giusti and only logged 39 saves of his own. In six years, the lefty posted a 2.51 ERA (139 ERA+) and 1.18 WHIP in 347 2/3 innings over 263 games.