Quote:
Originally Posted by Orcin
It is a PEAK card. Rivera appeared in 1,115 games. He finished 952 of them. At his PEAK, he was clearly a closer. No argument about that is possible. His position on the card is listed as "closer".
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Of course he is known as a closer, but just for arguments sake, an argument is possible though - What is PEAK? Some might say WAR is peak. I just checked his stats and his highest WAR was as a reliever/setup. Some might say WAR doesnt matter - but that same year as a reliever was also his highest k/9 (by a full strikeout), best hr9 allowed (insane .1), his best FIP at 1.88, and you could argue that it was even more impressive since he was pitching more innings, thus demonstrating more stamina/impact/etc.
So are you sure there is no argument possible? Im not saying its the correct argument, but lets not talk in absolutes when there is clearly an argument as mentioned above.
So i dont know why he is a reliever here when everyone knows him as a closer, maybe his ratings are based on the 96 year. But you could definitely argue that his "peak" was in 96 depending on what peak means to you. If you could pick any season of rivera and replicate it over and over, which one would you honestly pick? Id give the 96 reliever/setup season serious consideration.