Munro: Romano enjoyed breakout season out of Jays' pen in 2021
Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) enjoyed a breakout season out of the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen in 2021. Photo: Amanda Fewer
November 8, 2021
By Neil Munro
Canadian Baseball Network
During the 2021 baseball campaign, Jordan Romano established his credentials as one of the best closers in baseball.
In just his third season in the big leagues, the Markham, Ont., native saved 23 games (while appearing in just 24 such save opportunities) while pitching in 62 contests and fashioning an ERA of 2.14 while holding opposing batters to a microscopic .181 batting average. He struck out 85 batters in 63 innings while surrendering just 25 walks. Actually, Romano blossomed as a pitcher in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, posting a sparkling ERA of 1.23 in his 15 appearances.
Romano actually started the season as a set-up man and did not assume the role of the team’s closer until June 22, the Blue Jays’ 26th game of the season. His first save opportunity came in the Jays’ third game of the season, when he suffered his first and only blown save of the year, giving up the game-tying run in a 7-5 loss to the Angels. From that point on, Romano rolled off 23 consecutive saves in as many opportunities. This is the third best consecutive stretch of saves by a Blue Jays closer in team history to the 25 consecutive saves racked up by Tom Henke in 1991 and the 24 by Casey Janssen in a streak that began in 2013 and carried into 2014. If Jordan earns saves in his first three such opportunities in 2022, he will own the club record outright.
Romano’s 23 saves last year might seem to pale beside the league leaders – San Diego’s’ Mark Melancon, who had N.L. best 39 saves and the 38 saves by Liam Hendriks of the White Sox. In addition to only becoming the Jays’ regular closer in mid-June, the Jays’ explosive offence also limited Romano’s chances for a save probably more so than if he had been with another ball club. In 2021, the Jays won 48 games by outscoring their opponents by a margin of more than three runs. Although it is not an absolute requirement, a save is routinely earned only when a relief pitcher enters the game when his team has a lead of three runs or fewer. The save rule used by MLB has changed somewhat over time, but the current rule in effect has these requirements:
A relief pitcher recording a save must preserve his team's lead while doing one of the following:
• Enter the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitch at least one inning.
• Enter the game with the tying run in the on-deck circle, at the plate or on the bases.
• Pitch at least three innings.
Managers seem to focus so much on the first requirement above, that it is highly unusual for a ball clubs’ ace reliever to appear in a game unless the ball club has a lead of three runs or fewer in the ninth inning.
The use of relief pitchers in baseball over time has probably changed more than any other facet of the game or in terms of managerial strategy. To begin with, no save is possible when the starting pitcher has a complete game. Here is a chronological list of the shrinking complete game milestones over the past 150 years of professional baseball.
Chronology of Complete Game Levels Last Achieved
In the nineteenth century many starting pitchers routinely completed more than 90% of their starts. If a relief pitcher was used at all, it was usually in a mop-up situation in a one-sided contest. To see the significant differences in number of complete games pitched, consider that Ferguson Jenkins pitched 30 complete games in his Cy Young winning season of 1971, while the entire combined pitching staffs of the American League managed to complete just 21 outings last year.
In recent decades, the top relief pitchers routinely appear in 70 or more games in a season. In fact, the first pitcher to toe the rubber in as many as 70 games in relief in a season was Jim Konstanty, pitching for the pennant-winning Phillies in 1950. Baseball writers were so impressed with his 22 saves (not an official stat then however) and 16 wins in relief that they awarded him MVP honours that year.
Two years after that, Hoyt Wilhelm pitched enough innings in relief to qualify for, and win, the N.L. ERA title. In the period between 1950 and 1990, many pitchers worked 150 or more innings per year in relief, routinely working two or three innings to close out a game. Mike Marshall (the 1974 National League Cy Young winner) pitched in 106 games working 208 innings, all in relief. Actually, that was not really unusual for Marshall who pitched 179 innings in 92 games in relief for the Montreal Expos in 1973.
Indeed, the rules which define a “save” have changed somewhat over the past 50 years. In initially, (but unofficially), it was even possible for two pitchers to be given a save in the same game. The rule was officially codified for the 1969 season. However, that rule did not really resemble the one in effect today. In theory, a pitcher could record the final out of a lopsided 20-0 victory and be awarded a save.
In 1974, MLB tried to correct the situation by specifying that for a relief pitcher to earn a save, he had to pitch at least three “effective’ innings or face the game tying or go-ahead run on the bases when he entered the game. It is noteworthy that under that rule, Marshall had “just” 21 saves to lead the league in 1974. Fortunately, MLB revised the 1974 save rule the very next year, finally arriving with the version that is now in effect.
As the use of relief pitchers has evolved over time, the result is that today the closer is hardly ever used in a non-save situation. Many commentators have lamented that this unusual situation seems to dictate that the manager’s choice of using his relief ace depends more on this rule than in trying to preserve a team victory regardless of the score in the game. Another significant effect of the rule, combined with the fact that starting pitchers rarely work more than five or six innings, is that fact that bullpens must have three or four reliable pitchers at the ready in every contest.
If you are wondering how Romano’s fine 2021 campaign compares with the best seasons ever posted in the majors by Canadians, the following tables highlight some of the truly outstanding performances of the many Canadian relief aces over the last 50 years. It might come as a surprise that Jordan’s 23 saves in 2021 is just the 15th best such outing achieved by Canadians. However, he does crack the top 10 in career saves posted by Canadians.
Career Saves Leaders by Canadian Pitchers
* Reitsma had dual Canadian-American citizenship, born in Minneapolis
Season Save Leaders by Canadians
Nowadays, the idea of a relief pitcher earning a “hold” is almost as important as the closer that records a save. Essentially, the criteria for being awarded a hold is the same as for a save, but he must be taken out of the game before it concludes (and he cannot be credited with a save either). There can be more than one “hold” awarded in a game. The rule describing the criteria for being awarded a hold was first used for the 1999 season. Paul Quantrill would actually rank 11th all-time had the rule always been in effect.
Career Holds Leaders by Canadians
Season Holds Leaders by Canadians
Quantrill holds records for Canadian pitchers of having appeared in 841 career games, of which 777 were in relief appearances. He also has the season best performance of appearing in 89 games in relief with the 2003 Dodgers. He also has the second-best season figure for games pitched by a Toronto Blue Jay (appearing in 82 contests with Toronto in 1998).
Eric Gagne has the Canadian record for games finished in a season when he closed out 68 games with the Dodgers in 2002. He had 67 games finished the next year when he won the National League Cy Young by posting 55 consecutive saves. Gagne still holds the major league record for recording 84 consecutive saves between 2002 and 2004. That certainly is a substantial milestone for Romano to emulate.
John Hiller still has the career record for games finished by a Canadian with 363. John Axford is second in that category, finishing 286 games in his career. Axford was named the Rolaids Relief Man Award winner for his very fine season with Milwaukee in 2011. In addition to tying for the lead in saves (with 46), he also had the best save percentage in the NL (95.8%). In terms of which Canadian actually had the best single-season performance by a relief pitcher, I would rate the performances of John Hiller (in 1973 with the Tigers) and Gagne in 2003 ahead of that posted by Axford.
Gagne must surely have posted the greatest three-year run of any relief pitcher in history. From 2002 to 2004, Gagne saved 152 games in 158 save opportunities. He struck out 365 batters in just 247 innings while maintaining an ERA of 1.65 over that time span. In that run of excellence, Gagne had 84 consecutive saves without a miscue in 84 opportunities setting the major league record of consistency in this regard. His top season undoubtedly was 2003 when he saved 55 games out of 55 opportunities and posted an ERA of 1.20 with 137 batters fanned in 82 1/3 innings. Gagne’s outstanding effort during the 2003 campaign was rightfully rewarded when he captured the NL Cy Young Award that year while placing sixth in the MVP vote. Gagne took home the Rolaids Relief Man Award for the National League in both 2003 and 2004.
Hiller was a star pitcher for his entire 15-year career with the Detroit Tigers between 1965 and 1980. However, amazing as it might seem, he had his best years after suffering a heart attack in January of 1971 (missing the entire season as a result). After coming back slowly and pitching just 44 innings in 24 games in 1972, Hiller had one of the finest years ever posted by any relief pitcher in 1973. Not only did he set the major league record for saves (at the time) with 38, he did so in the time frame when the rules made saves much harder to come by. He also earned 10 relief wins (against 5 losses) and had a sparkling ERA of 1.44 in 125 1/3 innings of work.
Hiller led the AL both in pitching appearances (65) and games finished (62). It should also be noted that 1973 was the first year in which the American league used the designated hitter to alleviate the very low level of runs scored of the previous decade. To indicate the impact of this rule change, the combined ERA for the entire American League jumped from 3.06 in 1972 to 3.82 in 1973. In addition, Detroit was one of the more batter-friendly parks in the AL at the time, so Hiller’s record 38 saves (11 more than the AL runner-up) and 1.44 ERA was truly outstanding for the 1973 season. For his stellar performance, Hiller won the TSN Fireman of the Year Award and also placed fourth in the vote for both the Cy Young Award and the MVP Award that season. Usually, a relief pitcher will not win the Cy Young Award unless there are no candidates with outstanding records from among the starting pitchers in the same year. In 1973, future Hall of Fame pitchers, Jim Palmer, Nolan Ryan and Catfish Hunter did have great years and finished ahead of Hiller in the vote for the Cy Young Award in the American League.
Thus, Hiller gets my own stamp of approval for having posted the greatest season of relief pitching by any Canadian in major league history. Moreover, in my opinion (unbiased of course), he also had the greatest season of relief pitching ever achieved by any closer in major league history. Still, many observers would likely rate Gagne’s 2003 season as the best ever by a closer. I have a few problems with this analysis however. Gagne pitched just over 80 innings in 2003, while most relief aces from earlier periods regularly worked in well over 120 frames. Adding to my dilemma is the fact that Gagne was named as using human growth hormone in baseball’s Mitchell Report which investigated performance enhancing drug use. While there is no disputing the unparalleled level of excellence of his 2003 season, I have to rate him a notch below the superb effort by John Hiller in 1973 when I consider all of these factors.
So, while we must certainly applaud the effort of Jordan Romano for his fine 2021 campaign in relief with the Jays, in the years to come, he has still has needs some lofty levels of achievement to match before he ranks as the best ever Canadian relief ace. Let’s hope that his efforts are not derailed by a possible strike or lockout which might result from a negotiations impasse between the owners and the players this winter.