Yankee Relief Pitcher “Wall of Fame”

The Yankees have a dynamite bullpen this year — with Aroldis Chapman the ace, and and many of their setup men capable of being ace relievers — Dellin Betances (who has been out injured so far), Zach Britton (former ace reliever of the Orioles), Adam Ottavino (former top setup man in Colorado), Tommy Kahnle (former top setup man of the White Sox), Chad Green (who’s been lit up this year so far), Jonathan Holder (who has a hard fastball but often doesn’t hold ’em), and now Joe Harvey.

When will Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances become regarded as all-time great Yankee relievers? It will help if they win a World Series with the Yanks.

The Yankee Reliever “Wall of Fame”

Here’s a list of Great Yankee relief pitchers — the Yankee Reliever “Wall of Fame”. If you disagree or see any missing, let us know in the comments.

• Joe Page — 1st ace reliever ever?
• Sparky Lyle — won a Cy Young as a Yankee ace reliever in 1977; it was “Cy Young to Sayonora” (Graig Nettles)
• Dick Tidrow — 1st setup man? Helped the Yanks to the 3 pennants and 2 titles of 1976-1978; in 1976, he and Lyle outdueled the vaunted KC multiple-pitcher ballpen that everyone was making a big deal about at the time
• Goose Gossage — Hall of Famer; helped Yanks to 1978 title
• Dave Righetti — should have remained a starter. Good reliever but never got the feeling he was light’s out.
• Mariano Rivera — Best Reliever Ever.
• Jeff Nelson — one of the best setup men Yanks ever had; helped win those titles in the late 90’s
• Mike Stanton — one of the best lefty setup men the Yanks ever had; teamed with Nelson to provide Yanks fantastic pen in those late 90’s — a key to their 4 titles in 5 years.
• Ramiro Mendoza — the ultimate spot starter long reliever — helped Yanks win some of those late 9o’s title, then Yanks sent him to Boston where he was a ‘Trojan Horse’ (6.75 ERA w Boston first year there)
• David Robertson — one of the great Yankee setup men — helped win the 2009 title.
• Phil Hughes — only was a key reliever for one year — but was instrumental in helping the Yanks to the 2009 title as a setup man. We put him on the Wall.
• Dellin Betances — a Yankee thru-and-thru has been a top setup man for 6 years now.
• Aroldis Chapman — current Yankee ace and has been with them 4 years now (took a half year off to win a title with the Cubs). Some big performances for Yanks in playoffs last 2 years. Needs to win a title here to cement his place on the Yankee Relief Pitcher Wall of Fame.

Honorable Mention:

• Ron Davis — had that phenomenal year as a setup man in 1980 when he helped Yanks to 100 wins
• Lindy McDaniel — Yank ace reliever of early 70’s teams