Kenley Jansen Is The Model Of A Modern Reliever

After a year of searching, we didn’t our find our new Goose Gossage. But we did get a glimpse of what one might look like in baseball’s just-concluded postseason.

This spring, we introduced a new pitching statistic called the goose egg — named in honor of Gossage, the Hall-of-Fame reliever, who had a record 82 goose eggs in 1975. Essentially, a pitcher gets a goose egg for every clutch, scoreless relief inning (see the original article for a more formal definition). Goose eggs have a substantially better correlation with relievers’ win probability added than saves do, especially if paired with their companion statistic, the broken egg.

This year’s major leader in goose eggs was the Milwaukee Brewers’ Corey Knebel, who finished with 47 of them. The American League leader was the Seattle Mariners’ Edwin Diaz, who had 40. You can find a complete rundown of this year’s final goose stats in the table below. (A “broken egg” is essentially the blown save of goose stats, and a “meh” is any situation which doesn’t result in either a goose egg or a broken egg.)

Corey Knebel gets the golden egg

Final goose egg stats for 2017

PITCHER▲▼


TEAM▲▼


GOOSE EGGS▲▼


BROKEN EGGS▲▼


MEHS▲▼


GWAR▲▼






Corey Knebel
MIL
47
8
2
+3.9


Kenley Jansen
LAD
44
0
1
+6.3


Edwin Diaz
SEA
40
7
4
+3.4


Alex Colome
TB
38
6
6
+3.5


Brad Hand
SD
38
6
6
+3.2


Felipe Rivero
PIT
37
4
2
+3.9


Addison Reed
BOS/NYM
35
6
7
+3.0


Brandon Kintzler
MIN/WAS
34
6
4
+2.9


Fernando Rodney
ARI
33
4
5
+3.5


Andrew Miller
CLE
33
5
3
+3.5


Raisel Iglesias
CIN
31
2
2
+3.8


Craig Kimbrel
BOS
31
4
0
+3.5


Archie Bradley
ARI
31
4
8
+3.2


Hector Neris
PHI
31
7
4
+1.9


Brad Brach
BAL
31
8
2
+1.9


Roberto Osuna
TOR
31
10
1
+1.1


Wade Davis
CHC
30
3
1
+3.2


Tommy Hunter
TB
30
6
1
+2.3


Bryan Shaw
CLE
29
8
5
+1.8


Cody Allen
CLE
29
8
5
+1.8


Joakim Soria
KC
29
8
2
+1.6


Pat Neshek
COL/PHI
28
4
8
+2.8


Nick Vincent
SEA
28
5
6
+2.4


David Robertson
CHW/NYY
28
6
2
+2.1


Mike Minor
KC
28
7
4
+1.8


Arodys Vizcaino
ATL
28
8
2
+1.1


Greg Holland
COL
27
6
2
+2.1


Kelvin Herrera
KC
27
7
3
+1.6


Sam Dyson
SF/TEX
27
11
2
-0.1


Alex Claudio
TEX
26
4
8
+2.6


Hunter Strickland
SF
26
6
1
+1.5


Michael Lorenzen
CIN
26
7
2
+1.2


Jacob Barnes
MIL
26
9
4
+0.5


Chris Devenski
HOU
26
10
6
+0.1


Ryan Tepera
TOR
25
3
1
+2.8


Trevor Rosenthal
STL
25
8
1
+0.6


Sean Doolittle
OAK/WAS
24
3
7
+2.4


Anthony Swarzak
CHW/MIL
24
4
4
+2.1


Ryan Madson
OAK/WAS
24
4
1
+2.1


Ken Giles
HOU
24
5
3
+1.7


Justin Wilson
CHC/DET
24
6
3
+1.4


Dellin Betances
NYY
24
8
2
+0.9


Yusmeiro Petit
LAA
23
4
2
+2.0


Blake Parker
LAA
23
5
2
+1.6


Tony Watson
LAD/PIT
23
9
6
-0.0


AJ Ramos
MIA/NYM
22
4
4
+1.6


Seung-hwan Oh
STL
22
5
6
+1.3


Matt Belisle
MIN
22
6
3
+1.1


Kyle Barraclough
MIA
22
6
1
+0.9


Juan Nicasio
PHI/PIT
22
8
8
+0.2


Carl Edwards
CHC
22
8
3
+0.1


Blake Treinen
OAK/WAS
22
10
3
-0.4


Shane Greene
DET
20
4
5
+1.6


Jose Ramirez
ATL
20
6
6
+0.7


Joe Smith
CLE/TOR
19
2
1
+2.2


Pedro Strop
CHC
19
3
5
+1.6


Aroldis Chapman
NYY
19
4
3
+1.5


Matthew Bowman
STL
19
7
7
+0.1


Jim Johnson
ATL
19
9
3
-0.6


Brandon Maurer
KC/SD
19
10
0
-1.0


Zach Britton
BAL
18
2
0
+2.1


Mychal Givens
BAL
18
3
4
+1.7


Will Harris
HOU
18
3
0
+1.5


Jerry Blevins
NYM
18
5
13
+0.7


Taylor Rogers
MIN
18
7
6
+0.2


Bud Norris
LAA
18
7
1
+0.1


Matt Barnes
BOS
18
8
4
-0.0


Joaquin Benoit
PHI/PIT
18
11
0
-1.5


Matt Bush
TEX
17
6
3
+0.5


Santiago Casilla
OAK
17
8
3
-0.4


Luis Garcia
PHI
16
6
4
+0.1


Tommy Kahnle
CHW/NYY
16
9
2
-0.9


David Phelps
MIA/SEA
16
9
4
-1.1


Mike Dunn
COL
15
0
3
+2.4


David Hernandez
ARI/LAA
15
1
5
+1.9


Matt Albers
WAS
15
2
4
+1.4


Wandy Peralta
CIN
15
4
4
+0.7


Brett Cecil
STL
15
4
3
+0.7


Jake McGee
COL
15
5
2
+0.6


Mark Melancon
SF
15
5
0
+0.3


Ryan Buchter
KC/SD
15
6
4
-0.1


Koji Uehara
CHC
15
6
3
-0.1


Mike Montgomery
CHC
14
2
2
+1.3


Danny Farquhar
CHW/TB
14
4
2
+0.6


Enny Romero
WAS
14
4
6
+0.5


Kirby Yates
LAA/SD
14
6
2
-0.2


Junichi Tazawa
MIA
14
7
0
-0.6


Pedro Baez
LAD
14
7
8
-0.6


Darren O’Day
BAL
13
3
2
+0.9


Chris Rusin
COL
13
4
4
+0.6


James Pazos
SEA
13
4
5
+0.5


Cam Bedrosian
LAA
13
5
4
+0.1


Adam Ottavino
COL
13
7
3
-0.5


Alex Wilson
DET
13
7
7
-0.6


Sam Freeman
ATL
12
2
6
+1.0


Cory Gearrin
SF
12
3
2
+0.6


Brad Ziegler
MIA
12
3
3
+0.6


Joe Kelly
BOS
12
4
5
+0.5


Josh Hader
MIL
12
4
5
+0.3


Brandon Morrow
LAD
12
4
2
+0.2


Jorge De La Rosa
ARI
12
5
1
-0.0


Liam Hendriks
OAK
12
6
1
-0.4


George Kontos
PIT/SF
12
8
3
-1.3


Paul Sewald
NYM
12
8
3
-1.3


Drew Steckenrider
MIA
11
1
1
+1.2


Derek Law
SF
11
3
1
+0.5


Tyler Lyons
STL
11
3
2
+0.5


Hector Rondon
CHC
11
3
2
+0.4


Tyler Duffey
MIN
11
4
3
+0.2


Marc Rzepczynski
SEA
11
4
12
+0.2


Peter Moylan
KC
10
0
5
+1.6


Juan Minaya
CHW
10
1
3
+1.1


Steve Cishek
SEA/TB
10
2
4
+0.8


Kenyan Middleton
LAA
10
2
1
+0.8


Craig Stammen
SD
10
2
3
+0.7


Keone Kela
TEX
10
3
2
+0.5


Adam Warren
NYY
10
4
1
+0.1


Jared Hughes
MIL
10
4
2
-0.0


Heath Hembree
BOS
10
5
6
-0.2


Neftali Feliz
KC/MIL
10
6
0
-0.7


Luke Gregerson
HOU
10
6
2
-0.8


Ross Stripling
LAD
10
9
1
-2.0


Tyler Clippard
CHW/HOU
10
11
7
-2.5


Miguel Castro
BAL
9
1
2
+1.0


Adam Morgan
PHI
9
1
0
+0.9


Joe Biagini
TOR
9
3
2
+0.3


Trevor Hildenberger
MIN
9
3
3
+0.3


Dominic Leone
TOR
9
4
6
-0.1


Jose Alvarado
TB
9
4
3
-0.1


Hansel Robles
NYM
9
5
2
-0.6


Chris Hatcher
LAD/OAK
9
6
3
-0.9


Edubray Ramos
PHI
9
11
1
-2.8


Joe Musgrove
HOU
8
0
0
+1.2


Kevin Siegrist
PHI/STL
8
1
3
+0.8


Koda Glover
WAS
8
2
2
+0.4


Jeurys Familia
NYM
8
2
2
+0.4


Josh Smoker
NYM
8
2
3
+0.4


Scott Alexander
KC
8
4
4
-0.2


Tony Zych
SEA
8
5
3
-0.6


Daniel Hudson
PIT
8
6
4
-1.1


Fernando Salas
LAA/NYM
8
6
4
-1.1


Danny Barnes
TOR
8
9
3
-2.1


Carlos Ramirez
TOR
7
0
0
+1.1


Erasmo Ramirez
TB
7
1
2
+0.7


Scott Oberg
COL
7
2
5
+0.4


Brandon Workman
BOS
7
2
2
+0.4


Deolis Guerra
LAA
7
2
0
+0.3


Jeanmar Gomez
PHI
7
2
1
+0.3


Tony Cingrani
CIN/LAD
7
2
4
+0.3


Jose Leclerc
TEX
7
3
3
+0.0


Tony Barnette
TEX
7
3
1
+0.0


Phil Maton
SD
7
3
2
-0.1


Steven Okert
SF
7
4
12
-0.5


Jake Diekman
TEX
6
0
1
+0.9


Blaine Boyer
BOS
6
1
1
+0.6


Jonathan Holder
NYY
6
1
1
+0.6


Oliver Perez
WAS
6
1
5
+0.5


Nick Wittgren
MIA
6
1
1
+0.5


Chasen Shreve
NYY
6
2
3
+0.2


T. J. McFarland
ARI
6
2
2
+0.2


Ian Krol
ATL
6
2
3
+0.1


Shawn Kelley
WAS
6
2
1
+0.1


J. J. Hoover
ARI
6
3
3
-0.2


Ryan Dull
OAK
6
3
4
-0.2


Sergio Romo
LAD/TB
6
3
0
-0.2


Brian Duensing
CHC
6
3
1
-0.3


Chase Whitley
TB
6
4
1
-0.6


Carlos Torres
MIL
6
4
3
-0.6


Luis Avilan
LAD
6
4
4
-0.7


Jumbo Diaz
TB
6
5
3
-0.9


Josh Fields
LAD
6
5
2
-1.0


Hector Velazquez
BOS
5
0
0
+0.8


Randall Delgado
ARI
5
0
0
+0.8


Fernando Abad
BOS
5
1
1
+0.4


Jarlin Garcia
MIA
5
1
7
+0.3


Robby Scott
BOS
5
2
12
+0.1


Jacob Turner
WAS
5
2
0
-0.0


Joely Rodriguez
PHI
5
2
4
-0.0


Josh Edgin
NYM
5
2
5
-0.0


Aaron Loup
TOR
5
3
12
-0.3


Ryan Pressly
MIN
5
3
2
-0.3


Dovydas Neverauskas
PIT
5
3
0
-0.4


Brian Ellington
MIA
5
3
0
-0.4


Jose Alvarez
LAA
5
5
5
-1.1


Jose Torres
SD
5
5
2
-1.2


Andrew Chafin
ARI
5
8
7
-2.2


Logan Verrett
BAL
4
0
0
+0.6


Austin Brice
CIN
4
0
0
+0.6


Nate Jones
CHW
4
1
0
+0.2


Francis Martes
HOU
4
1
2
+0.2


Justin Grimm
CHC
4
1
2
+0.2


Dustin McGowan
MIA
4
1
2
+0.2


Doug Fister
BOS
4
2
0
-0.1


Donnie Hart
BAL
4
2
3
-0.1


Richard Bleier
BAL
4
2
2
-0.1


Austin Pruitt
TB
4
2
0
-0.1


Drew Storen
CIN
4
2
3
-0.2


Sammy Solis
WAS
4
2
2
-0.2


Josh Osich
SF
4
2
6
-0.2


Bruce Rondon
DET
4
3
0
-0.5


Dan Altavilla
SEA
4
3
1
-0.5


Blake Wood
CIN
4
3
2
-0.5


Joe Blanton
WAS
4
3
0
-0.5


Albert Suarez
SF
4
3
0
-0.6


Jason Grilli
TEX/TOR
4
4
3
-0.8


Brad Boxberger
TB
4
4
3
-0.9


Oliver Drake
MIL
4
4
1
-0.9


Sam Tuivailala
STL
4
4
1
-0.9


Aaron Bummer
CHW
4
5
6
-1.2


Daniel Coulombe
OAK
4
5
6
-1.3


Carlos Estevez
COL
3
0
0
+0.5


Matt Dermody
TOR
3
0
2
+0.5


Jimmy Yacabonis
BAL
3
0
0
+0.5


Alan Busenitz
MIN
3
0
2
+0.5


Bryan Morris
SF
3
0
0
+0.4


Chasen Bradford
NYM
3
0
1
+0.4


Jen-Ho Tseng
CHC
3
0
0
+0.4


Alex Wood
LAD
3
0
1
+0.4


Alec Asher
BAL
3
1
1
+0.1


Mike Bolsinger
TOR
3
1
0
+0.1


Tom Koehler
TOR
3
1
2
+0.1


Chris Rowley
TOR
3
1
0
+0.1


Drew VerHagen
DET
3
1
2
+0.1


Buddy Baumann
SD
3
1
1
+0.1


John Brebbia
STL
3
1
3
+0.1


Chad Green
NYY
3
2
2
-0.3


Greg Infante
CHW
3
2
7
-0.3


Jhan Marinez
MIL/PIT
3
2
0
-0.3


Casey Fien
PHI/SEA
3
2
0
-0.3


Travis Wood
KC
3
3
1
-0.6


Rex Brothers
ATL
3
3
1
-0.7


Emilio Pagan
SEA
3
4
2
-1.0


Francisco Rodriguez
DET
3
8
2
-2.5


Dan Otero
CLE
2
0
0
+0.3


Tyler Olson
CLE
2
0
4
+0.3


Carson Smith
BOS
2
0
0
+0.3


Austin Maddox
BOS
2
0
0
+0.3


Dario Alvarez
TEX
2
0
1
+0.3


Jake Junis
KC
2
0
0
+0.3


Trevor Cahill
KC
2
0
0
+0.3


Jake Barrett
ARI
2
0
3
+0.3


Zach Putnam
CHW
2
0
0
+0.3


Asher Wojciechowski
CIN
2
0
0
+0.3


A. J. Schugel
PIT
2
0
1
+0.3


Ty Blach
SF
2
0
1
+0.3


Jamie Callahan
NYM
2
0
1
+0.3


Brock Stewart
LAD
2
0
1
+0.3


Chad Qualls
COL
2
1
0
-0.0


Jordan Lyles
COL
2
1
0
-0.0


Luis Santos
TOR
2
1
0
-0.1


Kyle Ryan
DET
2
1
0
-0.1


Andrew Kittredge
TB
2
1
0
-0.1


Eduardo Paredes
LAA
2
1
0
-0.1


Josh Smith
OAK
2
1
0
-0.1


Eric O’Flaherty
ATL
2
1
1
-0.1


Jason Motte
ATL
2
1
2
-0.1


Matt Grace
WAS
2
1
2
-0.1


Victor Arano
PHI
2
1
0
-0.1


Robert Gsellman
NYM
2
1
0
-0.1


Jacob Rhame
NYM
2
1
0
-0.1


Ricardo Rodriguez
TEX
2
2
1
-0.4


Jake Petricka
CHW
2
2
3
-0.4


Simon Castro
OAK
2
2
1
-0.4


Francisco Liriano
HOU
2
2
1
-0.4


Robert Stephenson
CIN
2
2
0
-0.5


Ryan Sherriff
STL
2
2
1
-0.5


Matt Strahm
KC
2
3
1
-0.8


Wade LeBlanc
PIT
2
3
2
-0.8


Daniel Stumpf
DET
2
4
5
-1.2


Jeremy Jeffress
MIL/TEX
2
5
1
-1.5


Dan Jennings
CHW/TB
2
5
9
-1.5


Boone Logan
CLE
1
0
4
+0.2


Tyler Anderson
COL
1
0
0
+0.2


Ben Taylor
BOS
1
0
1
+0.2


David Price
BOS
1
0
1
+0.2


Robbie Ross
BOS
1
0
0
+0.2


Tanner Scheppers
TEX
1
0
1
+0.2


Ben Heller
NYY
1
0
1
+0.2


Chris Young
KC
1
0
0
+0.2


Kevin McCarthy
KC
1
0
0
+0.2


Dillon Gee
MIN
1
0
0
+0.2


Gabriel Moya
MIN
1
0
0
+0.2


Jimmie Sherfy
ARI
1
0
0
+0.2


Brooks Pounders
LAA
1
0
0
+0.2


Jean Machi
SEA
1
0
1
+0.2


Mike Morin
LAA
1
0
1
+0.2


Yovani Gallardo
SEA
1
0
0
+0.2


Brad Peacock
HOU
1
0
1
+0.1


Jackson Stephens
CIN
1
0
0
+0.1


Luke Jackson
ATL
1
0
0
+0.1


A. J. Cole
WAS
1
0
0
+0.1


Matt Cain
SF
1
0
0
+0.1


Miguel Socolovich
STL
1
0
1
+0.1


Kyle McGrath
SD
1
0
0
+0.1


Kyle Crick
SF
1
0
0
+0.1


Felix Pena
CHC
1
0
0
+0.1


Dillon Maples
CHC
1
0
0
+0.1


Odrisamer Despaigne
MIA
1
0
0
+0.1


Chris O’Grady
MIA
1
0
1
+0.1


Tyler Chatwood
COL
1
1
0
-0.2


Caleb Smith
NYY
1
1
0
-0.2


Jeff Beliveau
TOR
1
1
1
-0.2


Tyler Wilson
BAL
1
1
1
-0.2


Justin Haley
MIN
1
1
0
-0.2


Warwick Saupold
DET
1
1
3
-0.2


Tom Wilhelmsen
ARI
1
1
2
-0.2


Frankie Montas
OAK
1
1
0
-0.2


James Hoyt
HOU
1
1
0
-0.2


Michael Feliz
HOU
1
1
0
-0.2


Tony Sipp
HOU
1
1
1
-0.2


Rob Scahill
MIL
1
1
0
-0.2


Amir Garrett
CIN
1
1
0
-0.2


Dan Winkler
ATL
1
1
1
-0.2


A.J. Minter
ATL
1
1
0
-0.2


Hoby Milner
PHI
1
1
5
-0.2


Zach Duke
STL
1
1
2
-0.2


Grant Dayton
LAD
1
1
2
-0.2


Javy Guerra
MIA
1
1
2
-0.2


Josh Ravin
LAD
1
1
0
-0.2


Zach McAllister
CLE
1
2
1
-0.6


Al Alburquerque
CHW/KC
1
2
1
-0.6


Jesse Chavez
LAA
1
2
1
-0.6


John Axford
OAK
1
2
0
-0.6


Wily Peralta
MIL
1
2
0
-0.6


Kevin Shackelford
CIN
1
2
0
-0.6


Ricardo Pinto
PHI
1
2
1
-0.6


Erik Goeddel
NYM
1
2
1
-0.6


Jonathan Broxton
STL
1
2
0
-0.6


Kevin Quackenbush
SD
1
2
0
-0.6


Blaine Hardy
DET
1
3
1
-1.0


Rafael Montero
NYM
1
3
1
-1.0


Akeel Morris
ATL
0
0
1
+0.0


Andrew Romine
DET
0
0
1
+0.0


Brent Suter
MIL
0
0
1
+0.0


Chad Bell
DET
0
0
1
+0.0


Dan Runzler
PIT
0
0
1
+0.0


Gabriel Ynoa
BAL
0
0
1
+0.0


Justin Nicolino
MIA
0
0
2
+0.0


Lucas Harrell
TOR
0
0
1
+0.0


Mike Pelfrey
CHW
0
0
1
+0.0


Parker Bridwell
LAA
0
0
1
+0.0


Brad Goldberg
CHW
0
0
1
+0.0


Ariel Hernandez
CIN
0
0
1
+0.0


Reymin Guduan
HOU
0
0
1
+0.0


Troy Scribner
LAA
0
0
1
+0.0


Austin Bibens-Dirkx
TEX
0
0
1
+0.0


Tim Mayza
TOR
0
0
1
+0.0


Mike Clevinger
CLE
0
1
0
-0.4


Nick Goody
CLE
0
1
2
-0.4


Ernesto Frieri
TEX
0
1
0
-0.4


Bryan Mitchell
NYY
0
1
0
-0.4


Giovanny Gallegos
NYY
0
1
0
-0.4


Ronald Herrera
NYY
0
1
0
-0.4


J. P. Howell
TOR
0
1
0
-0.4


Jayson Aquino
BAL
0
1
0
-0.4


Stefan Chrichton
BAL
0
1
0
-0.4


Vidal Nuno
BAL
0
1
0
-0.4


Craig Breslow
CLE/MIN
0
1
2
-0.4


Hector Santiago
MIN
0
1
0
-0.4


Rubby De La Rosa
ARI
0
1
1
-0.4


Chase De Jong
SEA
0
1
0
-0.4


Christian Bergman
SEA
0
1
0
-0.4


Diego Moreno
TB
0
1
0
-0.4


Ryne Stanek
TB
0
1
3
-0.4


Xavier Cedeno
TB
0
1
3
-0.4


Sam Moll
OAK
0
1
1
-0.4


Jandel Gustave
HOU
0
1
0
-0.4


Antonio Bastardo
PIT
0
1
0
-0.4


Johnny Barbato
PIT
0
1
0
-0.4


Tyler Glasnow
PIT
0
1
0
-0.4


Mark Leiter
PHI
0
1
0
-0.4


Miguel Diaz
SD
0
1
0
-0.4


Neil Ramirez
NYM
0
1
2
-0.4


Tyler Pill
NYM
0
1
0
-0.4


Adam Conley
MIA
0
1
0
-0.4


Vance Worley
MIA
0
1
0
-0.4


Domingo German
NYY
0
2
0
-0.7


Buddy Boshers
MIN
0
2
0
-0.7


Casey Lawrence
SEA/TOR
0
2
0
-0.7


Joe Jimenez
DET
0
2
0
-0.7


Adam Kolarek
TB
0
2
1
-0.7


Chris Beck
CHW
0
2
2
-0.7


Evan Scribner
SEA
0
2
0
-0.7


J. C. Ramirez
LAA
0
2
0
-0.7


Shae Simmons
SEA
0
2
0
-0.7


Tim Adleman
CIN
0
2
1
-0.7


Josh Collmenter
ATL
0
2
0
-0.7


Ryan Garton
SEA/TB
0
3
1
-1.1

SOURCE: SEAMHEADS.COM

However, from an efficiency standpoint, the best season came not from Knebel or Diaz but from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen, who finished with a perfect record of 44 goose eggs and no broken eggs. That’s the most-ever goose eggs without a broken egg. The Dodgers used Jansen smartly and lined up his 68.1 innings pitched to coincide with mostly high-leverage situations. He made 15 multi-inning appearances, entered with runners on base 12 times, and often pitched in tied games — all things that closers weren’t doing much of a few years ago. And Jansen generated 6.3 goose wins above replacement (GWAR) in the regular season, the 7th-highest total of all-time.

Kenley Jansen’s season was Goose-toric

Highest single-season goose wins above replacement (GWAR)

PITCHER
YEAR
GOOSE EGGS
BROKEN EGGS
MEHS
GWAR




Stu Miller
1965
79
7
3
+7.5


Rich Gossage
1975
82
11
8
+6.7


Mariano Rivera
1996
54
6
2
+6.6


Ron Perranoski
1969
79
13
9
+6.6


Troy Percival
1996
47
3
1
+6.5


Willie Hernandez
1984
65
7
7
+6.4


Kenley Jansen
2017
44
0
1
+6.3


Doug Corbett
1980
68
10
3
+6.3


Ted Abernathy
1967
51
3
14
+6.2


Sparky Lyle
1977
66
8
13
+6.1

Sources: Retrosheet, The Baseball GAUGE

Jansen’s also the exception that proves the rule, however; it’s hard to provide all that much value when you pitch only 70 innings or so, which is about how much the best relievers pitch nowadays. After Jansen, the next most-valuable season came from Knebel, who finished with 3.9 GWAR — which ranks just 200th among relief pitching seasons all-time.

If you want a model for a more Gossage-like usage pattern, you need to look no further than … how Jansen was used in the postseason. Jansen appeared in 13 of the Dodgers’ 15 playoff games and threw 16.2 innings. Extrapolated out to a full, 162-game regular season, that would work out to a Mike Marshall-like total of 180 relief innings.

Jansen didn’t keep his perfect streak alive in the playoffs. Instead, he allowed 2 broken eggs to go with 6 goose eggs. He was also used in some situations that we wouldn’t recommend — for instance, to close out an 11-1 lead against the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS. Still, his postseason goose egg pace would extrapolate to 65 goose eggs over a 162-game regular season.

What I’m really advocating for is a hybrid between how pitchers like Jansen are currently used in the regular season and the entirely different way that they’re used in the postseason. The extra off-days the playoffs provide help to enable more creative usage patterns that might not be viable in the regular season. And even with those extra rest days, Jansen may have been overused in not-very-clutch situations in the NLCS and NLDS; perhaps as a result, he was not especially sharp in the World Series. At the same time, he went from throwing 4.7 percent of the Dodgers’ regular season innings to 12.3 percent of their postseason innings — almost a threefold increase. Surely there’s a happy median somewhere in between?But congratulations to Jansen and Knebel, and we’ll resume our hunt for goose eggs next year. In the meantime, you can download detailed data on goose eggs and broken eggs for all pitchers since 1930 here.