Where does Aroldis Chapman rank among the greatest...

As far as records go, "most strikeouts by a relief pitcher" isn't exactly at the top of everyone's list of celebrated numbers, but at least it gives us an excuse to remember Hoyt Wilhelm. With his 1,364th career strikeout as a reliever, Aroldis Chapman just broke Wilhelm's longstanding mark. It took Wilhelm 1,872⅓ innings to do it, reaching the majors in 1952 when he was 29 and pitching until he was 49; Chapman needed less than 850 innings. You couldn't find two more different pitchers, Wilhelm throwing his fluttering knuckleballs, Chapman throwing the still-fastest pitch in MLB history at 105.8 mph during his rookie season in 2010. There are different ways to get the job done, and Chapman is still dominating in his 17th season, even if his fastball now averages a mere 97.3 mph. With the strikeout record in hand, plus his resurgence over the past two seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Chapman's career looks much different than it did a couple of years ago. Where does he rank among closers? I took the top 12 relievers on the all-time saves leaderboard and ranked them across 10 different categories: Saves, innings pitched, WAR, strikeouts per nine, ERA+, save percentage, win probability added, OPS allowed, win-loss percentage and postseason WPA. You earn one point for ranking first in a category, down to 12 for ranking last. The lower the point total, the higher the ranking. Taking the top 12 does leave out Hall of Famers Wilhelm, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers and Bruce Sutter, but those four mostly predated modern closer usage patterns, making comparisons difficult. Let's focus on the past 40 years. 12. Dennis Eckersley (96 points) One sentence: The 1992 American League Cy Young and MVP winner, Eckersley had a dominant five-year stretch with the A's from 1988 to 1992. Saves: 390 (ninth in MLB history) Hall of Fame? Yes Eckersley spent the first half of his career as a very good starter, winning 149 games, but I'm counting just his 12 seasons as a reliever. In his epic five-year stretch, he had a 1.90 ERA with 220 saves and just 26 unintentional walks in 359 innings. In the next five years, he racked up another 150 saves, but with a 4.06 ERA and a much lower save percentage. He made the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, with help from his years as a starter, but his window as a great closer was pretty short. 11. John Franco (89 points) One sentence: A 5-foot-10 lefty with a great screwball, Franco was a four-time All-Star and led his league three times in saves but wasn't as overpowering as your classic closer. Saves: 424 (seventh) Hall of Fame? No The closer for the Reds and Mets in the 1980s and 1990s, Franco had a 2.89 career ERA but didn't even make it to a second Hall of Fame ballot. Maybe that's unfair, but he was never really considered the best closer in the game at any point in his career. He was durable and effective, however, pitching until he was 44, and he still ranks third on the all-time games pitched list. 10. Lee Smith (82 points) One sentence: The big right-hander was one of the hardest-throwing relievers of his era and the all-time saves leader when he retired after recording at least 29 saves for five different teams, most notably with the Cubs in the 1980s. Saves: 478 (fourth) Hall of Fame? Yes Smith's career bridges the change in closer usage. Early in his career, he topped 100 innings three times with the Cubs. In his final season as a closer, he pitched just 49 innings in 52 games while earning 37 saves. He had a career ERA of 3.03, ranking last among the 12 relievers in adjusted ERA, while also ranking ahead of only Franco in save percentage -- although some of that was pitching with more inherited runners than modern closers. He topped out at 50% on the writers' ballot for the Hall of Fame but was a unanimous selection via the veterans committee in 2019. 9. Francisco Rodriguez (76 points) One sentence: A playoff standout during the Angels' World Series title run in 2002 when he won five games in relief, Rodriguez later set the single-season saves record of 62 in 2008. Saves: 437 (sixth) Hall of Fame? No A 20-year-old rookie with just five major league appearances when he burst onto the scene in the 2002 postseason, "K-Rod" threw a blistering fastball with a sharp-breaking curveball/slider hybrid to a 2.35 ERA during his six-plus seasons with the Angels. After his fastball lost some zip, he developed an excellent changeup, riding that to some big-save seasons with the Brewers and Tigers, although he wasn't quite as consistent. Despite the single-season saves record, he hasn't received much Hall of Fame support, receiving 11.8% of the vote this year, his fourth time on the ballot. 8. Jonathan Papelbon (68 points) One sentence: The closer for the 2007 World Series champion Red Sox, Papelbon was a six-time All-Star who finished with a 2.44 ERA. Saves: 368 (12th) Hall of Fame? No Papelbon is the first guy on the list who spent his entire career in the "we're not bringing you in until the ninth inning" era. He topped out at 70 innings one time -- even Rodriguez, who entered the league just a few seasons earlier, reached that total five times -- but was incredibly efficient and ranks third in adjusted ERA, second in postseason WPA and tied for fourth in save percentage. The knock against him is a short career -- just 12 seasons, with two of those being partial seasons. 7. Craig Kimbrel (64 points) One sentence: His first four seasons were as dominant as any reliever has ever pitched, leading the National League four times in saves while posting a 1.51 ERA, and he was then the closer for the 2018 World Series champion Red Sox. Saves: 440 (5th) Hall of Fame? Still active Through his first eight full seasons, Kimbrel looked like a no-doubt Hall of Famer, with a 1.91 ERA, 333 saves and seven All-Star selections. His vagabond journey since then -- nine different teams since 2019 -- and inconsistent results make us forget how unhittable he once was. While he was the closer for the 2018 Red Sox, he was shaky in the postseason and didn't close out the World Series. He then had a couple memorable blown saves for the Phillies in the 2023 National League Championship Series. His highest ranks are in SO/9 (second) and save percentage (tied for fourth,) and his lowest are in innings pitched (10th) and WAR (11th). 6. Joe Nathan (61 points) One sentence: He had a dominant stretch with the Twins from 2004 to 2009, averaging 41 saves with a 1.87 ERA, and later returned from an injury to have a couple more big seasons with the Rangers. Saves: 377 (11th) Hall of Fame? No Nathan ranks well via this methodology, finishing tied for first in best save percentage and first in win-loss percentage with a 64-34 record. He fell off the Hall of Fame ballot after one year, however, perhaps as voters remembered his awful results in the playoffs: He ranks 12th in postseason WPA with a career ERA of 8.10, while going 0-2 and blowing two of his three save chances. 5. Billy Wagner (60 points) One sentence: The 5-foot-10 southpaw with a blazing fastball was one of the first relievers to routinely throw 100 mph, posting a 2.31 ERA with impressive strikeout totals. Saves: 422 (eighth) Hall of Fame? Yes Most remembered for his time with the Astros, Wagner also served as the closer for the Phillies, Mets and Braves -- and was still going strong when he retired, with a 1.43 ERA and 37 saves in his final year with Atlanta. He ranks consistently high across the board, including second in ERA+ and fourth in SO/9 and WAR. The big blemish: He also struggled in the postseason with a 10.03 ERA, allowing 21 hits in 11⅔ innings in 14 appearances. Nonetheless, in his final appearance on the BBWAA ballot last year, he finally made the Hall of Fame. 4. Trevor Hoffman (57 points) One sentence: The former minor league shortstop developed one of the best changeups in the game's history and has nine 40-save seasons, tied for the most. Saves: 601 (second) Hall of Fame? Yes Hoffman's consistency was remarkable: Other than 2003, when he missed most of the season because of an injury, he recorded 30-plus saves every year from 1996 to 2009, finishing with an ERA over 3.00 in only three of those seasons. He did benefit from a pitcher-friendly park in San Diego, but his longevity helped him rank second not only in saves but in WPA, while finishing tied for first in save percentage and third in WAR. 3. Aroldis Chapman (51 points) One sentence: Simply put, Chapman has been the hardest pitcher to hit in major league history, ranking first in highest strikeout rate and lowest batting average allowed among pitchers with at least 600 innings. Saves: 381 (10th) Hall of Fame? Still active Maybe this system overrates Chapman, but he ranks first in SO/9 and lowest OPS and fourth in ERA+, save percentage and win-loss percentage. He's lower than seventh in only innings pitched (ninth) and saves (10th) -- and he'll pass Eckersley on the saves list later this season, and could pass Wagner and Franco next season. Is it adding up to a Hall of Fame career? He has never had a 40-save season and certainly has been used carefully throughout his career, reaching 70 innings one time and 60 innings in just five other seasons. Josh Hader might eventually pass him on the strikeout rate and batting average tallies as well. Chapman did win two rings with the Cubs in 2016 and the Rangers in 2023, although he nearly blew Game 7 for the Cubs and was a setup guy for the Rangers. Still, his Hall of Fame chances are looking more likely given his recent performance. 2. Kenley Jansen (41 points) One sentence: Known for his cut fastball, Jansen quietly climbed into third place on the all-time saves list earlier this season and has a 2.60 career ERA. Saves: 483 (third) Hall of Fame? Still active This one is a little surprising, perhaps because Jansen hasn't really been an elite, best-in-the-game closer since 2017. In his first eight seasons with the Dodgers, he had a 2.08 ERA and averaged 14 strikeouts per nine. Since then, he has been good enough to remain a closer with various teams, but his ERA is 3.18 and he's averaging 10.8 K's per nine. He came up the same season as Chapman but has pitched 100 more innings, so those extra five to 10 innings per year have additional value. While he had a couple of memorable blown saves for the Dodgers, he does own a postseason ERA of 2.20. His lowest ranking is WAR (seventh) while he ranks third in six categories, including SO/9, WPA and lowest OPS allowed. Quite a career for the former minor league catcher. 1. Mariano Rivera (23 points) One sentence: The GOAT. Saves: 652 (first) Hall of Fame? Yes There's zero surprise that Rivera comes in first -- and with an exclamation point. The best way to sum up his amazing career: He has more postseason WPA than the other 11 relievers combined -- and it's not even close. He ranks first or second in every category except SO/9, where he came in 11th. If we added broken bats to strikeouts, he might have been first in that category as well.