Hasegawa retires

[ichiro262]

The guy was 37 and definitely on the way down. Do you guys think this was a good move?

[Mariner Fan]

He must have lost some of his stuff since he virtually disappeared last year. He was a very nice piece of the bullpen back in 2003 but I guess time has taken it’s toll on Shiggy.
I was thinking how great it would have been for Shiggy to teach English to Kenji Johjima. He wrote at least one book on the subject. I think he made the right move and wish him the best.

[Edgartohof]

I liked him, and think he had a couple decent years left, and would have been a big part of our pen this year. But I can't say I'm too surprised (Sasaki left here after 4 years at the age of 35. Shiggy has been in the US longer (9 years), and is 37. Even if he didn't retire now, he probably wouldn't have been here long anyways. It takes a lot to come over here, away from everyone you know, and play in a different country, I can totally understand his wanting to go back home. So here's hoping the best for him.



Also, has anyone heard whether he might play back in Japan at all, or did he retire altogether?

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

While he was playing he was a solid set-up man. Probably in the Top 10 of the last 5 years.

[mojorisin71]

I remember Hasegawa from his days in Anaheim (he had a house in Camarillo, California, which down the road from where I spend most of my days), and he was one heck of a set-up man. Like ABF said, one of the top ten in the last five years.

[ichiro262]

Also, has anyone heard whether he might play back in Japan at all, or did he retire altogether?

The article I read just said that he was retiring, so i guess that means he's going to stop altogether.

[KillaK]

Shiggy was a great pitcher, never complained about being a setup guy (even when he wasn't the number one setup pitcher on the M's) and was a big part of those great teams of the early-2000s. One could make the arguement that his 2003 season may be the greatest ever by an M's reliever, closer or not, since I began to follow them in '93 (although I'd have to say Rhodes in '01, Kazu in '01 and '02, and Charlton was huge in 2nd half of '95). But I don't know about Shiggy being a top-10 of past 5 years in MLB- there are just too many guys who were more CONSISTANT.

However, this is a very interesting topic- who were/are the top setup/middle relievers of the past 5 years?(or 10 years, if you'd prefer, as non-closer relievers usually have pretty long careers) And when does that list "Get Shiggy wit it"?

My VERY ROUGH Top 10 since 2000 (a very difficult list to compile- mostly off the top of my head with statistical help from baseball-reference.com leaders page and espn.com pitching statistics page).
IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
TOP 10
Jeff Nelson (Mariners)
Tom Gordon (quietly has put together near-hall-of-fame career)
Authur Rhodes (M's)
Damaso Marte
Mike Timlin (former M)
Paul Quantrill (led league in games 4x)
Steve Kline
Brendan Donnelly (was huge for Halos in '02 WS title)
Ray King
Juan Rincon (*asterisk, U know why... still, a great pitcher)

OTHER MERITABLE PLAYERS(once again, in no particual order):
SHIGGY (M's)
Farnsworth (throw out 2000 and '02)
Tavarez (even tho he's legally insane)
Todd Jones (probably a better setup than closer
Solomon torres (former M has been lights-out for Pittsburgh since getting back to the bigs in '02)
Jim Mecir (another former M)
Octavio Dotel (was much better as a setup man instead of closer)
LaTroy Hawkins (Should have had more of a chance to be a closer)
Felix Rodriguez
Mike Remlinger (was money for some very good Braves/Cubs teams)
MIKE JACKSON (i know i know he hasn't done much in 21st century... but he was one bad dude. another former M)
J.C. Romero
Tim Worrell (could easily be in top 10)
Mike Stanton (was better in '90s)
Steve Karsay (sucked last year, but now that I look at his stats, he should be in the top 10 instead of Ray King. but i won't change it cuz king ruled.)
Rich Garces (was stellar for the Sox of the late 90s-early 2000s)

This was tough because there aren't really any definite statistical measuring sticks for setup/middle relievers. I mostly looked at appearances, holds, ERA, H/BB per IP, and to a certain extent strikeouts (need those when RISP less than 2 outs). I couldn't find stats for Inherited Runners/scored (probably the most obvious stat), and double plays induced. Also took into some context the teams and bullpens they pitched for. I'd love to see someone do a real comprehensive study on this- these guys don't get nearly enough credit.

Finally, the M's seem pretty well represented- interesting, considering that their 'pen was a joke in the last few years of the Kingdome. Also, most of these guys pitched for good teams, perhaps an indicator that bullpens, particualry non-closers, are more important than we think.

Anyways, how would your lists look? Who did I forget (because setup/middle relievers seem to be forgotten easily)? Very interested to hear back on this topic. Have a nice week!

[Hammerin Hank]

LaTroy Hawkins (Should have had more of a chance to be a closer)

He got that chance with two different teams and failed both times. Did you have to watch him go out there after every lead in the 9th inning and watch him blow it or nearly so half of the time? It was quite painful.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

KillaK you must have read my mind! I was just thinking about doing a poll on the Top 10 setup men of the past 5 years. This would be more approriate for another forum. Would you like for me to move it?

[KillaK]

for sure. make sure you post a link 2 it. put it in an active forum (or maybe an espn forum)