Will Koji Uehara Maintain Insane Dominance Under Postseason Pressure?

Will Koji Uehara Maintain Insane Dominance Under Postseason Pressure?

Hi-res-181395785-koji-uehara-of-the-boston-red-sox-throws-in-the-8th_crop_north Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Chances are 38-year-old middle relievers don’t usually become stars overnight, but due to injuries in the Boston Red Sox bullpen, Koji Uehara had the opportunity to become one this summer. After months of dominance, Boston and its new closer head to October as a candidate to reach the World Series.

In the aftermath of Mariano Rivera’s farewell, baseball fans in New York, Boston and around the country can agree on the importance of having a relief pitcher capable of getting the biggest outs in October. In order for the Red Sox to thrive in the postseason, they’ll need the insanely dominant Uehara to maintain his amazing season under the pressure of the brightest lights in the sport.

Before finding a way to dissect if Uehara is ready for the challenge, let’s take a minute to reminisce about the season he just completed.

As the table below shows, the Red Sox closer has posted the third-best single-season SO/BB ratio in the history of relief pitchers with a minimum of 70 innings. When including ERA+ into the equation, it’s reasonable to make a case that the top three seasons in the history of relief pitching belong to Dennis Eckersley, Koji Uehara and Mariano Rivera.

Best Relief Pitching Seasons in MLB History (min. 70 IP)
Rank Player Year SO/BB IP ERA+ Saves
1. Dennis Eckersley 1990 18.25 73.1 603 48
2. Mariano Rivera 2008 12.83 70.2 316 39
3. Koji Uehara 2013 11.00 72.1 369 21
4. Dennis Eckersley 1991 9.67 76.0 130 43
5. Doug Jones 1997 9.11 80.1 232 36
6. Rafael Betancourt 2007 8.99 79.1 307 3
7. Mark Melancon 2013 8.63 70.0 250 16
8. Dennis Eckersley 1992 8.45 80.0 195 51
9. J.J. Putz 2006 8.00 78.1 194 36
10. Trevor Hoffman 200 7.71 72.1 144 43
Baseball-Reference

That, folks, is amazing company…

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