Should starting pitchers also be credited with a blown save if they give up the lead in, say, the 7th inning or later?

Wow, everyone in the top ten, except for Mickey Lolich, is in the Hall. Free Mickey Lolich! :)

Hang on. How did you decide which wins were saves?
If a visiting team scores more than three in the top of the first, then their pitcher starts with a lead too big to get the save, I get that part. But if his team gets a big lead at any other point in the game, that doesn't spoil the save.

A home team pitcher couldn't get the save in a CG, since he starts with the game without any lead. He'd have to get the win. Same with a visiting pitcher whose team doesn't score in the first.

Finally, if a pitcher ever loses the lead at any time, he can't get a save. (A closer who gives up a tying run but whose team then wins without another pitcher, will get a W, not a S.)

This is just stupid. It seems to be a crazy scheme concocted by a Jack Morris fanboy to justify his entrance into the HoF. His numbers just don't smack of HoF to me.

Doesn't a relief pitcher get credit for a save if he pitches at least three innings, no matter what the margin of victory? If so, every complete-game win would qualify as a save.

This is a terrible idea.

When do pitchers and catchers report?

But can't you also get a save for pitching the last 3 innings of a game? So wouldn't that mean there would NOT have to be a 3 run lead?

I just used the final score to determine a save. This is not meant to be scientific, just a bit of fun off Tango's post.

I'm with David here. How come we can't have fun?

I'm certainly not championing this in the least. But if Morris wants to spout off his mouth, let's at least give him the right numbers.

I'd be willing to bet that Walter Johnson would be at the top of this list if we had all the data, possibly by more than 100. He pitched for his entire prime:

--in the dead ball era;

--in a pitcher's park;

--for a very bad team.

Cy Young's first decade was in the offense-heavy 1890's--I'd bet that he had a lot less close games one way or another.

I think the problems with Morris' proposal are less to do with the proposal than with the save stat as it now exists.

Just on a theoretical level, why shouldn't a starting pitcher be eligible for a save? I suppose it depends on whether you think the closer is "saving" the win for the team's stats, or the win for the starter's stats.

OK, we'll give him the save, but we'll take away his win. You can't get both - take the win or take the save.

I disagree - I believe that a pitcher should be able to save his own win. This is true whether it is the starter going into the ninth inning or a reliever who is in line for a win.

If one wants to have a category relief saves (as opposed to all saves) that is fine with me. But I see no reason to give credit to a pitcher who pitches the ninth to save a victory based on whether or not he started the game.