- Mike Marshall – Twins pitcher form 1978 – 1980 and known as “Iron Mike”
August 28, 2010 – This is obviously a relief pitcher category but still a lot of fun to look at. There are a couple of guys on this list that obviously threw more innings than most of the other pitchers on this list did. Look at what Bill “Soup” Campbell did in 1976, zero starts, a 17-5 record and 167.2 innings in 78 games, that is more than two innings per appearance. Dr. Mike Marshall is the leader in games appeared with 90 and he threw 142.2 innings. 90 games, that means he appeared in 56% of the games the Twins played that year, just amazing. Heck, both of these guys threw more innings than a lot of today’s starters do. There are some names here that maybe I did not expect to see on a list like this.
If you look at it by decade, it breaks down like this, 60’s = 0, 70’s = 2, 80’s = 0, 90’s = 4, and 00 = 5. I think it shows how much more important that relievers are becoming in baseball today.
| Rank | Name | Year | Games | Innings | Starts | Record | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Marshall | 1979 | 90 | 142.2 | 1 | 10-15 | 32 |
| 2 | Eddie Guardado | 1996 | 83 | 73.2 | 0 | 6-5 | 4 |
| 3 | JC Romero | 2002 | 81 | 81 | 0 | 9-2 | 1 |
| 4 | Eddie Guardado | 1998 | 79 | 65.2 | 0 | 3-1 | 0 |
| 4 | Matt Guerrier | 2009 | 79 | 76.1 | 0 | 5-1 | 1 |
| 6 | Bill Campbell | 1976 | 78 | 167.2 | 0 | 17-5 | 20 |
| 7 | Juan Rincon | 2004 | 77 | 82 | 0 | 11-6 | 2 |
| 7 | Mike Trombley | 1998 | 77 | 96.2 | 1 | 6-5 | 1 |
| 9 | Matt Guerrier | 2008 | 76 | 76.1 | 0 | 6-9 | 1 |
| 9 | Bob Wells | 1999 | 76 | 87.1 | 0 | 8-3 | 1 |
| 9 | Bob Wells | 2000 | 76 | 86.1 | 0 | 0-7 | 10 |