Although there are some other fantastic relief pitchers of this decade including Trevor Hoffman (284 saves), Billy Wagner (251 saves), and Eric Gagne (177 saves), the easy choice for top relief pitcher of the decade is the New York Yankees Mariano Rivera.

Rivera leads the decade in both Saves (303) and ERA (2.20) when you add to his totals his incredible consistency and his amazing post season performances he becomes an even easier choice.

While this season has been his worst since his rookie year (19 saves, 3.46 ERA) he still has a good shot at reaching the 30 save level again and possibly bringing his ERA under 3.00, Rivera has never had an ERA above 3.00 since he became a relief pitcher in his second season (1996.)

From 2003 to 2006 Rivera had an ERA under 2.00 each season.

Rivera has been truly incredible in the playoffs. His career playoff stats: 8 Wins 1 Loss, 34 Saves and a 0.80 ERA.

While Rivera has been the best overall relief pitcher this decade, some other pitchers have had better individual seasons. These three seasons stand out from the crowd:

Eric Gagne had 55 saves with a 1.20 ERA in 2003.

Jonathan Papelbon had 35 saves with a 0.92 ERA in 2006.

John Smoltz had 45 saves and a 1.12 ERA in 2003.

Not too far behind, Rivera's best season was 2005 when he had 43 saves and a 1.38 ERA.

Labels: Best By Decade, Mariano Rivera