 (c) Houston Astros |
Seasons: 1980-90
762 innings, 2.53 ERA, 199 saves
Key comments:
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THE ASTROS ALL-TIME TEAM - BULLPEN
Reliever #1: Dave Smith
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Reliever #2: Billy Wagner
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Reliever #3: Joe Sambito
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Reliever #4: Octavio Dotel
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Reliever #5: Danny Darwin
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Other mentions : Larry Andersen, Fred Gladding, Ken Forsch, Aurelio Lopez, Hal Woodeshick, Jim Owens
Full comments:
Andy Tomczeszyn:
Michael Nash:
Jeff Burk:
Darrell Pittman:
John Lauck:
1. Billy Wagner--The most intimidating, unhittable reliever the Astros have
ever had, and, if he ever fully commands the slider, potentially one of the
best closers in the history of the game.
2. Dave Smith--Just about as different from Wagner as it’s possible to be,
Smith could throw hard, but his outs were gotten just as often on sinking
breaking stuff. Terrific as a closer for a long, long time. Although he spent
the final two seasons of his thirteen-year career with the Cubs, all of his
wins (53) came as an Astro. He set the Astro record for saves (199) that Wagner
will break someday if his health holds up.
3. Octavio Dotel--Whether you count him as a set-up man or as a closer, Dotel
is already one of the top five relievers in Houston history. When he’s on his
game, with both the fastball and the slider working, his stuff is harder to hit
than Wagner’s.
4. Joe Sambito--Before he blew out his elbow, this lefty was as good as anybody
at closing out a game. In his best years of an eleven-year major league career
(1979-80) he and Frank LaCorte formed a left/right duo out of the bullpen that
was, in its time, as intimidating as the present-day combination of Dotel and
Wagner.
5. Fred Gladding--One of the best pickups (from Detroit) the Astros ever made,
Gladding won 48 games for the Tigers and the Astros over a thirteen-year career
and he saved 76 games for the Astros, third on the team’s all-time list. He was
the mainstay of the Houston bullpen during its first run at a division title in
1969, and for four seasons thereafter. Gladding threw hard stuff and nothin’
but. He didn’t have razor-sharp control and, because of the glasses he wore, he
often created the useful impression that he didn’t know where the next pitch
was going; but, of course, he did. Gladding was utterly fearless on the mound,
and it seemed to me that he thrived in the toughest spots imaginable: bases
loaded, ninth inning, no outs, with the Astros up by a run.
Gene Elston: - Joe Sambito - Dave Smith - Fred Gladding - Octavio Dotel - Jim Owens
Danny Darwin, Octavio Dotel, Joe Sambito, Dave Smith, Billy Wagner. I like hard throwing pitchers.
If I could find a way to leave off Wagner I would, because I'm pretty damn comfortable putting in 4 of these 5 in just about any
situation. Except for one season, Wagner has never really made me feel like the game is over if he comes in, but I think he's closer
because the others in the bullpen are too flexible to be limited to the closers role.
Bob Hulsey:
1) Billy Wagner (L): 90% of the time, it's lights out when Billy takes the mound.
2) Dave Smith (R): All-Time leader in saves. Need I say more?
3) Joe Sambito (L): If only his arm had stayed healthy...
4) Octavio Dotel (R): Hard to pass up Larry Andersen but it's also hard to overlook Dotel's numbers the past two seasons.
5) Ken Forsch (R): Houston's most versatile pitcher - excellent as a starter, closer, set-up man or mop-up pitcher.
1. Billy Wagner. 2. Dave Smith. 3. Joe Sambito - the Coif was also a pretty fair lefty. 4. Danny Darwin.
5. Octavio Dotel
Bill McCurdy:
1. Billy Wagner: Best talent. Wish he were a little smarter and could throw a good change up.
2. Dave Smith: Steady, cool, and an intimidator out of the pen.
3. Joe Sambito: Good mix of speed and breaking stuff. A high confidence reliever.
4. Octavio Dotel: May prove to be best of them all over time. Great stuff & confidence.
5. Larry Andersen: Smart guy who lulled many hitters into ground ball outs.
1. Billy Wagner. 2. Larry Andersen. 3. Joe Sambito. 4. Dave Smith. 5. Octavio Dotel
The top five Astros relievers with at least 300 innings pitched in run-prevention are Billy Wagner
(ERA+ 155), Larry Anderson (ERA+ 141), Joe Sambito (ERA+ 140), Dave Smith (ERA+ 136), and Octavio Dotel
(ERA+ 133).
Greg Lucas:
1. Billy Wagner-- most dominating closer Astros have ever had
2. Dave Smith-- durable and still club leader in career saves into 2003
3. Joe Sambito- I’d probable shift him to set up man on this staff, but his 2.42 career ERA is still team all time best.
4. Danny Darwin- he makes the team as an all purpose long reliever/spot starter...very durable with rubber arm.
5. Hal Woodeshick- from the era when relievers might go long
#1 Dave Smith. Best closer in Astros history. This guy was lights-out when he came to the mound.
#2 Billy Wagner. Would that he had Dave Smith's control. Though with near-100 mph velocity, he's high in strikeouts, and walks.
#3 Aurelio Lopez. A solid middle-reliever that could eat innings.
#4 Larry Andersen. Another solid middle-reliever, and perhaps next to Turk Farrell, the club's best-ever clubhouse cutup.
#5 Danny Darwin. This guy was a fire-eater. A true competitor.
Ray Kerby:
1. Dave Smith - year after year of outstanding service as a closer back when closers often pitched the last two
innings of a game.
2. Joe Sambito - great as a setup man or closer until his elbow blew out. His streak of 40 consecutive scoreless innings is
still a club record.
3. Larry Andersen - kind of forgotten since he never racked up big save totals as a closer, but Andersen's career 2.57 ERA speaks for itself.
4. Ken Forsch - enjoyed success as a starter, closer and setup man. Could pitch anywhere, anytime, and pitch well.
5. Danny Darwin - Like Forsch, "Dr. Death" was good enough to pitch well as a starter or a reliever, winning an ERA title in 1990.
The main criterion for selecting these five bullpen men is similar to
that used for the starting pitchers: these five men are the ones who made us
say, with utter conviction as they walked to the mound, “Game Over.”
