Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase is already the most impactful reliever in modern franchise history.
He took possession of the franchise record in career saves, and successfully closed out 47 games in 2024 to become the Guardian with the most saves in a single season.
Oh, and he is 26 years old and has one of the most team-friendly contracts in MLB.
Clase is more than just saves, though.
We have seen lots of mediocre pitchers rack up saves in bunches, but this is clearly not the case.
In fact, if we talk strictly about run-prevention skills, there is no one like Clase in the league.
Not only that: there hasn’t been another pitcher like him in the last 100 years of baseball.
It’s shocking and hard to believe, but the numbers, as always, back up that claim.
“LOWEST CAREER MLB ERA (last 100 years, 250+ innings): Emmanuel Clase, 1.67, Mariano Rivera, 2.21, Billy Wagner, 2.31, Takashi Saito, 2.34, Mike Adams, 2.41, Jonathan Papelbon, 2.44, Joe Berry, 2.45, Bryan Harvey, 2.49, Clayton Kershaw, 2.50, Jacob deGrom, 2.52, Hoyt Wilhelm, 2.52,” Codify Baseball posted on X.
LOWEST CAREER MLB ERA
(last 100 years, 250+ innings):Emmanuel Clase, 1.67 😮
Mariano Rivera, 2.21
Billy Wagner, 2.31
Takashi Saito, 2.34
Mike Adams, 2.41
Jonathan Papelbon, 2.44
Joe Berry, 2.45
Bryan Harvey, 2.49
Clayton Kershaw, 2.50
Jacob deGrom, 2.52
Hoyt Wilhelm, 2.52 pic.twitter.com/PSEZ4SmrYy— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 3, 2024
Imagine you are Mariano Rivera, the single most celebrated and decorated closer in the history of the game.
Picture in your mind how difficult it is to maintain a 2.21 ERA throughout an entire career.
Well, Clase’s ERA is much, much better than Mo’s.
Of course, we can’t compare the samples yet: Rivera pitched for much longer, but Clase has the potential to get there.
Right now, from an ERA standpoint, there hasn’t been anyone as dominant as him.
Just take a look at that list, and you will see plenty of Hall of Famers and future members of the Hall.
Clase seems to be on that trajectory if the numbers and accomplishments are any indication.
He is a special pitcher.
NEXT: Guardians Insider Highlights Shocking AL Central Fact
