Are closers made or born?

The retirement of Eric Gagne got me to thinking about the genesis of elite closers. Over the twenty years of following baseball I have seen the local teams employ a number of top flight closers. Dave Righetti, John Wetteland, and Mariano Rivera have closed for the Yankees, while the Mets had a number of different firemen, most notably Brooklyn born John Franco. With bullpens so important it made me wonder how one develops the criteria for a closer.

Can a closer be developed? The greatest closer in history still pitches in the Bronx, but no one knew who he was when called up in July of 1995. As a matter of fact, the two best closers in the American League last year, Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera, began their career in the starting rotation. As a matter of fact, the Yankees have a number of former failed starters turned ace closers in Goose Gossage, Dave Righetti, and Wetteland.

Most teams seem to just stumble into a closer by luck. Often it’s a starting pitcher that failed in their rotation stint. You need someone who typically throws hard, misses bats, and is durable enough to pitch daily. A perfect example is Yankees setup man Joba Chamberlain, who could be the poster child of failed starter versus stud reliever.

The other way to develop a closer is draft one out of college. Oakland did this when they took Huston Street in the 2004 draft and Montreal did the same in 2003 when they drafted Cal State Fullerton closer Chad Cordero.

Although advanced metrics doesn’t value a top closer more than a couple of wins above the pedestrian one, it’s virtually impossible to deny that not every pitcher can close out a ballgame. In 2008 the Mets tried a situational “bullpen by committee” approach with notoriously solid relievers like Pedro Feliciano and Aaron Heilman. The result was a disaster as none of their setup men could handle the responsibility of the ninth. I think Steve Phillips had the best quote over at AOL’s Fanhouse:

“Stuff is clearly important to having success in the role of closer, but there are pitching staffs full of guys with great stuff that can’t pitch in the ninth inning. Every out is not created equally. The last out of the game is tougher to get than any other and the pressure is just different. Character and makeup are essential for a closer’s success. The best closers have no fear of failure. They throw their pitches and trust their stuff, surrendering to the outcome.”

Another point Phillips made, which is often overlooked, is how a bad bullpen can become contagious. I mentioned the 2008 Mets, who saw everyone slump at one time after Billy Wagner went down for the season. In early 2009, the Yankees bullpen was a mess and had to be completely revamped. Yes, there were talent gaps in both those situations, but it always seems that a streak of bad performances out of the bullpen leads to bigger issues. How many times does a blown save change a season or produce a winning streak? The 2004 ALCS is a perfect example of that exact scenario.

So it brings me back to my question: How do you develop a closer? How do you find out who has the “stomach” for those last three outs? With the cost of starting pitching is it wise to pull the plug early on “Joba Chamberlain types” just because they can bring gas late in games? What happens if said pitcher doesn’t have the makeup for the ninth? The flip side is the inherent risk on wasting a high draft pick on a college closer (see the Mets and Eddie Kunz), because if you are wrong than you could potentially pass up a future impact player to fill a situational need.

Personally, I agree with Phillips and don’t think everyone, regardless of stuff, can close out ballgames. I am dying to see Joba Chamberlain get a few save opportunities to see how he translates into the ninth inning. Knowing the flaws in his makeup I believe we may see some troubled waters, at least in the early going. With that said, Jenrry Mejia hasn’t proved he is so valuable in the bullpen where you can justify the Mets pulling the plug on his starting career.

Developing starting pitching is hard enough, but a closer seems to be even harder to come by. That is why when you find one, via a trade, draft, or internally it’s just as important as a solid middle of the rotation starting pitcher. Maybe it’s time to find out early who has that “mentality” to pitch the game’s final three outs and develop him as such. Precious jobs are on the line and a GM can’t take a risk on statistical ideology that minimizes the value of closers. Perhaps it’s time for a forward thinking organization to implement their own development program and philosophy on who takes the ball in the ninth. Maybe it exists and we don’t know about it. Is this even a debate with how the modern game is played? I don’t think so.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

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Tags: Aaron Heilman, AOL Fanhouse, Chad Cordero, Closers, Dave Righetti, Eddie Kunz, Goose Gossage, Huston Street, Jenrry Mejia, Joba Chamberlain, John Franco, John Wetteland, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Pedro Feliciano, Steve Phillips