The 1974 California Angels had a total of 17 saves, thanks to innings eaters like Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana on the team. Who led the club in saves that year? A guy who didn't join the club until September and had 3 saves... in 4 appearances. Check out our latest Weird Stats column from Al Doyle.
by Al Doyle No one would expect a losing team such as the 1974 California Angels (68-94-1) to pile up saves, but the Halos took it to an extreme. The bullpen finished with 12 saves. That number isn't solely for the closer, but includes the 17 pitchers who made at least one relief appearance. There is an obvious contributing factor for this eye-popping outlier: Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan went 22-16 with a 2.89 ERA and 26 complete games. He led the majors in innings pitched (332.2), and his other 1974 MLB-best stats are light years ahead of the competition.
