Round One (Players): Mariano Rivera versus Andy Pettitte

[Fishercat]

Mariano Rivera (1995-2005 (active): Should I really have to explain why Mo Rivera, the best postseason RP of all time, is on this list. Well, he has thirty-four post-season saves. In 111 2/3 innings, he has given up 10 earned runs for a .81 ERA. He’s allowed 84 hits and walks (combined) in that time period. He owns four World Series rings and he only has three memorable blemishes on his record (2001 WS, and two in the 2004 ALCS, only one of which was really his fault). Hit cut fastball was, and still is, devastating. He is almost impossible to score off of in the LDS, with a .43 ERA, and it doesn’t get a lot better for hitters from there. Hell, his LDS WHIP is about .50. He has exactly one postseason loss in 72 appearances. He’s a monster.

versus

Andy Pettitte (1995-2003, 2005)- Playoff experience? This guys has it. Since 1995 Andy Pettitte has only missed the playoffs once. You could say that he could thank the Yankees for many of his playoff appearances, but he had a lot to do with getting the team there. And once he got there he took his time to learn the ins and outs to get passed the pressures that come with big game pitching. Of course he had room for failure as a young rookie playing for one of the greatest franchises in sports. One could say that his 5.14, 4.78, and 8.49 ERAs for the first three playoff seasons are not healthy numbers at all. But in those years he still won 2 games and only lost 3. Not too bad for a young stud in the biggest games of his young career. Then from 1998-2000 something clicked. He went 6-1 in 11 appearances posting under 4 ERAs each year (2.84 in 2000). Another solid year in 2001, a horrible playoff experience in 2002, followed by his best in 2003, shares the term of having "playoff experience." Pettitte is neither the best nor worst in WS appearances. But he does have experience there too. Pitching in the WS for 7 different seasons, he has a 3-4 record and a 3.82 ERA. His best came in 2003 where he struck out 14 batters in 15.2 IP. That year he posted a WS ERA of 0.57.

[Fishercat]

Mo = Beast

[redsrbetter]

Mo=Best (well closer ever)