{"id":645703,"date":"2026-05-02T22:03:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T22:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/645703\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T22:03:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T22:03:37","slug":"is-padres-closer-mason-miller-the-most-unhittable-pitcher-who-ever-lived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/645703\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Padres closer Mason Miller the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Has it hit you yet what we\u2019re watching? Has it sunk in what is happening when Mason Miller takes the mound to finish off another thank-you-and-drive-home-safely baseball game in San Diego?<\/p>\n

We are watching the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived. Period.<\/p>\n

There. I said it. And now I\u2019m here to prove it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve looked at everyone who ever had a case to hold that title: Nolan Ryan \u2026 Aroldis Chapman \u2026 Josh Hader \u2026 Edwin D\u00edaz \u2026 Craig Kimbrel \u2026 Mariano Rivera \u2026 Eric Gagne \u2026 Pedro Mart\u00ednez \u2026 Randy Johnson \u2026 Jacob deGrom \u2026 Sandy Koufax \u2026 Walter Johnson \u2026 and on and on.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve talked to two of the greatest closers of modern times, Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve dug deep into every number that could shape this argument.<\/p>\n

It has all pointed me right back to the same place: The Padres\u2019 closer is the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived. Fortunately, I had no trouble finding two Hall of Fame closers who were right there with me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s even an opinion,\u201d said Wagner, a man who owns a plaque in Cooperstown because he should have a place in this debate. \u201cI think until somebody says, \u2018I can prove you wrong,\u2019 the stats say you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the numbers are lying,\u201d said Hoffman, who must have been pretty good since MLB\u2019s best National League reliever trophy (the Trevor Hoffman Award) is named after him. \u201cWhat was that guy\u2019s name, Sidd Finch \u2014 the fictitious reliever (that Sports Illustrated once made up<\/a>) who threw, like, 110 (mph)? That was fiction, but Mason\u2019s real. And outside of Sidd Finch, I think Mason might be the most unhittable pitcher ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

So there you go. Outside of a not-even-real dude who Sports Illustrated once slapped on its magazine cover as an April Fools joke in 1985, this is not even a contest. Really.<\/p>\n

First off, it is great to have two Hall of Famers on your side when you\u2019re making pronouncements like this. Otherwise, you people might be tempted to dash off a bunch of nasty remarks in the comments section. Glad we headed that off (ha ha).<\/p>\n

But second, I honestly am prepared to prove this theory. It isn\u2019t even that hard. Just check out these numbers for yourself.<\/p>\n

I started with Miller\u2019s appearance last Aug. 6, the day after his final run allowed last year \u2014 and kept counting until he finally gave up another run four days ago. Now get a whiff of Miller\u2019s Sidd Finch-ian numbers in between. Unlike Sports Illustrated, I didn\u2019t make any of these up:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Opposing hitters went 7-for-127 (.055), with 87 strikeouts<\/p>\n

\u2022 Let\u2019s repeat that: 87 strikeouts \u2026 and \u2026 7 hits<\/p>\n

\u2022 He faced 141 hitters. Not one of them scored.<\/p>\n

\u2022 39 straight games with zero extra-base hits allowed<\/p>\n

\u2022 39 straight games without ever allowing more than one hit<\/p>\n

\u201cRidiculous,\u201d Hoffman said, literally laughing out loud when I read him those numbers. \u201cI\u2019d be hard-pressed to see someone do that with a Wiffle Ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t be more right. Now here\u2019s a more itemized breakdown, just so you can get a better look at Miller\u2019s relentless unhittability across more than four months of baseball:<\/p>\n

PERIODGAMESIPKABH<\/p>\n

2026 season*<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

13 1\/3<\/p>\n

27<\/p>\n

42<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

2025 postseason<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

2 2\/3<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

WBC<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

4 1\/3<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

Sept. 2025<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

12 1\/3<\/p>\n

26<\/p>\n

37<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Aug. 2025**<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

16<\/p>\n

28<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

TOTALS<\/p>\n

39<\/p>\n

41 2\/3<\/p>\n

87<\/p>\n

127<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

(*through April 25)
(**starting Aug. 6)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just dominance,\u201d said Hoffman, who sees it all up close in his work with the Padres as a senior advisor for baseball operations. \u201cPeople will say: It\u2019s not that long. Well, in a reliever\u2019s life, that\u2019s a really long time \u2014 and that\u2019s a lot of dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how dominant \u2014 wait, make that how historically dominant \u2014 was it? It was fun just trying to answer that question.<\/p>\n

77 strikeouts\/7 hits\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Mason Miller allowed no extra-base hits to the 127 batters he faced during his 35 scoreless appearances in a row. (Orlando Ramirez \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

If you were paying attention earlier, you know we dropped a slightly different ratio \u2014 87 strikeouts to seven hits. Don\u2019t worry. We weren\u2019t messing with you.<\/p>\n

It just made sense, in the name of better research, to compare apples with apples. So we removed Miller\u2019s World Baseball Classic numbers. That left us with 77 to seven \u2014 his ratio for the regular season plus postseason in that same span.<\/p>\n

Baseball Reference\u2019s Kenny Jackelen then took those numbers and stacked them up against all the scoreless appearance streaks in history that spanned the regular season and postseason \u2014 and included at least 120 batters faced.<\/p>\n

It turned into a cool list with some unexpected names. But in the end, was Miller still the most unhittable bullpen monster of them all?<\/p>\n

Yes.<\/p>\n

Between the regular season and postseason, Miller just ripped off 35 scoreless appearances in a row. Among pitchers who faced at least 120 hitters while putting up all those zeroes, only two streaks have ever been longer.<\/p>\n

PITCHERYEAR(S)GBFHKXBH<\/p>\n

Craig Kimbrel<\/p>\n

2011<\/p>\n

38<\/p>\n

137<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

67<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

Mariano Rivera<\/p>\n

1999*<\/p>\n

36<\/p>\n

152<\/p>\n

23<\/p>\n

37<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Mason Miller<\/p>\n

2025-26*<\/p>\n

35<\/p>\n

127<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

77<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

(*includes postseason)
(Source: Kenny Jackelen, Baseball Reference)<\/p>\n

On one hand, Kimbrel and Rivera had longer scoreless streaks and faced more hitters during their streaks. On the other hand, check out the hits and strikeout columns.<\/p>\n

PITCHEROPP AVGK%<\/p>\n

Miller<\/p>\n

.063<\/p>\n

60.6%<\/p>\n

Kimbrel<\/p>\n

.112<\/p>\n

48.9%<\/p>\n

Rivera<\/p>\n

.159<\/p>\n

24.3%<\/p>\n

So if the question on the table was Who\u2019s the most unhittable? I don\u2019t know how there\u2019s an argument for anyone besides Miller. And that\u2019s with all due respect to the great Mariano and the 2011 monster version of Kimbrel.<\/p>\n

The Zero\/Uno Club <\/p>\n

All right, let\u2019s try this another way. Miller just ripped through 35 consecutive trips to the mound without allowing any extra-base hits or more than one hit in any outing. That seemed like a lot of trips.<\/p>\n

Spoiler alert: It\u2019s definitely a lot.<\/p>\n

So Jackelen also dug up the longest streaks in history by pitchers allowing no extra-base hits and no more than one hit. Not surprisingly, nearly the entire list is made up of situational left-handers who became LOOGY legends before the three-batter-minimum rule was adopted in 2020.<\/p>\n

There was one exception. Guess who?<\/p>\n

Here are the five longest streaks on that leaderboard:<\/p>\n

PITCHERYEAR(S)GBFHK<\/p>\n

Randy Choate*<\/p>\n

2013-14<\/p>\n

51<\/p>\n

106<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

24<\/p>\n

Mason Miller<\/p>\n

2025-26<\/p>\n

35<\/p>\n

127<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

77<\/p>\n

Sean Marshall*<\/p>\n

2012-13<\/p>\n

32<\/p>\n

87<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

25<\/p>\n

George Sherrill*<\/p>\n

2006<\/p>\n

32<\/p>\n

77<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

Mike Myers*<\/p>\n

2004<\/p>\n

31<\/p>\n

65<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

(*left-handed)
(Source: Kenny Jackelen, Baseball Reference)<\/p>\n

Nobody, except possibly Jerry Blevins, loves (and misses) those LOOGY legends<\/a> more than I do. But none of their streaks of zero heroism remotely compares with the untouchability of Miller\u2019s streak. Heck, the four left-handers on the above list barely had more strikeouts combined (83) than Miller had by himself.<\/p>\n

So once again, Miller stands as the king of unhittability.<\/p>\n

Miller vs. Chapman <\/p>\n

For my next project, I tried stacking up Miller\u2019s peak against the best of the other bullpen dominators.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve already seen Kimbrel. So let\u2019s line up Miller versus what I think was the most overpowering 30-game stretch of Aroldis Chapman\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

PITCHERYEAR(S)GBFHKXBH<\/p>\n

Miller<\/p>\n

2025-26<\/p>\n

35<\/p>\n

127<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

77<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

Chapman<\/p>\n

2014<\/p>\n

30<\/p>\n

108<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

55<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Pretty close! And of course it is, because young Aroldis Chapman wasn\u2019t just a beast. He was King Kong. But was he really more unhittable than Mason Miller? Let\u2019s see<\/p>\n

PITCHEROPP AVGK%<\/p>\n

Miller<\/p>\n

.063<\/p>\n

60.6%<\/p>\n

Chapman<\/p>\n

.090<\/p>\n

50.9%<\/p>\n

I think we have our answer. Sorry! He\u2019s out.<\/p>\n

Miller vs. Hader <\/p>\n

Up next, it\u2019s Josh Hader. And Peak Hader was also quite a thing to behold. But let\u2019s see how his best stretch compares with Miller\u2019s.<\/p>\n

PITCHERYEAR(S)GBFHK XBH<\/p>\n

Miller<\/p>\n

2025-26<\/p>\n

35<\/p>\n

127<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

77<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

Hader<\/p>\n

2019<\/p>\n

30<\/p>\n

144<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

77<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, Hader\u2019s strikeout rate was as close as any other closer got to Miller (53.5 percent for Hader, 60.6 percent for Miller). But check that XBH column. Nearly every time Hader gave up a hit, it was a gapper or a homer. So does that put Miller\u2019s zero extra-base hits in better perspective? Correct answer: Yes!<\/p>\n

Miller vs. D\u00edaz<\/p>\n

All right, let\u2019s invite Edwin D\u00edaz to this party. He provided some mind-blowing stretches of greatness to choose from. But I\u2019m going with this 30-appearance stretch for D\u00edaz, with the 2022 Mets, as his best.<\/p>\n

PITCHERYEAR(S)GBFHKXBH<\/p>\n

Miller<\/p>\n

2025-26<\/p>\n

35<\/p>\n

127<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

77<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz<\/p>\n

2022<\/p>\n

30<\/p>\n

112<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

63<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Spectacular? Absolutely. Miller-esque? I\u2019m not seeing it.<\/p>\n

So that takes care of all the closest contenders. But I looked at just about everybody. So I could keep rolling these out if you\u2019d like. Pick any great reliever you\u2019ve ever watched. I\u2019ll never dispute their greatness. But they\u2019ve never done this. Trust me. So what about \u2026<\/p>\n

Miller vs. Hoffman and Wagner<\/p>\n

All right, let\u2019s get to the Hall of Famers. We\u2019ve already done the Miller-versus-Mariano portion of these festivities. So what about the two Cooperstown relievers who have spent time in this column telling me how much better Miller is than they were.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with Hoffman. In 2007, he ran off a 32-appearance stretch that was vintage Trevor Hoffman: One earned run \u2026 only 14 hits to 112 hitters \u2026 tons of soft contact \u2026 just six extra-base hits. But there was also this:<\/p>\n

His strikeout total over that whole stretch: only 19 \u2014 for a K rate of 17.0 percent \u2026 just slightly below Miller\u2019s 60.6 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the only thing we could compare,\u201d Hoffman said, laughing, \u201cis that we both pitched at the back end of ball games, and we wore the San Diego Padres\u2019 jersey. There\u2019s really nothing else I can look back on my career and compare to what he\u2019s doing and where he\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it OK if I toss in here that Hoffman saved 601 games in the big leagues \u2014 so if Miller saves another 500, he\u2019d still be 41 away from catching him! Just a reminder that greatness and modesty can go hand in hand. But once he\u2019d stopped waving his white flag, Hoffman did say: \u201cI\u2019m glad you talked to Billy, because Billy had that kind of punchout-type stuff where he could relate to this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Say, I\u2019m glad he mentioned that. When Wagner retired, he ranked No. 1 among all left-handers in the live-ball era (since 1920) in opponent average (.187), WHIP (0.998) and strikeout rate (11.92 per nine innings). That seems good. But it wasn\u2019t good enough to stop us from having this surreal exchange about Miller.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow would you compare yourself with him? I asked Wagner.<\/p>\n

He replied: \u201cI don\u2019t think there is a comparison, honestly, because I think what he\u2019s doing has just not been done. Not to this rate of just total domination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, Wagner didn\u2019t lack for stretches of domination, either. In fact, he had so many of those stretches, it was hard to pick one. I went with this 32-appearance stretch early in the 1998 season:<\/p>\n

No team would look at 52 strikeouts\/20 hits\/3 XBH, over a half-season of closing brilliance, and say: What\u2019s the big whoop about that? But when Wagner stacked up that stretch \u2014 or similar runs of back-end dominance in 1999, 2002 and 2004 \u2014 against the Mason Miller Show, even he kept concluding he must not have been so great after all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how to put this into perspective,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cBut if you\u2019re sitting there and trying to evaluate me and Trevor and Mariano and put us all in that box \u2026 I just think he\u2019s set himself apart by what his numbers are telling everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

All right, that\u2019s what he\u2019s thinking. But I bet I know what you\u2019re thinking. So \u2026<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that \u2026\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Mariano Rivera, the greatest of all time. (Nick Laham \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The test of time hasn\u2019t been part of this discussion \u2014 yet. So let\u2019s go there. Wagner was a dominator for 16 seasons. Hoffman saved 40 games or more nine times in 18 consistently excellent seasons. And then there\u2019s the greatest closer who ever threw a baseball.<\/p>\n

Mariano was The Best Ever for 19 special seasons \u2014 and even more importantly, he was The Best October Closer Ever in 16 of them. So let\u2019s see Mason Miller try to live up to that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to do it for a long time, but I also think you have to do it in the postseason, like what Mo did,\u201d Hoffman said of Rivera. \u201cMo\u2019s dominance in the postseason \u2014 along with his longevity and his success in the regular season, and doing it in October under the brightest lights \u2014 I think that\u2019s where you\u2019ve kind of got to be careful on some of these comparisons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to have longevity. It\u2019s great to be consistent. And it\u2019s great to stay in the spotlight for a long time. But then to be able to do it in the postseason and be around a team that\u2019s built for that and have success, that\u2019s when you start to take on a different status.\u201d<\/p>\n

Couldn\u2019t agree more. So we\u2019re not here to pretend that the current closer for the Padres is anywhere near that status. He\u2019s a guy who has faced exactly nine hitters in October in his life. So he has another 500 to go before we start comparing him to Mariano. On the other hand \u2026<\/p>\n

You know those nine hitters who Miller has faced in the postseason? He struck out eight of them.<\/p>\n

So we don\u2019t know yet where Mason Miller is going. But if it looks anything like this, whew. We might all be in for a show unlike anything we\u2019ve ever witnessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he going to pull off 10 seasons where he\u2019s able to do these kinds of numbers?\u201d Wagner wondered. \u201cOnly time will tell. But he\u2019s \u2014 what, three years in? \u2014 and he\u2019s as dominating a pitcher as there ever has been in the whole history of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re talking about some of the greatest (relief pitchers) of all time, sitting here watching these games,\u201d Wagner said, with an awestruck chuckle. \u201cAnd everybody\u2019s going: \u2018Man, this is just unbelievable.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Has it hit you yet what we\u2019re watching? Has it sunk in what is happening when Mason Miller…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,1189,85],"class_list":["post-645703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}