Frank Tanana won 240 career games, yet never seemed to be on the tip of the tongue when you think of all-time great pitchers, or even really good ones. Yet, a closer look at the Michigan native shows a Pitcher whose career was a lot better than you may initially think.

Tanana began his career as a flame-throwing pitcher who, in the mid to late 70’s, had been a Cy Young threat and led the AL in Strikeouts in 1975. His control was solid, too, as his WHIP and ERA were among the top ten during that time frame. Like many pitchers, Frank Tanana’s arm gave out, and at the age of 25, he had to reinvent himself as a junkball pitcher. It wasn’t the quickest transformation, but he would emerge as a dependable starter for Texas and later his hometown Detroit Tigers.

The man who “threw in the 90’s in the 70’s, and threw in the 70’s in the 90’s” may not be a Hall of Fame Pitcher, but he deserved to have gotten a better total than the zero he received in his lone year of eligibility. 240 wins have never seemed so undervalued.

You would think it would be hard to rank a Pitcher who once lost 20 games in a season on a list for Hall of Fame consideration. Actually, it wasn’t that hard at all.

In the year that Jerry Koosman lost twenty games, his stat lines were actually decent. In fact, he led the National League in Strikeouts per Nine Innings that season; however, the run support that he received from his woeful Mets was virtually non-existent. It wasn’t always that way, as he was the lefty half of a powerful combination (with Tom Seaver) that propelled the “Miracle Mets” to the 1969 World Series. Considered to be the best lefty that the Mets ever had, Koosman won 140 games for them, which was impressive considering that New York was not particularly good for half of that tenure. With what was perceived as an up-and-down season, Koosman was resurrected in Minnesota and won 20 games, making a solid charge for the Cy Young, but again, he was saddled with a mediocre team, this time one out of the National spotlight. 

Jerry Koosman was a very good pitcher who always seemed to be in the shadow of (Seaver) or in a small market. Sabremetrically, his career has enjoyed a better look (Career WAR of 58.8), but it probably won’t be enough to get him a serious look on a Veteran’s Committee Ballot. At least Mets fans knew how good Koosman really was.

Virtually every write-up you will find on Rick Reuschel, you will find the word “portly”. He did have a stocky frame and lived up to his “Big Daddy” nickname, but he was as athletic as they came. Frankly, we think there are better adjectives that should be thought of immediately when you think of Rick Reuschel

Reuschel was more than just a good Pitcher. He was a decent fielder (two-time Gold Glove) and was even used as a Pinch Runner on occasion. Of course, it was on the mound where he excelled, as he became one of the stars at Wrigley, winning 135 games there. He would go on to win a respectable 210 games with over 2,000 Strikeouts which showcases a very respectable career, but it is his career WAR that really makes heads turn. Reuschel ranks number 30 all-time for Pitchers with 66.3. He rarely allowed Home Runs, and his off-speed prowess made him a nightmare for batters. 

We are not saying that Reuschel should have been destined for Cooperstown, but his resume deserved better than the 0.4 percent of the vote he received in his lone year of eligibility.

Dave Stieb may have received a World Series Ring with the Toronto Blue Jays when they won their first World Series in 1992, but the pitcher was at the tail end of his career and had little to do with the coveted trophy landing north of the border. He did, however, give Baseball fans the first legitimate reason to look there in the first place.

With only 176 career Wins in the Majors, Dave Stieb initially does not seem like a Hall of Fame candidate. What cannot be underestimated is the difficulty he had in his first five full seasons playing for a terrible Toronto team that constantly trailed the rest of the American League. Despite playing for bad Jays' squads, Stieb had a winning record and became a perennial All-Star. Three times, he would lead the league in WAR for Pitchers and would be dominant in many other sabermetric categories. 

The common knock on Stieb was that his intensity was so high (he would give teammates death glares when they made mistakes) that he would occasionally unravel. Still, we love players who want to win; we know there are far too many athletes who couldn't care less.