By one measurement, Richard Bleier is the best statistical pitcher to ever toe the major league rubber. He knows that by the relatively arbitrary measurement of pitchers with 99 big league innings or more, his 238 ERA+ entering Friday was the best.
"I guess it's nice, but I don't really know what it is," Bleier said.
He knows it to be true, but almost a decade in the minor leagues means that even as he reached 100 major league innings Friday, there's no level of success that will be enough for him to comfortably reflect on what he’s accomplished.