In 1991, Lee Smith put together one of the best seasons ever for a reliever, nailing down 47 games for the Cardinals, finishing out 61 contests in all.
It wasn’t just the number of saves that made the campaign so impressive. Rather, it was the peripherals that were, and sometimes still are, overlooked. That season, Smith, who ranks third on the all-time saves list, posted an unthinkable 5.15 strikeout-to-walk ratio, finishing second in the National League Cy Young voting.
Although he never took home baseball’s coveted pitching honors, Smith finished in the top five in voting on three separate occasions during his storied 18-year big league career.