My only concern in this discussion was determine whether Barnes was average, above or below. I’m fine with 3, 5, 6, 7 or however many categories to split them into. No doubt, he has been above average among RPers of his time.
When you get into all time, it gets trickier. Do you go by quantity, quality, both.
How short of quantity is allowed for a great stretch.
Take Uehara: his numbers for a 3, 4 or 5 year stretch were better than Mo’s, but I wouldn’t place him above Mo, overall. If you asked me who was the best for any 4-5 consecutive years, I might say Komi.
No way would Barnes even be in the discussion for top 50 of all time, but he’s in any above average category that brings the sample size down to his size.
Out of 354 relief pitchers with 350+ IP since 1991, Barnes places 157 in fWAR, but it might be interesting to see where he places in WAR per 60 IP. He places 84th in FIP.