Milwaukee Brewers reliever Trevor Hoffman notched the 600th save of his career against the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night, becoming the first closer in Major League Baseball history to reach this milestone.
And although he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his illustrious career comes to an end, Hoffman will always finish a distant second to New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in debates ranking the best relievers of all-time.
At the conclusion of the 2006 season, when he became MLB’s all-time saves leader by surpassing Lee Smith (478), Hoffman’s career tally stood at 482, giving him a 69-save cushion over Rivera (413).
However, over the past three seasons, Rivera has closed 24 more games than Hoffman, to bring his career total to 555, while remaining one of the best relievers in the game at the age of 40.
This season, Rivera, an eleven-time All-Star selection, has posted a 3-2 record with 29 saves and a miniscule 1.07 ERA. On the other hand, the 42-year-old Hoffman is 2-7 with only 9 saves and an uncharacteristic 6.09 ERA.
In fact, Hoffman's struggles prompted Brewers manager Ken Macha to remove him from the closer’s role and demote him to middle relief to work on his mechanics. But with Milwaukee well out of postseason contention, Hoffman was reinstated as the team’s closer to help him reach the 600-save plateau.
So while it’s questionable whether Hoffman will continue to pitch beyond this season, after close to a 30-save drop-off from 2009, Rivera appears to have a couple of solid years left in the gas tank where it can be expected he’ll overtake Hoffman for the all-time lead in saves.
When it comes to their career numbers, Hoffman is 61-75 with 600 saves, a 2.87 ERA and a WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Innings Pitched) of 1.06. Meanwhile, Rivera is 74-54 with 555 saves, a 2.20 ERA and a WHIP of 1.00.
But what truly separates Rivera from Hoffman, and every other reliever in baseball history for that matter, is his stellar postseason record.
In 88 playoff appearances, Rivera, or ‘Mo’ as he’s affectionately called, is 8-1 with 39 saves, a microscopic 0.74 ERA and an astonishing WHIP of 0.77.
During his tenure, the Yankees have won five World Series Championships (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009) and Rivera is widely considered the most integral component in bringing home the last four, making him one of the best clutch performers in the history of professional sports.
On the flip side of the coin, Hoffman is 1-2 with 4 saves, a 3.46 ERA and a WHIP of 1.23 in 12 postseason appearances. Unfortunately, Hoffman has no championships to show for an illustrious 17-year career.
Nevertheless, the facts as presented should in no way diminish what Hoffman, who will go down as one of the greatest closers of all-time, has accomplished; not only in compiling 600 saves but in being the ultimate team player.
According to ESPN.com, instead of sulking or lashing out at management when he was demoted to middle relief, Hoffman quietly tutored his replacement, John Axford, and worked tenaciously during the summer to improve.
"In all honesty, he's meant everything to my development," Axford said. "He carries about his business perfectly. He's been the best mentor for me. I see what he does and I try to build upon that. I try to do right by Trevor and that's by doing things the right way."
"He's taught me a lot of things as far as being a teammate and being a team player and going about the game," Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder said. "Everything he says is good knowledge. His work ethic is through the roof. He works hard every day."
Hoffman supporters will no doubt argue that Rivera has played on better teams over the course of their respective careers; but it was Rivera’s presence that pushed those Yankee teams over the top rather than him coming along for the ride, which is yet another testament to his greatness and his standing as the best reliever in major league history.
Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation detailing how Mariano Rivera has been so dominant over the course of his career.
NY Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera still in class by himself
