This hasn't got nearly enough attention. Hoffman recorded save #500 to lock down career win #338 for Greg Maddux in a 5-2 victory over LA (he already has 18 saves in 20 chances too, not like he's washed up).

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore;_ylt=...F?gid=270606125

 

He's going to finish his career with well over 500 saves and I have doubts as to if his record is ever caught with the way Rivera is starting to look. Just an incredible feat IMO.

Best (clean) closer I've ever seen. Bar none. Even though Rivera is up there too.

a remarkable feet. It won't be unbreakable like Cy Young's record, but it will certainly be tough cup of coffee trying to accomplish.

He's going to finish his career with well over 500 saves and I have doubts as to if his record is ever caught with the way Rivera is starting to look. Just an incredible feat IMO.

 

A K/BB of 5, K/9 of 9, and a WHIP of 1.13?

 

And since April ended, or his last 13 appearances, an ERA 1.42, WHIP of .71, K/9 of just under 9, and K/BB of 12?

 

I think he's starting to look just fine, but maybe that's just me looking too deeply into the numbers here. I kinda doubt that though.

 

Regardless of whether he retires with record or not, he will likely be the greatest closer of all time, with perhaps an argument for Hoffman and Billy Wagner.

Edited June 7, 200718 yr by witesoxfan

A K/BB of 5, K/9 of 9, and a WHIP of 1.13?

 

And since April ended, or his last 13 appearances, an ERA 1.42, WHIP of .71, K/9 of just under 9, and K/BB of 12?

 

I think he's starting to look just fine, but maybe that's just me looking too deeply into the numbers here. I kinda doubt that though.

 

Regardless of whether he retires with record or not, he will likely be the greatest closer of all time, with perhaps an argument for Hoffman and Billy Wagner.

 

You think an argument can be made for Wagner as the greatest of all-time?

to Hoffman

 

Edited June 7, 200718 yr by RibbieRubarb

Congrats to Trevor. He's definitely one of the greats, but for me, MO is definitely the best I've ever seen.

Applause.

I think Hoffman would get a lot more credit if he'd been a playoff King like Rivera but he didn't really get much of the chance besides he plays in SD and not NY.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Jun 7, 2007 -> 03:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

a remarkable feet. It won't be unbreakable like Cy Young's record, but it will certainly be tough cup of coffee trying to accomplish.

im going to break cy's and trevor's record

You think an argument can be made for Wagner as the greatest of all-time?

 

Most definitely.

 

Name          Saves ERA ERA+ WHIP K/9 BB/9 IP   G

Billy Wagner   337 2.36 182  1.00  12  3  729.0 679

Mariano Rivera 420 2.34 195  1.04   8  2.3 903.2 743

Trevor Hoffman 500 2.70 150  1.04  9.7 2.5 908.1 846

 

Mo holds the edge in ERA+ and longevity, but Wagner's K numbers are astounding. In 180 fewer innings, he has 160 more K's than Rivera, and nearly has more than Hoffman. On top of that, his control has never been bad, and he flat out doesn't allow hits. And throughout the duration of his career, his highest ERA with 30+ IP (which does not count his 2000 season where he was nearly killed by a comebacker) is 2.85 and his highest WHIP is 1.19. Not including his first year, the same thing is essentially true for Rivera (2.74; 1.19). Hoffman, throughout his career, has been slightly less dominant, never really putting up flat out gaudy ERAs and WHIPs, except 1998, but has been amazing for a very long period of time.

 

Regardless, these are the 3 I think I have to rate as 1, 2, and 3, with Eckersley close behind them just because of his flat out dominance over a 4-5 year stretch - in '89 and '90 combined, he put up a K/BB of 18.3 and a BB/9 of .48. But he never had that dominance throughout the course of his career, because he was a starter for the first half of it, and he was an old pitcher when he was closing for the A's; hell, he was 35 when he put up his famed 0.61 ERA in 1990. And, seeing as how Eckersley really revolutionized the closer position as we know it today, it doesn't seem quite right to compare him and the others of today to those in the 60s, 70s, and early 80s. So, I won't.

Edited June 9, 200718 yr by witesoxfan

Wow, I didn't realize it was that close statistically. Good work!