For as long as I’ve been following baseball, I’ve always appreciated pitchers who come in and blow hitters away. Going to see Dwight Gooden pitch as a 19-year old with the Mets in 1984 was something I’ll always remember—not because he was so dominant, but because it was awesome just watching him blow the ball past hitters. And there have been a lot of closers in history that have done the same—Randy Myers, Rob Dibble, Lee Smith, John Wetteland to name a few, in addition to the ones below. For my money, I’d rather have a closer come in and throw 100 mph than someone who will put the ball in play. Either way, it’s now an important position on major league teams. Here is a complete list of active (have to have pitched in 2008 to be considered active) career saves leaders:
1. Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres (539)—Since becoming the Padres’ closer in 1994, Trevor Hoffman has become the all-time leader in saves in the game, with 539. What might be most impressive, aside from the fact that dude is still saving games at the age of 40, is that Hoffman has had 40 or more saves in a season nine times.
2. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (463)—You have to think Rivera will also cross the 500-save threshold soon as well, maybe as soon as 2009. Like Hoffman, Rivera is an iron man of sorts, still closing for the Yankees, a position he has held since 1996. Of course, this guy has a few World Series rings, too.
3. Billy Wagner, New York Mets (374)—It shouldn’t be a surprise that two of the game’s best closers reside in New York, because these are guys who command large salaries. Wagner still throws flames at the age of 36, but his penchant for blown saves has kept him from becoming Rivera-esque.
4. Troy Percival, Tampa Bay Rays (341)—Here’s a prototypical closer—he is animated and throws the crap out of the ball. Percy looked like he might have retired for good after sitting out all of 2006, but then the Cardinals signed him last year for bullpen insurance. Now, Percival is part of an exciting story in Tampa, saving 17 games so far for a team that is fighting the Red Sox and Yankees for supremacy in the AL East.
5. Todd Jones, Detroit Tigers (313)—Here’s one of those guys who throws junk and gets guys out, and he’s been doing it for 16 seasons.
6. Jason Isringhausen, St. Louis Cardinals (292)—Izzie began his major league career as a promising starting pitcher for the Mets in the mid-nineties. But once the Mets gave up on him, he wound up as a pupil of Oakland pitching coach Dave Duncan, the same guy who resurrected Dennis Eckersley’s career. The result? Well, you can see the numbers, and that’s in only eight-plus seasons as a closer.
7. Armando Benitez, Toronto Blue Jays (289)—Okay, I need proof of two things. One, that this guy is really still pitching. And two, that he’s only 35 years old.
8. Keith Foulke, Oakland Athletics (191)—A once-dominant closer is now a set-up man for a resurgent A’s team with a really strong bullpen.
9. (tie w/Foulke) Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati Reds (191)—I can’t help but confuse this 33-year old with young Angels’ phenom Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, but I guess it can’t be the same person.
10. Eric Gagne, Milwaukee Brewers (187)—He’s been slowed in recent years by injury and the Mitchell Report, and before recently going on the DL, Gagne was back to throwing smoke and always looking like he needs a shower.
Source: Baseball Reference
