Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman of the San Diego Padres, who became Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader yesterday.
Saves are a tricky stat in the way a closer has to be at the top of his game for such an extended period of time while playing for competitive teams. It’s no guarantee a closer will get 50 chances every year.
It’s also no guarantee closers would ever have come into existence. Historically, they’ve been maligned nearly as much as designated hitters have, but there’s no questioning their place in the game today.
And there’s no questioning Hoffman’s place.
He’s not at the dominant form that had him in the NL Cy Young race in 1998 (hen he had 53 saves in 54 opportunities and a 1.48 ERA), but he’s been consistently overpowering. He may even be better in the last three years than he was in the three years before surgery cost him all but nine games of the 2003 season.
Hats off to Trevor Hoffman, 479 save and counting.
Some other cool things from the weekend:
Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers became the second player in NFL history to throw 400 touchdown passes. He’s behind only Dan Marino in that department, and would have passed him by now if the Packers had any receivers to throw to for the last two years.
And Jay Gibbons of the Baltimore Orioles hit his wife with a foul ball. Who hasn’t wanted to foul one off their wife before? She’s OK, and it may lead to some changes at Camden Yards, plus it was my favourite story of the weekend.
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