Happy Birthday to Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, one of the game’s greatest Closers. In an 18-year career that saw him play mainly for the San Diego Padres but also for the Florida Marlins & Milwaukee Brewers, he displayed dominance during the Steroid Era, arguably the greatest offensive era in baseball history.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1993-2010):

61-75 W-L 2.87 ERA 1,089.1 IP 1.058 WHIP 1,133 K 601 SV

  • 7x All-Star
  • 2x NL Rolaids Relief Man Award (1998 & 2006)

Entering the Majors, Hoffman had a devastating Fastball; however, in 1994, an injury would diminish his Fastball, and he would reinvent himself with a dominant Changeup. Only Mariano Rivera has more career Saves than Hoffman does at 601. Besides Rivera, Hoffman was the greatest Closer of his time. He recorded 40 or more Saves nine times, won the Relief Man Award twice, and was a runner-up in the Cy Young voting twice in 1998 and 2006, placing 5th in 1996.

What separates Hoffman from Rivera is that Rivera was dominant in the Postseason, while Hoffman was okay. Rivera appeared more in the Postseason than Hoffman, who only made 12 Appearances in the Playoffs during his career. Unfortunately, what you do in the Postseason is what counts when it comes to a Relief Pitcher or Closer. To this day, Hoffman currently holds the record for most Saves for an NL pitcher, shares the record for most consecutive seasons with 40 or more Saves, and the most seasons with 40 or more Saves. As well as having an incredible career on the mound during his sixteen seasons with the Padres, besides Tony Gwynn is the most celebrated Padre of all time. The year after he retired, the Padres retired his #51 jersey. It took until his 3rd year of eligibility, but he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. 

References:

  1. Trevor Hoffman via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Hoffman
  2. Trevor Hoffman Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hoffmtr01.shtml