Well, he’s finally done it. Yankees’ RHP Mariano Rivera is officially the MLB’s all-time greatest closer. At least in terms of career saves. Mo recorded save No. 602 with a perfect ninth Monday’s 6-4 win over the Twins, passing RHP Trevor Hoffman. It was his 43rd save of the year, matching the total he had in his first full year as a closer back in 1997. He also has an ERA back under 2.00 at 1.98. He’s allowed just one run in a month, and he hasn’t taken a blown save or a loss since August 9. For those still lagging behind, he’s pretty good. The closer’s role isn’t a stress-free position to have, and it’s certainly not a position that any ho-hum reliever can do adequately. It’s great watching them as a kid, seeing a man with nerves of steel closing out a World Series game, but think about it–they rarely cash in on big contracts, they’re often the scapegoat, and it seems that all of their failures are magnified when a lead is lost. It’s a position where, when you’re doing your job, it’s thankless and goes unnoticed, but when you don’t do your job properly, everyone’s calling for your head. Nonetheless, the closer is my favourite position in all of baseball. The question, however, comes back to Rivera–now that he holds the all-time saves record, is he truly the best closer ever? Here it is, your Top 10 Greatest Closers of All-Time.
Honourable Mention: Tom Henke, Jeff Reardon, Tug McGraw
10. Dan Quisenberry
Few were better in their prime than this guy. The submarining right-hander had 244 career saves, a 2.76 ERA and a 1.175 WHIP in his 12-year career. Quisenberry wasn’t a strikeout pitcher, and never overpowered pitchers with the heat, but he was an incredible ground ball pitcher and his sinker was one of the best (3.3 K/9 ratio). He was the dominant closer in the AL in the early 80′s–you know, before the Royals were an embarassment. He was the first to save 40 games in a season in 1983. His ERA+ is 147, good for 5th all-time. Snubbed from the Hall of Fame, he surrendered only 11 walks in 1983 and 12 in 1984, in over 268 combined innings pitched, and was runnerup for the AL Cy Young Award in both seasons. He held the AL record for career saves from 1987, when he surpassed Rollie Fingers’ mark of 233, until 1992, when his AL total of 238 was broken by Jeff Reardon. He was also the first pitcher to record 40 saves in a season, doing so with 45 in 1983, and followed with 44 saves in 1984. Quisenberry tragically passed away from brain cancer in 1998.
9. Lee Smith
Smith was never the best closer in the game at any point, as he was overshadowed by contemporaries such as Eckersley and Bruce Sutter. Smith, however, compiled more saves (478) than both in an 18-year career, and he led the NL in saves three times. Despite being the career leader in saves from 1993 to 2006 and still ranking third all-time, his teams never won any postseason series. His career ERA was 3.03. He’s one of only five pitchers with 400+ career saves.
8. Trevor Hoffman
Hoffman was the first to reliever to record 600 saves. He (along with Rivera) were the only two pitchers to have 20 or more saves 15 times, and 30 or more 14 times in their career. Best known for his “Hells Bells” entrance, courtesy of ACDC, Hoffman’s bread and butter was his circle change, which made him so good at changing speeds. Despite a career WHIP of 1.058, Hoffman was relatively unheralded because of spending the majority of his career with the Padres.
7. Hoyt Willhelm
Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher inducted into the Hall of Fame. Because bullpens weren’t used the same way they’re used today, his status on here is different than most of the other guys on the list. The knuckleball specialist didn’t begin his MLB career until he was 29, where he went 15-3 for the Giants. He then pitched mostly in relief for the next 21 seasons. At the time, he held the record with 227 career saves, a 2.52 ERA, a 1.125 WHIP and an ERA+ of 147. A five-time All-Star, he holds the record with 124 relief wins and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.
6. Bruce Sutter
Sutter, a 13-year veteran, essentially pioneered the split-fingered fastball that was unhittable in his prime. Pitching during the transition of career closers, he finished with 300 saves, made six All-Star teams and was the 1979 NL Cy Young Award winner. He had two saves for the Cardinals when they won the World Series in 1982.
5. Billy Wagner
In 16 seasons, the flamethrowing lefty had 422 saves, an ERA of 2.31 and a rock sold 0.998 WHIP. What many don’t know, however, is that those numbers are better than Rivera, Eckersley and Hoffman. The reason why Wagner often isn’t considered one of the greatest ever is because he never led the league in saves, nor pitched in a World Series. He was a six-time All-Star and had 10 years of 30 saves or more. He had a ridiculous 11.7 K/9 ratio and an ERA-plus of 180. He’s arguably the greatest left-handed reliever of all-time.
4. Rich “Goose” Gossage
Gossage is arguably the most feared reliever of all-time. He did so with essentially one pitch–a 100 mph fastball. The prime of his career came with the Yankees from 1978 to 1983. A nine-time All-Star with 310 career saves, he was widely regarded as one of the most clutch closer of all-time, recorded the final out to clinch a division, league or World Series title seven times. He received Cy Young Award votes five times and once struck out 151 batters in a season. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008.
3. Rollie Fingers
Fingers was the best closer of the 1970′s and into the early 1980′s. He could even be considered a pioneer of sorts–he was one of the first career closers, which was becoming more and more popular at the time. Best known for his handlebar mustache, he had 114 wins with 341 career saves. Relievers at that time, however, were often used for more than one inning (he threw more than one inning in 62% of his saves). He won three World Series with the A’s, while also winning World Series MVP in 1974 and a Cy Young in 1981. In that year, he went 6-3 with a 1.04 ERA, an 0.872 WHIP and 28 saves. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992.
2. Dennis Eckersley
Pitching for six teams over a 24-year career, he’s 6th on the all-time list for saves at 390, but probably would’ve been in the top 2-3 had he not been a starter for 12 seasons. Eck began his career in the bullpen in 1987 while with the A’s (under Tony La Russa) and became the most dominant closer in the game. As such, he was the first reliever in MLB history to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. What made Eck so dangerous was his incredible control–in 1990, he had more saves (48) than base runners allowed (45). Take that in for a second. Absolutely unreal. Most memorably, perhaps, he gave up Kirk Gibson’s iconic World Series homerun in 1988, which added that much more to the mystique.
1. Mariano Rivera
Mo is the most feared, dominant and successful closer in the history of baseball–while he didn’t have the most career saves until today, it was all but official. Now, there’s no longer a debate. To date, Rivera has recorded 602 saves (and counting) over his 15-year career. What makes that mark even more incredible is this: he throws one pitch 95% of the time, and it could be the most lethal pitcher in baseball history. Rivera’s cutter moves like crazy right before it crosses the plate, and combining that with his near pinpoint accuracy makes him unstoppable. The cutter usually either cuts in at the last second over the inside part of the plate, or is thrown on the outside corner and cuts away, just out of reach before the swing. Rivera came into the league as a starter, spent a little time as a setup man and transformed into the league’s best closer since 1997. He’s lead the league in saves three times, with his career high in being 53 in 2004, where he also sported a 1.94 ERA in 74 games. The postseason, however, is where he really separates himself from the rest of the pack. In 94 playoff games, Rivera is 8-1 with 42 saves and an ERA of 0.71–both of which are MLB records. Rivera has also won the AL Rolaids Relief Award five times and is a 12-time All-Star. He was also a part of the core group of Yankees that won five World Series rings. He’s also the only reliever in history to have an ALCS and World Series MVP title.
