Hitting The Cutoff Man

As you probably know by now, Trevor Hoffman is being given some time off to work on his mechanics after blowing his fifth save of the season in 10 tries on Tuesday. Hoffman likely will get a chance to step back into the closer role sometime soon and at least pick up the four saves he needs to reach 600 in his career, but there's no guarantee.

In what might be the most trying situation Hoffman has faced, I thought it would be nice to examine his extraordinary career.

134 pitchers have enjoyed a 30-save season in the major leagues. Of those pitchers, only 70 have managed at least two such seasons (granted, a few of these like Jonathan Broxton figure to pick up more). Here's what the numbers look like as we head up the ladder:

At least 3 30-save seasons: 48 pitchers
At least 4 30-save seasons: 40
At least 5 30-save seasons: 26
At least 6 30-save seasons: 19
At least 7 30-save seasons: 11
At least 8 30-save seasons: 8
At least 9 30-save seasons: 3
At least 13 30-save seasons: 1

The guy all by himself is Hoffman, with 14 30-save seasons, two more than Mariano Rivera. Hoffman also is 63 total saves ahead of Rivera on the all-time list.

But the point of the breakdown is to illustrate how absurdly consistent Hoff has been. It's relatively easy for any good pitcher to be a successful closer for a short period of time if given the opportunity, which is why closers tend to be overvalued.

On the other hand, not many guys are successful at it for a long period of time. Closers get hurt, get moved into (or back into) a starting role, get traded to a team that already has a closer or simply can't hold up in a job that requires you to live on the edge. Small sample sizes and fan and media emphasis blow failures out of proportion. That's why the rate of attrition is so high, as any fantasy owner trying to draft saves can tell you.

Rivera probably will go down as the greatest closer of all time and wind up as the all-time saves leader, but Hoffman is something special in his own right.

He became a regular closer in 1994 for San Diego, a year after the Padres acquired him from Florida as part of a trade for Gary Sheffield and just three years after the Reds converted him from infield to pitcher in the minor leagues. He has continued in that role ever since, with the exception of 2003, which he missed almost all of while recovering from shoulder surgery.

That's 15 seasons in which Hoffman has been a closer and pitched in at least 45 games. In 11 of those seasons, Hoffman posted a FIP below 3.00, and he never posted a WHIP of worse than 1.18.

In recent years at least, he's done this without what people would call "closer stuff." FanGraphs has data on pitch type and velocity going back to 2002, and in that time, Hoffman's fastball has averaged 85.5 mph. But he's been successful anyways because of his control and his changeup, a good pitch that helps make his fastball look faster. In a position highlighted by blazing heaters, power sliders and Rivera's devastating cutter, Hoffman's repertoire has been an effective oddity.

Despite his more finesse-based approach, Hoffman has employed one of the more badass closer intro songs out there -- AC/DC's "Hell's Bells -- at least since 1998. That's another reason to like him, but I've got a more personal one as well, if you will indulge me.

About four years ago, I was in college and went to a formal at a hotel in downtown Chicago. I was in the lobby waiting for an elevator when a guy walked up next to me. I looked over and after a few seconds became pretty sure it was Trevor Hoffman. This was before I started interviewing professional athletes for work purposes, so I was a little awe-struck. Nonetheless, I normally wouldn't have bothered him, except that I was, shall we say, a bit less than clear-headed at the time. Because of this, rather than talking to Hoffman like a normal person, what came out of my mouth was, "Are you who I think you are?" Looking back on it, it's kind of amazing he didn't at the very best ignore me or answer with a gruff "no." But he didn't. He politely answered "yes," and patiently waited while my date got a camera out to take a picture. It was more courtesy than I probably deserved and certainly showed a lot of grace on Hoffman' part.

I just hope that whenever the time comes, Hoffman is able to leave the game he loves with the same kind of grace.

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