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Who are the top closers in MLB history? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. John Franco: the NL record-holder for most career games pitched (1,119), Franco reached the 30-save mark 8x in his career (3x leading the league) and was second all-time upon his retirement with 424 career saves.
9. Hoyt Wilhelm: though his 228 career saves may pale in comparison to today’s specialized closers, Wilhelm was the first reliever to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; using a knuckleball, he was able to pitch until nearly age 50 and also won a record 124 games in relief.
8. Billy Wagner: with a blazing 100 mile-per-hour fastball, Wagner racked up 422 career saves with nine 30-save seasons; moreover, his 11.9 K/9 strikeout rate is the highest among pitchers with at least 800 career innings pitched.
7. Lee Smith: the first closer to reach 400 career saves, Smith was the league’s save leader 4x and compiled 11 30-save seasons as his way to 478 career saves and an eventual Hall of Fame selection by the Veteran’s Committee.
6. Goose Gossage: a 3x saves leader, Gossage appeared in over 1,000 career games and accumulated 310 career saves; his eight All-Star selections as a closer (9x overall) was a record until surpassed by Mariano Rivera.
5. Rollie Fingers: perhaps the first modern closer in MLB history, Fingers led the league in saves 3x and won both the AL Cy Young and MVP awards in 1981; he was the first pitcher to reach 300 career saves and for many years held the all-time record (341 career saves).
4. Bruce Sutter: the 1979 NL Cy Young winner, Sutter relied upon a nasty split-finger fastball to pace the league in saves a record 5x (including four straight seasons from 1979-1982 and five out of six years) and retired with an even 300 career saves.
3. Trevor Hoffman: known for his famous “Hells Bells” entrance music, Hoffman had 14 30-save seasons (including 9x with 40+ saves and a career-high 53 saves in 1998) and was the first pitcher to both 500 and 600 career saves; he retired as the all-time saves leader (601 career saves), though was later surpassed by Rivera.
2. Dennis Eckersley: originally an All-Star-caliber starting pitcher with a 20-win season to his name, Eckersley converted into a closer in his early 30s, twice leading the league in saves and winning both the AL Cy Young and MVP awards in 1992 en route to 390 career saves and the Hall of Fame.
1. Mariano Rivera: the greatest closer ever, Rivera is baseball’s all-time saves leader (652 career saves) and led the New York Yankees to five World Series titles while becoming the first-ever unanimous Hall of Fame selection in his first year of eligibility.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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