Closers are the best at what they do when no one notices that you did your job. Closers have one of the toughest and most stressful jobs in sports. This article will examine the top 5 greatest closers of all time.
5. Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner totaled 422 career saves, which ranks sixth all time in MLB history. Wagner also was selected to seven all star games and twice finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting.
Wagner has a career WHIP under 1.000, and he is only 100 innings pitched away from qualifying for the all time ranking, where he would rank second lowest career WHIP of all time.
4. Rich Gossage
Rich Gossage totaled 310 saves in his career and led the league three separate times during his career. Gossage was also a nine time all star and was top top in Cy Young voting five times.
Gossage also helped the New York Yankees win the World Series in 1978 and was selected to Cooperstown in 2008 with 85.8 percent of the vote.
3. Trevor Hoffman
Trevor Hoffman totaled 601 career saves, which is second all time only behind Mariano Rivera. Hoffman was a seven time all star and led the league in saves once during his career.
Trevor Hoffman has a career WHIP of 1.058 which ranks 10th all time amongst qualifying pitchers. Hoffman also finished second in Cy Young voting twice during his career.
2. Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Eckersley ranks 9th all time in career saves with 390, and was a six time all star. Eckersley also won the Cy Young and the MVP in 1992, which he also led the league in saves that season for the second time during his career.
Five other times Dennis Eckersley was top five in Cy Young voting, and two other times finished top five in MVP voting. Eckersley also helped the Oakland A’s win the 1989 World Series and was the 1989 ALCS MVP on the way to the World Series.
1. Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera has the most career saves of all time with 652 career saves. Rivera led the league in saves three different times, and was selected as an all star 13 times during his career.
Rivera was known for his devastating cutter that was responsible for breaking countless bats during his career. Rivera dominated the league for around 15 years with one main out pitch, which speaks to how good that one pitch was.
Rivera is also the all time leader in ERA+ with 205, and helped the New York Yankees win five World Series during his career. Without a doubt, Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer to ever play in the MLB.
