Trevor Hoffman - Legacy

Legacy

"Every boy who grows up dreaming of playing Major League Baseball, has a similar vision of what it would be like, and what they would be like as a player. They would imagine that they were a great player. They would stake claim to being an All-Star, and playing in front of packed stadiums. They would imagine signing autographs, and would always treat the fans well, and that the fans would return the favor.There would be images of teammates that loved them and revered them. And, that when they became superstars, they would always remember that they were just a regular person, like everybody else, no better. They might even dream of making the Hall of Fame one day. Now, I may not have quite lived up to that dream, but I am proud to say I am friends and played with the guy who stayed true to every bit of it ... Trevor Hoffman."

—Brad Ausmus, former Padres teammate

Hoffman dominated his position at a consistent level while enjoying incredible longevity over almost two decades. He was the first pitcher to reach not only the 500 save milestone, but also 600. After an 18-year career, the seven-time NL All-Star retired as MLB's all-time leader in saves with 601. Barry Bloom of MLB.com called Hoffman "the best National League closer of his era." Hoffman is one of only two pitchers who have had streaks of four straight seasons with at least 40 saves; Hoffman did it twice. His nine seasons of 40 or more saves are the most all time. His 15 1⁄₂-year stint as Padres closer was rare for a baseball role that exhibited a high turnover rate.

Hoffman had 12 seasons with at least 37 saves, 13 seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and 14 with an ERA+ of at least 130 (indicating that he was at least 30 percent better than the league average in ERA those years). Among pitchers to debut since 1969, he is one of only two ranked in the top 10 for lowest opponents' batting average against facing both lefties and righties. Hoffman retired ranked first with 856 games finished, ninth with 1,035 games pitched, seventh-lowest hits per nine innings (H/9) at 6.99, and seventh-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) of 3.69.

Though he was not a power pitcher, Hoffman was a strikeout pitcher. His 9.36 strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9) was the fifth-highest in MLB history, and highest ever among relievers. Sports journalist Fran Zimniuch wrote in Fireman: The Evolution of the Closer in Baseball that Hoffman was "a thinking man's closer, using guile rather than heat." As the velocity of his fastball decreased, he compensated with a devastating changeup that is as synonymous a pitch with Hoffman as the splitter is with Bruce Sutter or the cutter is with Mariano Rivera. "It's a tough situation throwing a change-up in the ninth inning, unless you've got Trevor's changeup", closer Billy Wagner said. "There's not many guys who have a changeup that's dominating", All-Star third basemen Scott Rolen said. "But his is dominating. It's a weapon. That's not usually a word you use with a changeup." Robb Nen, a retired closer, was amazed at how Hoffman got better after he lost velocity on his fastball. "I don't think I could do it, to just lose the ability to throw 95 and still be one of the best. I have tremendous respect for him", Nen said. Another retired closer, Troy Percival, concurred about the difficulty in transforming from a power pitching style. "It's not easy to do. Guys who throw 95, 96 have an ego about being able to do that. just went right into, 'Hey, you know, I throw 87 now. This is what I've got.' And he goes out there and gets it done just as well as he ever did."

unique in the sense that what he does, closing, is usually a power pitcher's game. His change-up isn't just great, but dominating. What he does puts things in perspective. It's pitching, not just throwing, and using whatever stuff you have. He throws a pitch that looks so tempting that you can't lay off it. ... I feel vulnerable when I throw 93-96 mph. He's throwing 81 and doing it with full confidence. —Randy Johnson, retired pitcher

Unfortunately for Hoffman, he and other relievers of his era are compared to Rivera and his success in the playoffs. Rivera is considered by most the best closer of all-time. While Hoffman has 601 regular-season saves, he only had four in the playoffs. Jayson Stark of ESPN wrote after Hoffman's retirement announcement, "Not everybody can have his team deliver him an October save opportunity to protect 47 different times." His last postseason save was in 2006, which was also his first postseason save in eight years. Though the Padres were in the playoffs three other times in that span, they never took a single lead. Hoffman, however, did blow a save opportunity in his only World Series appearance and also failed on save tries twice in the final three days of the 2007 season as the Padres vied for the playoffs. John Delcos of The Journal News, who covered the New York Yankees for eight years, believes the Yankees would have been just as successful with Hoffman instead of Rivera. David Wells, who played with both Hoffman and Rivera, said, " has the better postseason record because the Yankees go to the postseason more than the Padres do, and he's had more opportunities there. The way they go about it, they're the best in the game. Trevor's the best in the West and is the best in the East." Rivera, however, broke Hoffman's career save record in 2011, and also has a better ERA in addition to a more superior ERA+ and other sabermetric statistics.

Hoffman becomes eligible for Hall of Fame induction starting in 2016. No career reliever has reached Cooperstown on the first ballot, and only five relievers have been inducted as of 2010. Lee Smith, the all-time saves leader before Hoffman, was not inducted in 2010 after nine years on the ballot. Hoffman is generally considered worthy of being elected. Buster Olney of ESPN says any discussion of Hoffman's deficiencies in the postseason and All-Star Games are small samples compared to his incredible body of work over 18 years. Zimniuch wrote that Hoffman and Rivera are "the best of the best of the one-inning closers". Closers as a whole have been criticized for pitching almost exclusively in the ninth inning with no runners on base. Star relievers previously were called firemen and entered games in the middle of innings with runners on base and could pitch multiple innings. Saves arguably became overrated as firemen gave way to closers. However, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2007 proposed that 500 saves (let alone 600) would be enough for him to validate Hoffman's induction if Sutter was invited with his 300 career saves. Moreover, Hoffman could have had many more than 601 saves had he played for more successful teams. During his tenure in San Diego, the Padres won at least 90 games only twice and had nine losing seasons, including five with no more than 70 wins. Hall of Fame voter Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger said, "I don't think much of the save as a stat, but I'm looking at a guy who's been a lockdown closer for more than a decade. Closers are a real and important part of the game, and either he or Rivera has been the best one for the past decade."

Hoffman's entrance into games, accompanied by the playing of "Hells Bells", became popular among fans after it was introduced in 1998. Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated wrote that Hoffman's "signature moment is one of the most electrically charged in sports: Padres fans rising and roaring, in Pavlovian fashion, upon hearing the first bell toll, the foreboding bonging like something out of Hitchcock as Hoffman enters slowly, stage right." Opposing closer Jason Isringhausen said, "'Hells Bells' in San Diego is Trevor. It's like when you go there, you want to two out of three so you can hear it once." The initial introduction of Hoffman's entrance music was a forerunner in the heavy metal closer theme songs used throughout home stadiums. The San Diego Union-Tribune initially noted, " entrance was more suited to the World Wrestling Federation than the national pastime." By the end of Hoffman's career, San Jose Mercury News and ESPN.com wrote that the song should be honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Other teams contacted the Padres for videos of the "Trevor Time" production. Yankees executives witnessing Hoffman's entrance in 1998 inspired Rivera's entrance to "Enter Sandman" the following season.