Trevor Hoffman: 'There Are No Easy Saves'

If you want to shrug off the save as an overrated statistic -- and many Hall of Fame voters do, by the looks of Lee Smith's support -- Trevor Hoffman has a message for you.

"There are no easy saves," Hoffman said Wednesday morning, a day after announcing his retirement. "There's never been an easy one, regardless of if it's one out and looks like a slam dunk, or if it's a multi-inning save."

Hoffman ought to know. He's got 601 of them, more than anyone else in baseball history. The debate of his Hall of Fame worthiness started the moment he officially retired. The fact that it's even a debate at all tells you that a significant segment of the baseball world still views the save as a gimmicky, overrated number.

Or else Smith -- the all-time leader before Hoffman -- would be in the Hall by now. Smith got 45.3 percent of the vote this year, which is where he's been holding steady for most of his time on the ballot.

Hoffman certainly has a stronger case than Smith. Not only does he have 123 more of those saves, whatever value you apply to them, but he's also got a better ERA (2.87 to 3.03) and a much better WHIP (1.058 to 1.256), while pitching his career in a much more offensive era.

As reporters questioned Hoffman about how we should view his career, considering an atmosphere in which many still don't agree on the value of a closer, Hoffman was careful not to promote himself too much, or to campaign too hard for Smith.

He did say that anyone who's been in a big-league clubhouse appreciates the value of those final three outs, though.

"You don't realize the value of a closer until games don't get closed down," he said. "The impact it has on your clubhouse, for everyone to work so hard toward a goal, and not walk away with a win ... it can be a struggle mentally."

Hoffman also said that he thinks 300 saves ought be the significant milestone for closer, akin to 300 wins or 3,000 hits.

"I think the 300 number is something that we'll look back and say, that's the number you really start thinking about," he said.

Truth be told, it's not quite the same. Since 1980, there have been 18 pitchers who accumulated 300 saves, including Tom Henke, Todd Jones, Doug Jones and Rick Aguilera. Over that same span, only four pitchers have won 300 games: Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine.

Hoffman also said that he figures he won't remain the all-time save leader for much longer. Mariano Rivera has 559 saves and a new two-year contract. Although Rivera is 41, he has shown no signs of slowing down.

"You never want to take anything for granted," Hoffman said. "He's pitching as well as he pitched. Numbers-wise, he's in striking distance and with the contract he's under he'll get the opportunity, but you never want to say anything is a foregone conclusion. I would imagine, if Mo stays healthy and continues to do the things he's done in the past, I would imagine he will (break the record)."

While Hoffman begins his five-year waiting period before he's eligible for the Hall of Fame, he's going to be working for the Padres as a special assistant to the president. He'll start in spring training as a uniformed instructor, and after that he's not sure what direction his career will go.

"It allows the freedom to be used how they see fit," he said.