Top 25 Career Milestone Near-Misses in Baseball History
July 1, 2010 by Asher B. Chancey
Filed under Fan News
In 2009, Trevor Hoffman fooled the Milwaukee Brewers front office, coaches, players, and fans by being nothing short of awesome. In 55 games, he put together a 0.907 WHIP, a 3.43 K:BB ratio, a 3-2 record, 37 saves, and a 1.83 ERA. It was the best season he’d had in a decade.
Hell, I’ll bet he even fooled himself.
Truth is, Hoffman hadn’t been a truly effective Hoffman-esque reliever in a couple of seasons, and his 2009 performance was likely a mirage. Nevertheless, there were reasons for optimism in Milwaukee going into this season.
Well, it has been a disaster. Hoffman has doubled last season’s earned run numbers in 30 fewer games, and has blown five saves.
More importantly, Hoffman entered the year just nine saves from becoming the first player ever to get 600 saves in his career, and now—even despite solid pitching in non-save situations—Hoffman looks perilously far from attaining that goal.
Hoffman’s failure to reach 600 career saves would almost certain make the Top 25 Career Milestone Near Misses in MLB History.