Shortly after the San Diego Padres controversially renamed their area where they honor past stars, “Selig Hall of Fame Park”, a very uncontroversial moment occurred today for Baseball fans in Southern California.
Trevor Hoffman, one of the most accomplished Relief Pitchers in Baseball’s history, officially became the ninth man inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame today. Hoffman, who is second all time in career Saves, had 552 of his 601 as a Member of the Padres, a team in which he spent sixteen seasons with.
Hoffman would represent the Padres six times as an All Star, twice leading the National League in Saves, the both of which saw him as the runner up for the Cy Young Award. Hoffman had a 1.043 WHIP and 1,029 Strikeouts over 952.1 Innings as a Padre. He would become a fan favorite, not just for his lights out closing skills but his entrance to the mound to AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells”.
Mariano Rivera the only man who has more career Saves than Hoffman retired last season is considered a strong candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, however Relief Pitchers have not always seen the kind of respect afforded to Starters. Hoffman, whose career bWAR is 28.3 is well below Rivera in both that stat and in JAWS, the sabremetric used most commonly to evaluate Hall of Fame potential.
As such, Trevor Hoffman may not necessarily be a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but nobody can deny his place in the San Diego Padres Hall, where he will likely be regarded as the greatest closer of their franchise’s history for decades to come.
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