Hell's Bells Rings 479

Sunday, September 24 2006 @ 11:12 PM EDT

Contributed by: Mick Doherty

I'm rolling thunder, pouring rain
I'm coming on like a hurricane
My lightning's flashing across the sky
-- AC/DC, Hell's Bells

It's not overly presumptious to say that the "save" is one of the most overblown statistics in Major League Baseball history.

It's also not a great leap of faith to point out that while pitching the era of Eckersley, Wetteland, Smoltz, Gagne and Rivera, the unassuming Trevor Hoffman -- who has led his league in saves precisely once in 14 big league seasons -- has never been considered "The Man" when it comes to closers.

Until today.

In nailing down his 479th career save tonight, Hoffman passed Lee Smith to become the all-time leader in career saves in major league history.

Now, Smith's 478 was never one of the sport's Magic Numbers like 714 and 4191 and 2130 (all of which have also been passed, incidentally). But this record-breaker by Hoffman is truly one of the most under-the-radar accomplishments in the history of the sport.

There was some talk about Aaron in the early 1970s, how he'd "snuck up" on the Ruth record while glitzier home run hitters -- Mays, Killebrew, Frank Howard -- led the league for a season or three at a time. But Aaron outlasted them all and in historical context is to home runs, admittedly a much sexier and more PR-friendly stat, what Hoffman is now to saves.

Maybe Mariano Rivera catches Hoffman someday. Maybe Bonds catches Aaron who caught Ruth. Doesn't matter; doesn't have any bearing on the fact that today, Trevor Hoffman sits atop the baseball world in the one historical category that he has been paid to dominate for the last decade-plus.

And he's done just that. Hell's Bells, indeed.

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