MLB: 62 saves, the record nobody has touched in 18 years

Sixty-two

A number nobody has come close to in 18 years.

Francisco Rodriguez, 2008 season, Los Angeles Angels. 62 saves. The only man in MLB history to clear the 60 mark. K-Rod, if you know.

There was a simple, brutal reason behind it. Mike Scioscia almost only used him in save situations. Seven appearances in any other context all season. Seven. The result? 69 save chances, an all-time high too.

And he delivered. A 2.24 ERA, third in American League Cy Young voting, sixth in MVP voting. Then October arrived. Two runs allowed in 1 1/3 innings, a loss to Boston in Game 2 of the ALDS. The wheel turns fast.

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The old mark had stood for 28 years

Bobby Thigpen set the bar at 57 with the Chicago White Sox in 1990. Nobody touched it for 28 years. Edwin Diaz matched it in 2018 in Seattle, cutting his ERA from 3.27 to 1.96 in one winter.

Right behind him, two men on 55. John Smoltz in 2002, a National League record, in just his second season as a reliever after a career as a starter. And Eric Gagne in 2003.

Gagne deserves his own line. That year, he did not blow a single chance. None. Over 2002, 2003 and 2004 combined, the Quebec native converted 84 straight saves, an all-time record. A 1.20 ERA. A 0.81 FIP, the best ever over a season of at least 50 innings. He remains the last reliever to win a Cy Young.

Rivera played on another level

Over a career, the leaderboard barely moves. Mariano Rivera, 652 saves. Trevor Hoffman, 601. Then daylight.

Kenley Jansen is next on 492 and still active. Lee Smith on 478, Craig Kimbrel on 440, Francisco Rodriguez on 437.

Rivera led the league in saves just three times. What he did do was stack up nine seasons with 40 saves or more. In 2019, he became the first unanimous Hall of Fame selection.

His October numbers look like a typo. 42 postseason saves, more than twice the man in second place. A 0.70 ERA across 96 innings. Just two home runs allowed in his entire playoff career.

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