On September 14th (New York Time), Mariano Rivera became the second reliever in MLB history to record 600 career saves. He is currently one save behind the all-time leader, Trevor Hoffman. This has been a heated debate for many years, whether Hoffman or Mo is a better closer. Personally I don't like picking between people because their careers have not been the same. However, I don't think there is any question as to who the better closer is now. The only thing that was holding Mo back in this debate was the number 600. Trevor's 601 saves is the only thing keeping him in the competition. Once Mo passes that, the debate is OVER!
Mariano will likely surpass Hoffman shortly in the coming days. Mariano is definitely the best and most dominating closer in MLB history. Not only does he have 600 saves, he has 42 Post-season saves. That's right 42 POST-SEASON SAVES! How many does Hoffman have? A total of 4. Now that is not Hoffman's fault. Mariano has been lucky enough to be on some of the greatest teams in MLB history. While Mariano has had more opportunities, Hoffman fell short against Mo in 1998 recording no saves in the World Series.
Mariano Rivera has definitely earned the respect of the whole league and every fan. This milestone created more excitement because Mo's last save milestone came in the same year as the Yanks' last World Series Title. This year the Yankees had two amazing milestones: Jeter's 3,000 hit mark and Mo's 600 save milestone. Hopefully the 28th Championship will come this year and Mo will have more opportunities to add to such a prestigious career. Congratulations Mariano Rivera, number 42.
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