Saturday, January 27, 2018

Saturday Night Five: Trevor Hoffman

2004 Sweet Spot Signatures #SS-HO

When Trevor Hoffman's name was announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Wednesday, I was very excited... but not really surprised.


Okay... okay... I know I left him off of my own ballot last weekend.  But that had to do with me keeping things conservative and only voting for "no brainers".  The only relief pitcher who will receive the "no brainer" treatment by the majority of baseball fans is going to be Mariano Rivera.

2007 Sweet Spot Patch #SW-HO

With that being said... today I wanted to stand up and express my admiration and appreciation for the Padres fan favorite and franchise icon.

2008 Topps Silk Collection #NNO

He is the first pitcher in MLB history to reach the 500 and 600 save milestones.  And when he retired from baseball after the 2010 season, he was the MLB all-time saves leader.  Those numbers by themselves put him in elite company.

1996 Leaf Signature Silver #NNO

But when you consider that over 90% of his saves were earned while wearing a San Diego Padres uniform that only strengthens his case.  Hoffman didn't have the luxury of playing on many winning teams, so he had to make the most out of his save opportunities.  Padres fans realize.

2001 SP Game Used Authentic Fabric #TrH

Congratulations Trevor and thanks for the memories!  Happy Saturday and sayonara!

5 comments:

defgav said...

Great cards! Really happy Trevor finally made it in.

Commishbob said...

I was very pleased that he made it as well. Relievers haven't gotten the credit they deserve. It took Bruce Sutter 13 years to get in and I could never understand why.

Hackenbush said...

You made the case very well. Nice collection. I still think Lee Smith belongs in the club.

Collecting Cutch said...

Great cards and so happy for Trevor Hoffman to finally get in

Fuji said...

defgav - thanks gavin! me too. who knows how long we'll need to wait for the next padre to be inducted. hopefully mcgriff next year ;)

commish - yeah. from what i've read... the people against them argue that they only play a small portion of the game. they're the punters of baseball. whatever. both are still important positions in each of their sports

hackenbush - me too. so do lots of fans.

collecting cutch - thanks! me too.