One of the fun things about previewing milestones at the start of the season is watching them unfold throughout the year.
With a 4-2 victory over the Mets Sunday night…Mariano Rivera become only the SECOND member of the 500 save club.
“I don’t look for records or things like that,” Rivera told reporters. “I’m not here for that. I’m here to play baseball and win World Series. If it happens, it happens. But I don’t come here to chase records.”
Trevor Hoffman is the all-time leader with 571 saves, so it remains to be seen if Rivera can actually reach whatever record ends up being set. What is certain is this…it’s going to be a long, long time before someone gets near either one of them.
As it stands, the next active reliever is Billy Wagner with 385 and after that…you’re looking at Troy Percival with 358. Thing is, Wagner might not hit 386 and Percival might stay stuck at 358 since both have been hampered with injuries.
Who has a chance at joining Hoffman and Rivera in the 500 Club?
Even though he notched a quarter of his career total of 228 saves in one season, Francisco Rodriguez is young enough at 27 to give them a run for their money.
So congrats to Rivera as you continues to secure his spot in Cooperstown, and let’s all meet back here in eight years to see where K-Rod is at.
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